Lilac Girls

Genre: Fiction

This is the story of three women: Caroline Ferriday, a well-to-do French woman living in America during WWII and spending much of her time supporting those in need in France and beyond; Kasia Kuzmerick, a teenaged Polish girl supporting the Polish underground who is arrested and sent to Ravensbruck, a German concentration camp, to serve a sentence for her crime; and Dr. Herta Oberheuter who proudly serves her German country and leader during the war. Based on true events, these three women will be connected for life. Herta performs medical experiments on Kasia and a group of other women, nicknamed “Rabbits”, and after the war, Caroline comes to their rescue. Told alternately from each of these women’s perspectives, this story spans a period of a little before the war and through a few decades past. This is a story of strength and survival even through the darkest of times.

I love a story about surviving hell and coming out on the other side even stronger. I love a story told from different perspectives because I think it enriches the reader’s experience. I love a story about powerful women. So I should have loved this one, but it wasn’t entirely successful. There are two parts that I liked and wanted to learn more about, namely, Herta and Kasia. Their stories were so interesting and compelling. Caroline, to me, wasn’t a successful character and story line, and I think I know why. At the end of the story there is an extensive note from the author about how this book came about to be (I always love learning how authors come up with their ideas for their books). Kelly goes into great detail about which parts of the story are based on true events and which she embellished. While there really was a Caroline Ferriday who helped the “Rabbits” after the war, much of her story line was embellished for this book, and to me it showed through. Interestingly the three women on the cover of this book and the name, Lilac Girls, doesn’t refer to Caroline, Kasia and Herta, but, I think, to Caroline, Kasia and Zuzanna, Kasia's sister, who was a marginal character in this story. She is based on a true person, and her, I would have loved to learn more about and think that had she played a larger role in this story line, it would have been more successful.

Ultimately, I’m glad I finished this book (I started the book two times before I could get into the story) because I love a good ending. The bad people die or are prosecuted, and the good go on to live full, healthy and happy lives. And that’s not just in story land, but in the real world!