The Woman with the Blue Star by Pam Jenoff

The Woman with the Blue Star by Pam Jenoff

Published by Park Row Books ISBN 9780778389385

Trade paperback, $17.99, 336 pages

Author Pam Jenoff adds to her growing canon of WWII stories about courageous women with her latest novel, The Woman with the Blue Star. 

Sadie is eighteen years-old when she and her parents are forced to flee into the sewer tunnels of Krakow to avoid being captured by the Nazis and sent to a concentration camp. Pawel, a handyman who Sadie's father showed kindness to, repays him by hiding Sadie's family and an Orthodox family- a father, his adult son Saul, and his elderly mother- in the sewer and bringing them small stores of food when he can.

They escaped with few belongings, and are forced to live in a cramped area of the sewer. The smell is atrocious, and the boredom is nearly as bad as the fear of being discovered by the Nazis. One day, Sadie wanders to the sewer grate and on the street above, her eyes meet a woman close in age to her.

Ella peers down and she is shocked to see Sadie. Ella's father is deceased, and she lives with her stepmother, a woman who entertains German soldiers in the family home, much to Ella's disgust. Ellas's stepmother reminds her repeatedly that she can kick Ella out of her home anytime she wishes.

Ella decides that she must help Sadie, even if it puts her own life in jeopardy. She brings Sadie food, and they form a deep friendship. Ella even takes things further, becoming involved in the resistance movement, risking her own life.

Jenoff based her novel on the true stories of Jewish people who hid in the sewer tunnels in Krakow during the war. I had never heard these stories, and she does an admirable job placing the reader right down there with Sadie and the others. You can feel the claustrophobic atmosphere surrounding you as you read, and wonder if you yourself would have the courage to do what Sadie and Ella did.

At its heart, The Woman with the Blue Star is a story of the bond of friendship that bring two young women together, and the courage they show, in the face of grave danger. The amazing resilience of the human spirit is on full display as well. Fans of Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale will want to add this to their To-Be-Read list.

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on Pam Jenoff's tour.