The Woman with the Blue Star

By: Pam Jenoff

Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya, Emily Lawrence, Nancy Peterson

Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

"An emotional novel that you will never forget." (Lisa Scottoline, number-one New York Times best-selling author of Eternal)

From the author of The Lost Girls of Paris comes a riveting tale of courage and unlikely friendship during World War II - now a New York Times best seller!

1942. Sadie Gault is 18 and living with her parents in the Kraków Ghetto during World War II. When the Nazis liquidate the ghetto, Sadie and her pregnant mother are forced to seek refuge in the perilous tunnels beneath the city. One day Sadie looks up through a grate and sees a girl about her own age buying flowers.

Ella Stepanek is an affluent Polish girl living a life of relative ease with her stepmother, who has developed close alliances with the occupying Germans. While on an errand in the market, she catches a glimpse of something moving beneath a grate in the street. Upon closer inspection, she realizes it’s a girl hiding.

Ella begins to aid Sadie and the two become close, but as the dangers of the war worsen, their lives are set on a collision course that will test them in the face of overwhelming odds. Inspired by incredible true stories, The Woman with the Blue Star is an unforgettable testament to the power of friendship and the extraordinary strength of the human will to survive.

Highly recommended by Entertainment Weekly, Washington Post, CNN, BookTrib, Goodreads, Betches, AARP, Frolic, SheReads, and more!

©2021 Pam Jenoff (P)2021 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited

Haunting

This was different than most of the WWll books that I typically listen too. It was so haunting and mesmerizing- such desperation yet determination as well. The horrors that the people in this story went through are just impossible to imagine. Pam Jenoff as always, has written an incredibly thought provoking story of the inhumane treatment so many suffered. The ending still providing joy in the midst of it all.

Overall I thought the narration was very good. There were times when the whiney desperation in Sadie's voice was a bit too much- it was overdone to the point that I think the narrator forgot she could change her tone and take it down a few notches when Sadie wasn't actually speaking. However I did think that the emotion and fear was easy to feel throughout the book and did not seem forced or fake like sometimes I have come across from other narrators.
I would absolutely recommend this book.

wonderful

really enjoyed the story, wish i knew what parts are based off a true story. ending wasn't what I expected .

A great listen

Well worth your time - a great story! The epilogue brings clisure to a family you griw to care about!

Good story with potential

The repetitiveness - yes, we know that she could’ve had her own child by now, no need to repeat 8 times throughout the book - took away from the story. Some of the incidents seemed rushed. Great twist at the end.

A fabulous story!

The story of two women, one Christian, and one Jewish and their friendship during World War II is really outstanding. It gives a very good depiction of the fact that there were many Christians who tried to help the Jewish people during that awful time and it is also a wonderful story of a friendship between two women. I would give it five stars in every category.

Amazing book

So enjoyed this book. Loved the 2 female characters Ella and Sadie. Had a few tears here and there!

A Riveting Story

Full of unexpected events that pull one into a chasm full of history, both painful and joyful, as seen through the eyes of Sadie and Ella.

Couldn't stop listening

I have read a lot of Holocaust fiction and this is one of the best that I have read. The narration was great.

The woman with the blue star was fantastic

The ending was a surprise! The character narration was fantastic! Very vivid and very well done!

Woman with a Blue Star a good read

This was an easy listen, somewhat believable, without the gory details of many Holocaust recounts.