"Wildflowers of Terezin" Book Review

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Wildflowers of TerezinAbingdon Press (April 2010)by

Robert Elmer

MY REVIEW:
Such interesting timing. Yesterday I review "The Secret Holocaust Diaries of Nonna Bannister" which is non-fiction and then today I review "Wildflowers of Terezin" which is fiction but also WWII Holocaust. So I read them back-to-back which made it hard to keep fact and fiction straight in my head, but one of the things I loved about Wildflowers is that it is based on true events, there are just a lot of liberties taken. For one thing, it is set in Denmark and starts when a man finds out about the Nazi plans to round up all the Denmark Jews on a Friday night and load them onto trains bound for Germany. He can not in good conscience do nothing so he tips off someone that is able to alert most of the 7,000 Jews in Denmark that they need to go into hiding until they can get out of the country. (That is based on true events.) The story then follows Hanne, who is a Jewish nurse, and Steffen, who is a Lutheran pastor as they try to help some Jews out of the country. Hanne is eventually found out and sent away as well and Steffen is desperate to get her back. Their story follows. I really enjoyed this story and loved how much of it was based on fact while there was lots of fiction for drama and romance. My favorite Robert Elmer book so far!



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robert Elmer is a former pastor, reporter and as copywriter who now writes from he home he shares with his wife Ronda in northern Idaho. He is the author of over fifty books, including eight contemporary novels for the adult Christian audience and several series for younger readers. Combined, his books have sold more than half a million copies worldwide. Like his popular "Young Underground" youth series, Wildflowers of Terezin was inspired by stories Robert heard from his Denmark-born parents and family. When he's not sailing or enjoying the outdoors, Robert often travels the country speaking to school and writers groups.

ABOUT THE BOOK

When nurse Hanne Abrahamsen impulsively shields Steffen Petersen from a nosy Gestapo agent, she’s convinced the Lutheran pastor is involved in the Danish Underground. Nothing could be further from the truth.



But truth is hard to come by in the fall of 1943, when Copenhagen is placed under Martial Law and Denmark’s Jews—including Hanne—suddenly face deportation to the Nazi prison camp at Terezin, Czechoslovakia. Days darken and danger mounts. Steffen’s faith deepens as he takes greater risks to protect Hanne. But are either of them willing to pay the ultimate price for their love?



To read the first chapter of Wildflowers of Terezin, go HERE.