Marg Wood of the Napanee Branch of the County of Lennox & Addington Libraries recently enjoyed the newly released historical fiction novel The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff. “From the author of The Kommandant’s Girl, comes an equally heartwarming and heartbreaking story of love and the quest for survival during WWII,” says Marg.

Fans of WWII era historical fiction are sure to enjoy this poignant tale.

“Sixteen year old Noa is driven from her home and left to fend for herself when her father discovers that she is pregnant with a Nazi soldier's baby. Tragically, the baby is taken from her shortly after it is born. Noa finds a job cleaning a railroad station to earn her keep and it is there that she stumbles upon a railroad car full of babies bound for a concentration camp. Without taking the time to think things through she takes one of the babies and flees with him but soon realizes that the infant is Jewish. This puts them both in grave danger, she for hiding little Theo and he simply because he was born Jewish.”

“Noa finds refuge with the travelling Neuroff Family Circus and becomes a trapeze artist in the aerialist act. She forges a turbulent friendship with Astrid, a Jewish woman who is also “hiding in plain sight” from the Nazi Gestapo. Astrid begrudgingly teaches Noa the tricks of the trade and they set out on tour. Noa meets and falls in love with Luc and they plan to run away together to safety. Astrid also decides to escape and join her long lost brother in America but as they soon discover things don’t always go as planned. These are turbulent times and no one is safe from the perils of war. One of the performers is arrested by the Gestapo, another suffers a fatal heart attack from the stresses of wartime and then a catastrophic accident under the Big Top takes a tragic toll.”

“The Orphan’s Tale is reminiscent of Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen for its frame and has been compared to The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah for its storyline,” says Marg. “Fans of WWII era historical fiction are sure to enjoy this poignant tale.”

Reserve The Orphan’s Tale in a variety of formats by clicking here.