The German Girl: A Novel

I enjoyed reading The German Girl but at times found myself experiencing the emotional traumas that the characters were experiencing. Well written. I did find the pace slow but this is a positive as once again it brought me into the story so deeply that I was also experiencing being on the ship living the sad and difficult experiences that the author describe so vividly. I would definitely recommend this book.

Centered on one of the saddest events in known human history, the protagonists, as representatives of true victims, in The German Girl will live with me for a long time. Correa's writing is rich with vivid descritions of the environments his characters live in. My only trouble with the book may have more to do with me than the book: I get frustrated when self-absorbed stories dont' make any progress...where there is not cathartic moment. This story just seemed to go round and round and round one of the main story....which overtime became hopeless and, thus, frustrating for me. But, of course, Correa was making his point. There really is not a happy ending.

I wish I had someone to discuss this book with......Historical fiction makes history come to life for me. The story begins with rich development of the characters and is a bit confusing, jumping between them, the author lets you discover things on your own, which I liked.

I gave this book 3stars as I thought the story started out well. On the book flap it says the book is based on a true story; however, I doubt that. Yes, there was a ship named the St. Louis that traveled from Germany to Cuba filled with European Jews fleeing from the Nazis that was turned back from Cuba without allowing the majority to disembark. To this point the story followed a tragic historical event. However, after this point, the story digresses and did not make sense to me and the characters did seem real ... nor did they, in my opinion, make real choices. In reality, the 22 Jews who were permitted to disembark from the St. Louis at the Cuban harbor, all had valid United States visas. None would have chosen to remain in Cuba. The central character leaves for the United States to give birth to a child while leaving her 12 year old daughter, who had a visa to the U.S. in Cuba. Why? And then she leaves the U.S. to return to Cuba with the baby where she becomes a hermit. It goes on and on with pieces of a puzzle that don't quote jive.

The story is great the author jumped around too much and it was difficult at times to remember the names of some of the characters and their place in the plot such as what was Anna's father's name do not get him mentioned again until the end of the book and by then "who is he" toward the end a little draggy "get to the point"

This is not a book I looked forward to but I'm a book finisher so... I did.

This should be a great story. I really wanted to learn more about the events surrounding the St. Louis - even from a fictionalized perspective. BUT..
The characters weren't realistic for me - both mothers had major mental health issues that the children were really aware of, yet they were so unaware of other things. Calling Nazi's - Ogres seemed childish - while trying to make Hannah seem like she knew so much. Basically I found no one in the entire story to be the least bit likeable or realistic.

There were also a lot of flaws with editing - one paragraph talks about how empty the stores are at one point in Berlin - the next says that Hannah is tired of bumping into women with shopping bags. Which is it? Empty or crowded? Lots of little flaws that made you think "wait - didn't I just read...."

Another reviewer pointed out that Hannah's mother left her in Cuba to give birth in the US -- why didn't she take Hannah? The truth is that anyone exiting the St. Louis in Cuba had to have a visa to go on to Canada or the US so if Hannah's mom had a visa then so would Hannah. They could have both left Cuba for the US and never returned to Cuba. But Hannah's mom returned .........hating Cuba the whole time. Why? If she wanted to live in the US so much why didn't she stay and take Hannah with her?

One star for unrealistic characters and actions that don't add up

I love reading holocaust books because it is interesting to see the good in such a horrible period of history. But when I finished The German Girl, all I thought was that this girl had completely wasted her life as a memory or shrine to those who were left behind.

4.5 Stars

The Rosenthal family lived a life most would have envied before their world was turned upside-down in 1939. Formerly among Berlin’s uppermost of society, their family was no longer welcome, they are seen as the “unclean.” Scorned. Hannah, an eleven-year old girl, was used to a life wrapped in loveliness. Hannah’s only solace is now found with her friend Leo. Together, they must find a future together.

Leaving Germany seemed difficult at first, to leave behind the life they once loved, but it’s no longer that life. The one chance they have is a ship, the Saint Louis. They need to get all their papers signed, all the arrangements made, and then they will, hopefully, be able to join the other families going to Cuba. It is the only place to go. No other country will allow them to come. No one else wants them. Visas in hand the Rosenthals and Leo’s family, the Martins, leave their home, their life, everything, for Havana. The gloom of the last days of their life in Berlin, for them, begins to lift a little as the ship begins the journey.

Hannah and Leo enjoy many days of hope, and their playful nature fills their days. Their coming-of-age story is sweet, and then fraught with the potential for loss. Little by little, news filters in. There will be no admittance to Cuba for most of these 937 passengers.

Hannah’s father spends days with the ship’s Captain in deep conversation, trying to find solutions. Neither the US or Canada will admit them, their only chance is Cuba, there, at least, their papers are in order. Or were, before Cuba decided to add on a new condition impossible to fill after their departure.

Decades have passed, it’s Anna Rosen’s eleventh birthday. She receives an envelope from a great Aunt she’s never met, the woman who raised her father. Anna’s mother has rarely spoken of her father, never of his death. Hannah is intrigued by this news. Finding a relative of this father she never knew, a woman she now knows she was named after. She’s desperate to meet her, to find out more, Hannah will soon be eighty-seven years old; there is no time to waste.

Loosely based on the 1939 journey of the Saint Louis, the fictional lives of some of the 28 allowed to disembark in Cuba, and the lives of the others who left Germany on this ship only to be turned away by Cuba, a disaster averted by those few who were allowed to remain in Cuba, and the disaster of the lives for those who were turned away.

Alternately told through the stories of Hannah and Anna, their journeys and their joys, heartbreaks and happiness. There’s plenty of tragedy in Hannah’s half of the story alone, but add the tragedy of Anna’s father’s death into the mixture, and it sounds as though it would be an overwrought, depressing story. It isn’t. It’s often dismal, but there is also joy that finds its way through.

An unforgettable debut novel.

Pub Date: 18 Oct 2016

Many thanks to Atria Books, NetGalley and to the author Armando Lucas Correa for this lovely debut novel

There have been many recent novels based on true stories of civilians caught up in the terrors of Berlin during WWII. I especially recommend David Gillham’s gripping “City of Women,” but “German Girl” falls way short. The problems are the overly complex structure and weak storytelling. Correa spends the first third of the novel on young Hanna running around pre-war Berlin with her friend Leo, then running around the ship. An alternating story features Anna, Hannah’s grand-niece in 2014 New York bemoaning never having known her late father. Even if these are based on real people, they come across as annoying characters. Intersecting timelines throughout the book cause confusion for the reader in identifying family members of different generations. The central story should be riveting: 900 Jewish-Germans board the ocean liner St. Louis seeking refuge in Havana. As the ship nears Cuba, the Cuban President issues an edict blocking the passengers from disembarkment. But Hannah and her mother are among the few who are allowed ashore, so there is little drama. Unlike contemporary stories of refugees stranded at sea, an author’s note tells us that, after being refused by the United States and Canada, the ship was received by England, Belgium, and Holland. In the later sections of the novel, the 911 destruction of the Twin Towers feels like a red herring, existing only to explain the death of Anna’s father, who is a non-character anyway. The last third of the book, set in Havana, has more human drama, but wears thin when it focuses on Hannah’s mother Alma ruing her life in Cuba. A good premise, poorly done.

Told in alternating chapters, this story was different than other stories I have read about this time period. Anna was searching for answers about her father, the person who walked out of her life when her mother was three months pregnant with her. Anna held onto a photo of him, hoping that some day she would be able to put the pieces together on why he left and never came back. When a package arrives in the mail with photos, negatives and a magazine cover, Anna hopes that her questions will soon be answered. Anna must travel back in time to find the answers she has been searching for and in doing so; she opens up a world that I did not know existed. She shows me the desperation that individuals found themselves in and the frustration that they coped with daily to find a better life for their families and themselves. I knew nothing about the ship St. Louis or how individuals worked frantically to get to Cuba, giving up almost everything they had just to get into their protective borders.

We don’t spend much time in 2014 with Anna as she tries to piece her life together, Anna wants to know her past and that is where we spend our time as we travel back to 1939 to Berlin where the war is occurring and people are desperate to get out of the city. We learn about Hannah, who is the aunt that raised Anna’s father and who Anna is named after. The story has an excellent flow even though the story is told in alternating chapters (not a favorite means of mine). Anna ponders events and issues about the history of her family and reflecting back in history, the story takes shape. It really worked in this novel as the historical chapters follow Anna’s present day chapter, addressing the topics that Anna reflected and answering them or giving the story in a chronically timeline. I have never learned or heard about the citizens of Berlin escaping to Cuba aboard a ship named the St. Louis before reading this novel. Nothing would surprise me about this time period and I am glad to read that there were other means of escape for individuals during this time. As I read, I could feel their urgency and their anxiety as they waited to see if they were going to be one of the few chosen to leave aboard the ship. There was not enough room for everyone who wanted to go and it costs a great deal of money to go. I thought this alone was sad for many people could not even be considered for the trip. What if not everyone in your household was chosen? What would you take? Who would you leave behind? Those that were finally chosen, how do you say good-bye to those who have to stay? When they finally got onboard the ship, I know they had to have mixed feeling about their trip. They finally got their freedom and when they saw land ....it was within their sights, Cuba is now having second thoughts about having these Berlin citizens amongst them. I felt deflated as I read this. Now what? I sat shaking head, taking a minute to comprehend what these people have gone through and what their options were now. I really enjoyed this novel. I saw a part of WWll that I hadn’t seen before, I saw people at their best and at their weakest and I think this book made me a better person.

I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and Atria Books in exchange for an honest review.

It’s 1939 in Berlin where we meet Hannah Rosenthal and her family. The climate of their city has started to change due to the invasion of the Nazi party. Because they are of the Jewish faith, the family is no longer accepted and face humiliation daily. Friends disappear in the night, it is not safe to be outside, jobs are taken away, people arrested for no reason.

The family does not have many available options to escape. The Rosenthal’s, along with another family, obtain all the documents needed to travel on the transatlantic liner, the Saint Louis, to Cuba. They enjoy their time on the ship and are relieved to be leaving Nazi Germany. Unfortunately, the ship is refused entry into Cuba. Ultimately, this ship only allowed 29 passengers to disembark in Cuba, and was sent back to Europe.

It’s 2011 in New York City where we meet Anna who lives alone with her mother. On her twelfth birthday, Anna receives an envelope from a great aunt that she has never met. This person raised her father but is unknown by her mother. Anna is intrigued by the photos and pictures sent by her great aunt. The family travels to Cuba to learn about her father. It is in Cuba where they unravel the mysteries of their family and their connections back to Berlin.

Through the author’s writing, I could feel the remorse, regret and love that each family member endured. I felt a surge of emotion when the two stories converged.

I appreciate these lessons in history. The author did a great of weaving together an emotional story. This is a debut novel by this author.

I received a free advance e-copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ‘The German Girl’ is a historical novel, a fictionalized version of events that really happened. So much pain, sadness, and tragedy for one family to endure. This book follows the Rosenthals, a wealthy and prominent Jewish family, through the decades beginning with the control of Berlin by the Nazi regime through New York 2014. After paying a steep price they thought they were boarding the SS St. Louis on the road to freedom in Cuba but everything falls apart and only a few passengers are allowed to enter Cuba. The remaining passengers are sent on their way to seek entry into another country on their journey back to Europe. The Rosenthal family was split up as were many other families. This is a very well-written book. The events of the story are revealed to us through the eyes of 11-year-old Hannah beginning in 1939 Berlin and also through the eyes of her niece, 11-year-old Anna, living in 2014 New York. The author does an excellent job of weaving the two accounts together and developing the characters. This is a fascinating read about little known events from history, a unique and heartbreaking story. I found this novel to be very interesting and well worth the read. An excellent piece of historical fiction based on events that really happened.

Meet Hannah Rosenthal. Hannah is an 11-year-old blonde-haired, blue-eyed German who lives in Berlin with her parents. Her father is a professor, her mother a pillar of affluent Berliner society. It is 1939, and Hannah is Jewish.

Meet Anna Rosen. Anna is a 12-year-old blonde-haired, blue-eyed New Yorker who lives with her mother in Morningside Heights. It is 2014, and Anna never met her father. He died (on a sunny Tuesday in September) before Anna’s mother could even tell him she was pregnant.

THE GERMAN GIRL is the story of Hannah and Anna. The first, forced to leave behind her luxurious life as part of the elite in Berlin to flee Nazi Germany on the ill-fated passenger liner, the SS St. Louis; the second, a lonely almost-teen who must care for her distraught, grieving mother and is desperately looking for a connection to her father. That connection is found in Hannah, an 87-year-old great-aunt who is unknown to Anna until she receives a package from Cuba in the mail for her 12th birthday. The package turns out to be what Anna’s mother needs to pull her from the perpetual twilight she’s lived in for years. The opportunity to be close to family, to learn more about the man they lost when the Twin Towers fell, is too much to resist. The Rosen women book a trip to Cuba to meet Hannah.

In 1939, the St. Louis set sail for Cuba with over 900 people seeking refuge from the Reich on board. Hannah and her parents are among them, as are Hannah’s best friend, Leo --- who is also her betrothed --- and his father, Herr Martin. They are only planning to stay in Cuba for a short time and then immigrate permanently to the US, where there is an apartment in Morningside Heights already purchased and waiting for them. For the most part, life aboard the St. Louis is much like it was in Berlin; the Rosenthals are once again at the top of the social hierarchy, and Hannah gets to venture around the ship freely with Leo. Her mother seems free of the depression that gripped her as their freedom was taken from them in Berlin. But her father and Herr Martin soon begin to take frequent meetings with the ship’s captain, and Hannah senses that the difficulty they thought they’d left in Europe may have followed them across the sea.

When the ship arrives in Cuba, the passengers are informed that the immigration papers they paid so much for in Berlin have since been voided, and the Cuban government wants an exorbitant amount of money to let anyone into the country. The day the ship is being forced to leave Cuban waters, Hannah and her mother are amongst the small group of people to be granted entry. Her father, Leo and Herr Martin are not allowed to accompany them, and as the transport boat carries Hannah and her mother to Cuba, the St. Louis reverses its course, rudderless.

The narrative follows Hannah’s life from 1938 Berlin to 2014 Havana, detailing the life of a Jewish refugee with the turbulent political climate of the island nation. Her story is heartbreaking --- from the trespasses suffered in Berlin, to leaving behind her father and Leo, to new hardships faced in Cuba in the 1960s, to her somewhat lonely later years. Anna’s story is intertwined with Hannah’s; the perspectives switch back and forth, even when they’re together in Cuba.

Both narratives speak beautifully of the tragedy, devotion and hope that accompany losing all that one has and growing up underneath the weight of the world. Armando Lucas Correa tells the fate of the St. Louis’s passengers with care and respect, trying his best to do justice to those caught in the dishonesty and turmoil that was the world’s landscape at the outset of World War II. I found the writing in Part One to be quite stiff and a little slow, but as the Rosenthals’ journey across the Atlantic begins, THE GERMAN GIRL blossoms into a triumphant yet heartbreaking story.

Reviewed by Sarah Jackman

The historical fiction genre is defined as a novel in which the story is made up, but is based on a true event. And in The German Girl, Armando Lucas Correa has written a doozy. In 1939 Nazi Germany, Captain Gustav Schroder (the actual captain) of the S.S. St. Louis ocean liner departed Hamburg, Germany with 937 refugees (mostly Jewish) seeking asylum from Nazi discrimination. Their destination was Havana, Cuba. These people gave up their wealth, houses, art work and cars in order to escape sure death if they stayed in Germany. Even though these people gave up everything and paid handsomely for their Cuban visas (where they were to wait in Cuba a few months to two years until the USA approved their visas)...Cuba changed it’s mind when the ship arrived in the port of Havana. America and Canada also denied the ship entrance. What were they to do? This plus the dangerous time spent in Germany are the beginnings of the story. The ensuing chapters switched back and forth to what happened in Cuba and in modern day NYC among the relatives of the Rosenthal family. While Mr. Correa’s prose and plot were outstanding, there was a flaw in his story that somewhat troubled me. The author failed to create tension in his story, mostly when the Rosenthals were still in Germany. It seemed like our protagonist, twelve year old Hannah Rosenthal, and her best friend, Leo Martin, were always romping around Berlin in a somewhat, “Ha ha, catch me if you can” attitude, even after Kristallnacht (the night of the broken glass). I don’t know if any other reviewer noticed this shortcoming. Anyway, I still enjoyed this novel, although this foible almost cost it a five-star rating.

Inside 1939 Germany bad things were happening to the Jewish population. The Rosenthals owned the apartment building they lived in, yet they were basically hiding in their own apartment. Max was a premier college professor until he was fired for being a Jew. His spouse, Alma, was one of the most envied wives in all of Germany until Jews were declared impure. Their tenants wanted them to leave the building. Their daughter, Hannah, and her friend, Leo, scurried all over Berlin listening for news and avoiding the ogres (Hannah’s name for the Aryan populace). Max and Leo’s dad were conspiring to find a way out of Germany before the s**t hit the fan. Hannah had the looks of a pure Aryan and on one of her romps in Berlin with Leo is spotted by a photographer for Das Deutsche Madel (The German Girl) magazine. Her picture is taken before she can run away. Her parents (as Hannah is) are distraught when they see their daughter’s face on the cover of the Nazi propaganda magazine for German girls. Hannah and Leo overhear the latest news on an ogre’s radio, “We were going to have to list all our possessions. Many of us would have to change our names and sell our properties, our houses, and our businesses at prices they dictated. We were monsters. We stole other people’s money. We made slaves of those who had less than us. We were destroying the country’s heritage. We had bled Germany dry. We stank. We believed in different gods. We were crows. We were impure.” The Rosenthals and the Martins had to find a way out of Germany. Don’t get fidgety, I’m only on page 31.

Meanwhile, the novel switches to NYC 2014 where we meet twelve year old Anna and her mom. Her dad, Louis, went to work on 9/11/2001 and never returned. “The day Dad disappeared, Mom was pregnant with me. By just three months. She had the opportunity to get rid of the baby but didn’t take it. She never lost hope that Dad would return, even after receiving the death certificate.” All Anna has of her dads is a picture of him that she keeps in her bedroom. One day a package arrives from Canada via Cuba. Mom tells Anna, “It’s from your father’s family.” Anna knew that her dad’s parents died in a plane crash but was unaware of any surviving relatives.The envelope is filled with negatives, a postcard of a ship and a magazine with a smiling German girl in profile on the cover. Anna says, “It’s time to find out who Dad is.” Mom says to Anna, “I think it’s time you knew something. On your father’s side, you’re German as well." Anna goes to her bedroom, “In front of the mirror, I try to discover the German traits I must have inherited from a father who up till now I thought was Cuban. What do I see in the mirror? A German girl. Aren’t I a Rosen?” Anna is excited to go to Cuba and meet the woman from Germany who provided for her dad. They develop the pictures but don’t know who the people in the pictures are. Anna and her mom fly to Cuba to meet Great Aunt Hannah.

From hereon in, the novel switches back and forth to 1939 Germany...NYC 2014...the escape from Germany on the ship... the early years for the Rosenthal family in Cuba...to present day Cuba. Normally I don’t like novels that keep switching from present to past, however the author did such a great job with it that I didn’t even notice my past distaste for that writing style. In order for people not to forget, Holocaust books must remain innovative as this novel was. Was this Holocaust novel written without the usual apprehension on purpose or was I right that the author failed to provide any angst? Either way, I highly recommend this historical novel.

I was fortunate enough to receive an Advanced Copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! Like I have said in previous blog posts, I read a ton of WWII Historical Fiction. This story was a different take on this tragic time in our history which made me enjoy it even more. The main character of this book is Hannah Rosenthal who is eleven years old in 1939 living in Berlin. Her family, especially her mother Alma is well known in Berlin’s social circles and her father Max is an esteemed professor. All of this doesn’t matter however because although Hannah is just as blonde haired and blue eyed as most Germans, The Rosenthal’s are considered “Impure” to their neighbors, friends and German soldiers. Hannah’s mother “Felt she was paying for the offenses of others: her parents, grandparents-every one of her ancestors throughout the centuries.” One of the things that stuck with me the most reading this was that although the Rosenthal’s owned the entire apartment building they lived in, ALL of their tenants were waiting for them to move out! The building had been in Hannah’s mother’s family since before she was even born, yet her neighbors felt like they were above their landlords simply because of their heritage. That is crazy! So Hannah and her family avoided run-ins with their neighbors in the elevator or the stairwells because of the terrible things that were said to them and the dirty looks they received. Hannah’s mother Alma receded into herself and slipped into a deep depression as her papa Max disappeared more often to plan their escape and resistance. Luckily, Hannah had her best friend Leo to spend time with and the two of them had a bond that couldn’t be broken. As time went on, Berlin was getting more and more dangerous and after Max is arrested they realize it is time to get out. Alma pulls herself out of her depression and secures tickets for the three of them aboard the over 900 passenger vessel called The St. Louis. This large luxury cruise liner was to take them to Cuba where they would await their entrance to New York. Hannah was heartbroken to leave Leo behind, but was overjoyed when she realized that he would be joining her and her family after all. While aboard the ship, Hannah and Leo explore and live life joyously like they hadn’t been able to for so long in Berlin. Of course circumstances begin to deteriorate as The St. Louis begins receiving messages from Cuba that the passengers are no longer welcome in the Country. Leo tells Hannah that she needs to find cyanide capsules brought on board by her parents in the very event that they are not allowed to disembark the ship. Hannah’s parents believe they are doing the right thing, but Leo does not want Hannah to die and so he instructs her to find the capsules and bring them to him. Without going into any further details, I will say that this book is a rollercoaster of emotions. The story moves back and forth between the past with Hannah and present day with her Great Niece Anna whose father Hannah helped raise. Anna’s father was tragically killed on 9/11 before Anna was born and she is desperate to know the family she never knew existed until now. This story is a tale of sadness and of lost life and love. Although I found myself wanting to weep many times throughout, I take away that this story is all about closure. Closure was something sought by these characters in a way I haven’t read about before. Hannah was able to hold on to a promise she made to someone very important to her and I found that so inspiring and beautiful. Anna was seeking closure in her own way which leads her on unexpected journeys and down paths she never expected. I recommend this book to readers who not only enjoy stories about WWII but to readers who enjoy stories with tragic and beautiful characters. I was able to picture them all and could see their actions as ones I believed they would actually take. Sadly, these events actually took place in real life. The story is widely unknown and the tragic denial of entry to Cuba for most of the passengers resulted in many of their deaths. This is the first novel written by Armando Lucas Correa. It is a beautiful story and his dedication at the end “To the 907 passengers on the St. Louis who were denied entry into Cuba, the United States, and Canada, to whom we shall forever be in debt” is a tragic reminder of how our past transgressions against the refugees during the Holocaust should never be forgotten.

Please purchase this book. I know you will enjoy it.

If you love historical fiction set during World War II,then The German Girl by Armando Lucas is a must-read. Lucas is able to transport the reader into another place and time through skilled prose and historical accuracy. The book portrays the lives of two young girls, Hannah and Anna, both of whom suffer tragic losses at a young age, one in Nazi Germany, and one in New York on 9-11. Their stories are told bit by bit from first person point of views in alternating chapters. In 1939, Hannah Rosenthal’s world is turned upside down when the Nazis seize everything her family owns in Berlin. Her formerly wealthy and influential family have lost everything, and are desperately trying to escape to another country while there is still time. They end up on The St. Louis, a ship bound for Cuba, along with her best friend Leo and his father.
Anna has never known her father who tragically died in New York on 9-11 before she was born. There are so many missing pieces about her father that Anna has to create her own image of him in her mind. She “talks” to keepsakes she has of him on her bed stand. When a surprise delivery comes to their New York apartment, Anna and her mother decide to pay a visit to the sender – her father’s great aunt Hannah. Will visiting her father's only living relative finally bring a clear picture of who Anna's father was? Only by learning the truth of her family's past can she finally get closure.

I was very interested in this book as it was connected to the Nazi occupied Berlin. Had a hard time figuring out what was going on with Hanna Rosenthal because it wasn't very clear that she was a Jew for quite a while. She was the point of view of Nazi occupied Berlin. Then you have Anna Rosen's point of view who lived in New York and is about 2014. It switches back and forth. I don't want to give much away but there were parts that were kinda story inside of a story as Hanna and Anna would never really know what happened but it was in the story as a "sub story". The emotions never really came through and were very flat. There was enough bad things happening to both Hanna and Anna but no one really stepped up to take control of their own lives and everyone lived in the past. I felt very let down with this book. It is based on a true story which were things that I didn't know happened with Cuba but the author didn't seem to know how to write it to engage the reader.

Received this book from Netgalley for my honest review.

This debut novel by Armando Lucas Correa is a wonderfully written historical fiction book about a little known event in the late 1930s. The Nazi’s already controlled Berlin and had begun their ethnic cleansing. This book tells the story of what happened to one wealthy, aristocratic Jewish family at the time and throughout several decades following the event. The story is told in two alternating narrations that flow seamlessly together.

The first is Hannah Rosenthal who is living in Berlin in 1939. She is happy and loves spending time with her friend Leo. She is documenting the changes in the city using her trusty camera as she and Leo sneak around. Hannah, who has blue eyes and blonde hair, is able to travel around much easier than Leo as she looks pure. When the Rosenthals are finally stripped of the apartment house that they own and Max is arrested, they realize it is time to leave and find a safe place to live. Because of their wealth, they are able to secure passage on the St. Louis, a luxury liner, that will take them to Cuba where they have been promised a new life after buying papers from the government that they are told will grant them asylum in Havana. The plan is to move to the United States after that. The Rosenthals, Martins (Leo and his father) and many other families are looking forward to a new life. When they finally arrive in the port of Havana they are told that their papers are no longer valid. Only 28 of the 937 passengers are allowed to stay in Havana, Hannah and her mother Alma are two of them. Her father and Leo and his father are turned away.

The second narrator is Anna Rosen, a young girl whose father was killed in the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers while her mother was pregnant with her. Anna’s mother has been extremely depressed and Anna is pretty much caring for herself and her mother when a letter appears one day from an aunt of her father, still living in Cuba. The letter also contains unprocessed photo film that appears to be from her father's grandparents. Anna shows her mother and this seems to rouse her. They begin to investigate and head off to Cuba to meet this mysterious and unknown to them relative.

I really enjoyed this story. I listened to part of it on audiobook and read the rest. The writing was beautiful. It was easy to read and listen to and drew you into the story. It flowed smoothly and there was no problem following who was telling the story. The even was one that I had not heard of before and it was very sad to find out about as well as to learn the part Canada and the United States played in this horrible event. The voices of Hannah and Leo, were particularly well written. This friendship and their stories were a part I looked forward to reading about. The other characters from both the present and past are well described and touched me in many ways. The despair of Alma was palpable and Hannah's sorrow was so real. Make sure you read the author's note as it gives some more facts about this terrible event. I'm hoping books such as this one can help us remember the injustices done in our world history so we do not repeat them. This is a must read for anyone interested in the history surrounding this WWII time-frame as well as anyone who loves historical fiction.

Poignant, realistic, and incredibly impactful!

This novel reminds us of the persecution and maltreatment of the Jewish people during the war and the enduring effects experienced by both the survivors and their progeny.

It is a deeply moving story, told from two differing perspectives, about familial relationships, friendship, loss, injustice, guilt, grief, survival, solace, and love.

The prose is clear and fluid. The settings are vividly described. And the characters are strong, resilient, empathetic, and multi-layered.

This truly is a heartbreaking, powerful story that you won't soon forget.

Eleven year old Hannah Rosenthal lives a perfectly wonderful life until the Nazis reign. Then her parents lose their possessions, forced to move to an undesirable part of town. They have been shunned by friends and neighbors. Finally, Hannah's father realizes that they must escape Germany before it is too late. They board the cruise ship St. Louis to go to Cuba. However Cuba reneges and allows only a few to enter Cuba. Included in this is Hannah and her pregnant mother but are forced to leave her father on the ship. One day Anna Rosen receives a package from her Aunt Hanna Rosenthal in Cuba. Anna and her mother have lost Anna's father to 9/11. They still are missing him. Anna wants to know about her father as does her mother so they go to Cuba to learn more.

Thee author has the two main characters in alternating chapters.. The two "girls" are separated by decades. It is a powerful, emotional story. It is a coming-of-age story as well a story of bravery and surviving in difficult times. At times, as I read this novel, my heart would be caught hoping that it would turn out well. Read the story yourself to find out.

Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

This was a story of a twelve-year-old girl’s harrowing experience fleeing Nazi-occupied Germany with her family and best friend, only to discover that the overseas asylum they had been promised is an illusion. In 1939 before everything changed, Hannah Rosenthal lived a charmed life. As Hannah and her friend, Leo’s families desperately begin to search for a means of escape. The Rosenthals and the Martins depart from Hamburg on the luxurious passenger liner bound for Havana. Then governments of Cuba, the United States, and Canada are denying the passengers of the St. Louis admittance to their countries, forcing them to return to Europe as it descends into the Second World War. The ship that had seemed their salvation seems likely to become their death sentence. After four days anchored at bay, only a handful of passengers are allowed to disembark onto Cuban soil, and Hannah and Leo must face the grim reality that they could be torn apart. Their future is unknown, and their only choice will have an impact in generations to come.

Decades later in New York City on her eleventh birthday, Anna Rosen receives a mysterious envelope from Hannah, a great-aunt she has never met but who raised her deceased father. In an attempt to piece together her father’s mysterious past, Anna and her mother travel to Havana to meet Hannah, who is turning eighty-seven years old. Hannah reveals old family ties, recounts her journey aboard the Saint Louis and, for the first time, reveals what happened to her father and Leo. Bringing together the pain of the past with the mysteries of the present, Hannah gives young Anna a sense of their shared histories, forever intertwining their lives, honoring those they loved and cruelly lost.
This was a long, slow book. I really did want to like it since I am drawn to books about the war. Certainly I learned something about the war that I had no inkling about. Never before had I heard of Jews leaving Germany via ship to arrive in Cuba or Khuba as it was called in the book. Hannah and her family were quite wealthy and that provided them opportunities that most did not have during that time in history. But the book was so dismal as it centered around Hannah and her family and how they dealt or in most cases did not deal with the loss in their family and country. The taking to bed and refusal to move on began to get old after a while. I wanted to shake some of the characters and say, for goodness sakes, life is tough. You are alive. Maybe you aren’t still living in Germany but you have no money issues and you have opportunities. You have a home and you have choices.
True, Cuba has had its share of turmoil over the 75 years which was given good coverage by the book. But I will have to give lots of thought to Hannah’s reasons for not leaving there which were laid out in the book. Still they underlying reasons were not all that clear to me.
The author did a good job of developing the character, even the peripheral characters. But I admit that I neither loved or hated any of them--even Gustavo, who was somewhat disreputable. And if she cared for Julian and he for her, why did she not leave for New York. It was as if she Cuba was a prison cell that she could not break out of.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

(Audio CD version) I wanted to give this book 4 or 5 stars (well, not 5 stars, as that is reserved for great books like Pride and Prejudice or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn). The genre is my favorite, and the *idea* of the story is exciting but the execution falls flat and there were drawn-out stretches or too much repetitive boring narrative. How many times can we all repeat "eyelashes that arrived first" or "seventy-five years" or "Anna with a J"? The book is in need of much, much editing.

I listened to the audio book and the audio reader is very good.

There were too many open-ended questions, like why the heck really did they not just pack up and move to NYC like Alma did to have her baby? Nothing the author offered remotely convinced me they felt they had to stay in Cuba.

Why so much attention to Jehovah's Witnesses? Interesting, but not so much it deserved to be mentioned both in the Cuba story and the Germany story. I kept thinking the author or his family may be JW. It did make me research the topic.

I will recommend this for the historical value, and for peaking my curiosity about related topics, but not the writing or character development.

Writing this novel must have taken study, thought and soul. The historical correctness and vivid descriptions of the characters involved is crisp, shocking and compassionate. The atrocities committed during World War II must be written and constantly in our memories and “The German Girl” serves that purpose well.
This book sheds light from an angle I was familiar with, but studied in detail as I read each chapter. The plight of the passengers of the St. Louis and the fate of each group that was split between Cuba, Great Britain, Belgium, Netherlands and France is additional sadness and shame that must never be forgotten.
Hannah and her pregnant mother are able to disembark in Cuba, strictly a temporary stay per Mrs. Rosenthal, now Rosen (“Hannah, forget your name!”). Cuba was a hotbed of dirty politics and revolt. As time progressed, the effects of the Holocaust continued to have a devastating ripple effect on the family.
The Rosens bore witness as Cuba forced “dissidents” out of their homes and country with nothing, then gave these homes to those loyal to the current regime. Imagine being ostracized and escaping certain death by chance to land in a new country that is treating others the very same way.
I salute and honor the memory of the families that endured the Holocaust and continue to be affected to this day. This book pays tribute to a few and helps us respect and never forget the others.
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for making it available.)

Just about every author penning a book today seems to have adopted the idea of swinging back and forth in time from the past to the present to show us how "young Mary" lived 70 years ago and how "young Mary" has now evolved in the present time to an elderly dowager with one foot in the grave. Accordingly, Mr. Correa treats us to Hannah's life as a 12 year old in Berlin on the cusp of World War II and then to Hannah's later years in Cuba. There were down periods with Hannah and her mother not being able to appreciate leaving the world of Nazi power behind and accepting their future in Cuba in 1939. I did enjoy reading the ups and downs of Hannah in Berlin and Cuba and her great-niece Anna in New York and then again in Cuba. There was darkness and light in this book, which made for an entertaining and thoughtful read.

I just finished reading “The German Girl” by Armando Lucas Correa. It is a fictional account of the actual voyage of the ocean liner St. Louis, prior to WWll, carrying Jewish refugees from Germany who hoped to begin new lives in Cuba.

The story is told by two young girls, generations apart, about the families who were refused by, first Cuba, then the United States, then Canada.

The author’s ability to speak with the words of young girls, unable to understand either their world or their place in it, is uncanny and haunting.

I didn’t want to start this book, but could not wait to get back to it, each time I was pulled away.

If you’ve read it, I would appreciate hearing from you. If you haven’t, put it in your pile of “someday” books.

A friend recommended this book to me, and I'm very glad he did. It deals with an episode in history with which I should have been familiar but was not -- specifically, the refugees who sought to escape from Nazi Germany aboard the St. Louis, only to arrive at their destination (Havana) and be turned away. The story is heartbreaking even though one of the "heroines" and her mother manage to get off the ship in Havana, where they remain for the rest of their lives. The plot is advanced by means of an interesting device -- the refugee's grandniece, who lives in New York in 2014 and whose father died in the 9/11 attack, receives a letter from the refugee and eventually makes a pilgrimage to Havana, where their two stories connect.

The book is eminently readable and quite moving. In my case, it was made even more interesting by virtue of the fact that I recently traveled to Cuba myself and was therefore familiar with some of the history and landmarks described in the book. The plot is slightly marred by some adolescent infatuations of both of the heroines, but it never comes close to being maudlin in that regard, and the history that it tells is truly gripping, from the Nazi era to the Cuban revolution and beyond.

As a fan of WW2 historical fiction, I was eager to listen to this audiobook, particularly because it had received so many rave reviews by others. While it was informative and I did learn a lot about an event at the beginning of the war that I had never heard of before, I just could not empathize with any of the main characters. Another thing that bothered me throughout the book (remember, I was listening to the audio version) was that the narrator, while being very good, used what sounded like the same voice for both Anna and Hannah. This made it difficult to discern at times which character's storyline I was listening to. Lastly, whenever I'm listening to an audiobook I get a lot of enjoyment out of hearing the narrator speak with the accent the character might truly speak with (a great example is the audiobook, "Lilac Girls", which featured narrators who spoke with American, Polish, and German accents, respective to their characters). I was really disappointed to hear the narrator of "The German Girl" speaking with an American accent for both the German and the American characters. It left me feeling kind of flat right from the start of the book. Perhaps that's why I couldn't get into it....?

When eleven-year-old Hannah Rosenthal winds up on the cover of the "German Girl," a Nazi propaganda magazine for pre-teen girls, it's almost a sick joke. Because if her childhood in Berlin living amongst the "Ogres" has taught her anything it's that she's not German-- not pure, not wanted, barely tolerated. Her blonde hair and blue eyes can do nothing to change that. By 1939, her family is more or less holed up in their apartment building, the one that's been in her mother's family for decades but that the Ogres now want for themselves. The Rosenthal family's tenants used to respect them, but now they ask "Why won't they just leave?" (the building they own! the country of their birth!) "Why are they still here? Don't they know how uncomfortable this situation is making us?"

And Hannah's family does leave, because as Jews they don't really have any other options. The Ogres arrest Hannah's father, only allowing the family to leave the country if they turn over all their assets. But it's worth it for the chance to escape to Cuba, where they will go on to America. Along with 900 other Jewish passengers, including Hannah's best friend, Leo Martin, the Rosenthals set sail on the MS St. Louis bound for Havana. In one final insult, all the passengers are forced to buy return tickets, even though everyone knows this is a one way trip.

For two weeks, they're human beings again. Their captain, a German but not an Ogre, makes sure that his passengers were treated with respect. There is fine dining, dancing, and swimming. It's almost a dream vacation.

It ends in a nightmare. Unknown to the passengers aboard, the Cuban government had retroactively invalidated almost everyone's visas. Hannah and her pregnant mother are allowed to disembark, but her father and Leo are still on ship as it is forced to sail away from salvation.

But Cuba doesn't turn out to be a salvation for Hannah, not really. Even though she lives to become an old woman, her life pretty much ended in 1939.

The German Girl is told from two perspectives: Hannah and Anna, her only living relative. Hannah's story follows the events of 1939, from life in Berlin, where her only refuge is in her friend Leo, to the sailing of the St. Louis, to life in Cuba afterwards. Anna is her grand-niece. She comes to Cuba to meet with Hannah and learn about her father's past. Anna's father died before she was born on 9/11.

The historical subject matter of this book is pretty fascinating, but I wasn't always riveted by the The German Girl. The writing is beautiful, but I don't read a book like this for the glamour. This book was slow for me to get through. I will say the ending was masterful. I don't know that I would have given this book 4 stars otherwise. Overall, this is a book that grows on you and gets better as it goes on.

I don't feel like we get to know too much about Anna. Hannah definitely dominates this book, but even then we get a lot of "I wish I had said" and "what I wanted to do was" and not a lot of genuine action. Hannah is definitely stuck in her own head a lot.

I loved the story of Hannah and Leo. I enjoyed the parallels between Nazi German and Communist Cuba. When the passengers boarded the St. Louis, crowds jeered and spit on them. Newspapers covered the event with the words: "Good Riddance!" The same exact thing happened to Cubans fleeing the island to America. The Nazis took Hannah's mother's apartment building; the Cuban state took her pharmacy. Their Cuban maid's nephew became an "enemy of the state" as a Jehovah's Witness and sent to a work camp, with a huge sign at the entrance that read: "Work will make men of you."

Sounds familiar, no?

I recommend this book to fans of historical fiction, lovers of beautiful writing, and ww2 buffs. I also recommend learning about the real St. Louis and especially its hero captain Gustav Schroder.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me a free copy of this book.

The German Girl is the story of a ship full of people that no one wanted. Not only were they unwanted, but they were in danger. The story is based on the true voyage of the SS St Louis, led by Captain Gustav Schroder, which departed Hamburg for Cuba on May 13, 1939.

Hannah Rosenthal, age 11, tells readers what her life was like prior to the departure, describing the treatment of her family in Berlin, her father’s arrest and the loss of his job, and the events leading up to their time of departure.

The story then jumps ahead to the present and another narrator, Anna, also age 11, describes her life in New York without a father. Anna has many unanswered questions about her father and does not know any of his family. One day a parcel arrives in the mail, full of old documents and photographs.

Anna and her mother travel to Cuba to meet the person who sent the parcel, Hannah Rosenthal, the aunt of Anna’s father and the one who raised him. As the two meet, the story moves back and forth through time, filling in the blanks of the events that so profoundly affected their lives.

The German Girl covers a part of the Holocaust that is largely unknown to many. It also touches on Cuba’s political upheaval, though not in great detail.

This was another one of those historical fiction novels that led me to the internet to find out more. The pictures from the SS St. Louis proved that the author accurately captured the moods of the passengers as they risked all to travel to safety. Unfortunately for some, it was not to be.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for allowing me an advanced read copy in exchange for an honest review.

In 1939 the S.S. St. Louis departed Germany and Cherbourg for Havana, Cuba, with over 900 passengers, most of them Jews. The passengers had been permitted to leave Nazi Germany and were promised entry into Cuba. As the ship sailed, the Cubans reengaged on its promise. Only about 25 Jews were permitted to depart in Havana; the ship set sail for the United States and Canada, where the passengers were also denied entry. They returned to Europe, where England accepted about 225; the rest retuned to countries which were later taken over by the Nazis. This little told tale of this voyage and its aftermath is told in this book, a novel. It takes place in 1939, when Hannah, a young girl sails with her family to Cuba. She and her mother were permitted to land and this book is their story. The story is also told on another level in 2014, when Hannah's niece, Anna, leaves New York to go to Cuba to meet her aunt. This mesmerizing story is well-researched and there is more information and references at the end of the book. I like reading books like this that are both educational and interesting.

The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa is a fictional story based on the history of Nazi Germany, the ocean liner St. Louis, the Cuban Revolution and New York City post 911. Young Hannah and her family, feeling the effects of antisemitism in Hamburg in 1939, make plans to start fresh on the island of Cuba. Along with her friend, Leo, and his dad, they embark on the ocean liner, the St. Louis, with high hopes for a new beginning.

Young Anna and her mother live in New York City post 911, and they have received a package with old photographs from a relative in Cuba. Living with imagined memories of her Cuban father she never knew, the young girl is anxious to know who the people are in the photos. Anna’s mother agrees to take her to Cuba to see where her father grew up and to learn more about the family history of her husband who is gone.

The two stories are beautifully woven together with first loves, hopes, disappointments and tragedies as we learn how the two girls are connected. This heart wrenching and tragic historical fiction debut novel was well written and the author included a special treat at the back of the book; all the signatures of the passengers on the St. Louis.

I thought it was wonderful. A debut novel by Armando Lucas Correa, about a 12 yo German/Jewish girl, and her family, that is forced to flea Berlin, prior to WWII. They board a ship that transports them to Cuba, but not all the passengers are allowed into the country. So goes the story of Hannah Rosenthal and her family, waiting to travel onto a waiting apartment in NYC, as they wait in a city, so foreign to them, her mother despising everything about it.
The story alternates between 1930s and Hannah and 2014, following Anna a 12yo descendent of Hannah, living in NYC. A moving story, of a real life event and immigrants traveling on the ocean liner, St Louis, from Hamburg to Havana.
This story was very different than other novels depicting the tragedies of WWII. I had never known about immigrants that fled to Cuba, so a very different spin on a very tragic era!

A well-conceived novel that tells two parallel tales of loss: one in 1939 and one in 2001. While the loss differs in scope historically, on a personal level they feel similar to the two girls. And both struggle with mothers unable to cope with history's wave that threatens to drown them along with everything they hold dear. The author connects these girls through blood ties and eventually they meet before the now quite older one dies. There are problems with this book for adult readers that are nicely solved if it is considered a young adult book. Too much of the book is written from the perspective of 12 year old girls without counterbalancing information that would inform adult readers of actual facts. Referring to Nazis as "Ogres" throughout an entire book works for a YA book; for an adult book it becomes foolishness. Apparently there are many adults unaware of the St. Louis and its horrible plight; so, too, there must be children unaware. The book is timely, necessary and well-written. I'm thankful that the author did such a good job with such a tender subject. I received my copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

This book alternates between Anna, present day, and Hannah, a young girl during WWII. Hannah is a privileged Jewish child in Berlin as the Nazi’s begin their reign of terror. Hannah and Leo’s families desperately search for a way out of Germany, and end up on the ship Saint Louis. Headed for Cuba, they spend a luxurious few days in the safety of the ship. When they arrive to Cuba, only a small number of people are allowed off the ship. The rest are sent back to Europe. Hannah and her mother reluctantly leave their loved ones behind and make a home in Cuba. In the present day, Anna receives a letter from her great aunt containing information about her deceased father. Deciding to learn more, Anna and her mom travel to Havana, where they learn the rest of the story.

I thought Hannah’s story was fascinating. I would have loved to read more about Hannah’s life in Cuba. I did think Anna’s story was unnecessary. Her story was used to move the plot along, but it really wasn’t needed. Overall, well worth picking up.

The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa is a wonderful book. Correa weaves the story of Hannah Rosenthal, a German-born Jewish girl, from Berlin in the 1930's to present day Havana, Cuba. Hannah left Germany with her parents aboard the St. Louis, a ship attempting to place over 900 Jews in countries safe from Adolf Hitler's reach. Unfortunately, all does not go as planned for the passengers aboard the ship. Years after Hannah has arrived in Cuba, she connects with a great-niece she never knew existed in New York City. Both Rosenthals have been shaped by tragedy, but continue to search for peace beyond the events that so greatly impacted their lives.

The German Girl was a deeply moving narrative that educated me on a piece of the Holocaust story of which I was previously unaware. I would highly recommend this book to all readers of historical fiction and those interested in Holocaust literature, stories of Cuba pre/post Castro, and who enjoy stories of family history.

I received an advanced copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.

The German Girl written by Armando Lucas Correa is a debut novel that revolves around the lives of two little girls Hannah and Anna over a period of 70 years.

The story begins in Berlin in 1939 where we meet Hannah Rosenthal. A beautiful, spirited, blue eyed 12 old Jewish girl who likes nothing better than to spend time with her best friend Leo. Their friendship is an absolute delight to behold. they love to explore and roam the city but their World becomes significantly smaller as the Nazi's are closing in. Berlin no longer feels like home now the Ogres (Hannah and Leo's name for the Nazi's) are so ferociously horrible to them, their families and friends, telling what they can and can't do. Needless to say, due to the humiliating, degrading treatment, and Jewish families disappearing, Hannah's family have no choice but to flee and leave behind everything Hannah knows. There are few options to left to escape but the Rosenthals are quietly hopeful they may have found the answer. The family and Leo's family board the SS St.Louis, bound for Havana, at first all is exciting and even feels luxurious but after many months their home on the sea feels more like a Prison. When they eventually get to Havana, Hannah's mother Alma and Hannah are granted emigration devastatingly, Hannah's father is turned away.* Hannah and Alma, struggle living in Havana, it is nothing like their home from everything the climate to the political unrest.

Decades later, we meet Anna Rosen who lives in New York City. Anna's whole life changes when her father died in the 9/11 attacks. Understandably, she wants to learn more about her father and who he was, her mother who has become increasingly depressed is of no help and refuses to talk about her father. On Anna's 11th birthday, she receives an envelope from her Great Aunt Hannah whom she has never met. She learns that her Great Aunt Hannah brought her father up and just maybe Anna can find the information she so desperately needs to know. After learning, that Hannah is now 87 Anna realises that there is no time to waste.

Alternating between the two narratives, we see that through their tragedies, joys, memories and more that they may just find commonalities that they both long for. Of course, both Hannah and Anna have both seen the worst of mankind but along the way they have also found the true meaning of humanity.

I highly recommend The German Girl, the writing of Correa is raw, emotional and powerful particularly when it comes to the Rosenthals in Berlin, on the St Louis and in Cuba. I want it to be clear that this book is not all depressing, there are purely joyful moments bringing a tear to my eye more than once. An extremely brave and sensitive topic to take on as a debut novel but I believe Correa has certainly done the topic justice with this historical fictional account.

An easy 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Armando Lucas Correa, Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for a copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

*Historically the St. Louis carried 937 passengers, the majority Jewish refugees whom the Cuban Government promised to take. Unfortunately, the Cuban's reneged on the promise only allowing in a measly 28 into Havana. The United States and Canadian governments also refused entry. The remaining passengers were forced back to Europe, where sadly most perished at the hands of the Nazi Regime.

This is basically the story of the ship St. Louis which was filled with German citizens fleeing Germany before WWII. It's from the viewpoint of a 12 year old girl. It's amazing considering the author is an older man. When the ship reaches Cuba, most passengers are refused entry to Cuba. The girl - Hannah - and her mother are able to enter Cuba, but not her father. Her father remains on the ship and eventually goes to Paris. The story then continues with Hannah and her mother, and is then interspersed with Hannah's niece Anna and her life in New York in 2014. It did make the book a little confusing going back and forth. Hard to keep the characters straight in my mind. I was taken with the story of Hannah in Cuba and all of it's depressing history. The comparison of Germany with Cuba (in my mind at least) is something I am still thinking about. I have read many stories coming from the Holocaust and I was familiar with the story of the St. Louis. This gives me another viewpoint of the Germans who remained in Cuba.

I did not like this book. Thus the 2-star rating. Generally I don't like holocaust/WWII fiction, but after reading the book jacket description I expect to be told a thrilling story of a young jewish girl fleeing Nazi Germany in 1939 in some ocean liner called the SS St. Louis. I was also convinced that the book would be worth a read after seeing the 4.5 star rating at the store. Boy was I duped. Bummer.

The writing level was more that of a YA fiction rather than adult fiction. The story never got interesting. Characters were not developed to my liking. What could have been a real thriller was simply boring. No terror; no uncertainty; and not really any grief. I often wondered why I needed to know about or hear from the character Anna Rosen. I was more interested in learning about the escape from Germany and the landing in Cuba and the US, than I was about people living in present-day NYC.

Fiction, whatever genre, is only good if the author can write a compelling story. Is he or she a good story teller? If so, then the book has a chance of being good. After reading this book I have to say I don't think the author is much of a story teller. I cannot recommend anyone get and read this short book. 2 stars!

PS. My public library had this book on its New Releases shelf. I'm glad I didn't pay for this one. I'm also disappointed my public library wasted its money on it.

A truly heart-wrenching historical fiction novel that brings to life the horrible event surrounding the S.S. St. Louis, transporting 937 souls from Hamburg to Cuba in 1939. It's artfully written from the perspective of a 12-year old; not easy to pull this off but it worked. The one unsung hero for me is Max Rosenthal, a true mensch. I will never forget this character and what he represents. The book reminded me of The Light We Cannot See, another book I have enjoyed. The German Girl brought tears to my eyes a couple of times.

Bravo, Mr. Correa, for making history come alive and raising awareness of such tragic decisions.

I read the English version of The German Girl. It is a heartbreaking tale from WWII with added historical notes involving Cuba and a ship that could not find a country to take its passengers. Hannah Rosenthal, the German girl, is a lovely child who suffered throughout her life from loss and unanswered questions.

Armando Lucas Correa tells the story in a double time frame juxtaposed with the story of a girl from New York in 20014. The narrative is compelling and the characters are interesting though very tragic. The overall feel of the book tells me that it would be a good YA book to use in the teaching of the Holocaust and immigration.

This book was incredibly interesting to me, because up until now this was an event in history that I was unfamiliar with. It's hard to imagine how much we still don't know about times in history that are actually incredibly well documented - but there is still so much for us to learn.

I found the book itself to be well written, although I also found it very hard to connect with any of the main characters. I think part of the reason for the disconnect was that I expected much more of it to be connected to the Rosenthal's time in Germany and aboard the St. Louis, however there is a great deal of it that concerns their time spent in Cuba. Although I'm sure this particular account was incredibly fictionalized, I know that it also speaks to the principle of what happened to those that boarded the ill-fated St. Louis.

(Also, a great deal of the book concerns the political climate of Cuba following World War II, and this is something I was almost entirely unfamiliar with - obviously this is no fault of the author or his storytelling, but I did find it hard to connect with. However - it is important to note that this does make me interested in learning more about this time frame of Cuba's history.)

Overall, if you've read a lot of historical fiction concerning the era of World War II, I believe this is a good book to add to your repertoire - but you might have a hard time connecting to the characters presented throughout (particularly those in the present day timeline - I was much more invested in the stories of the characters directly impacted by the St. Louis).

Beautifully written heartbreaking story that takes into account true incidents and the people who survived.
Toward the end of the book, I read only a little bit each day, not wanting it to end. But my desire to see what became of Hannah and Anna pushed me forward.
Although it is a sad story, it is one that should be read by anybody interested in this era and the plight of the Jewish people trying to escape from Germany, even though they did not really want to leave their homeland.
Highly recommended.

Loved this story of Hannah Rosenthal who sets sail with her family on the ill fated SS Louis bound for Cuba full of Jewish Germans seeking refuge from the gathering storm in Germany. Though the crossing is like a luxury vacation, unhappiness awaits the passengers upon the arriving in Havana. Decades later in the aftermath of the September 11th attack in NYC Anna Rosen receives a package that will send her and her mother to Cuba to find out about her family's mysterious past. So well connected are the stories of these two young girls. So well written from the first person perspective of these two young voices, the reader can really relate to the girls thoughts and feelings.

It is hard for me to read about what happened to the Jews during the years of Hitler, hard emotionally and hard to grasp mentally, as I havent lived thru a brutal “shunning” like they did, have, and still do. This story, based on truth, brought to light what being a refugee is like, even today. I felt this was very well-written, though some of it didnt make sense (why didnt Hannah go to NY w/ her mom , or leave later, since she hated Cuba so much), but that’s beside the point. Good historical fiction based on fact.

Beautiful, Haunting and Gut-wrenching.
We cannot imagine the horror of those who experienced the atrocities of World War II. To read about them is extremely difficult and evokes such strong emotion. I, for one, can’t imagine going through it. The German Girl is based on a true story of what happened during that time.

Hannah Rosenthal is the German Girl. She is a twelve-year-old, blond hair, blue-eyed German Girl. And she is also a Jew. The year is 1939 and the place is Berlin. All Hell starts to break lose as Nazis invade Berlin and other parts of Germany and Europe. Some of their friends are taken in the night, never to return. Hannah’s life as well as that of her best friend Leo, and their families are caught in the cross fire. They hide in their homes or slink around when they have to go out, hoping they don’t get snagged. They fear for their lives and work to find a way out of Berlin. Eventually they obtain visas to travel on the St. Louis, a ship offering Jews safe passage to Cuba. The ship and the voyage is unlike anything they have ever experienced and they all believe their futures to be bright but upon arrival in Cuba they are told that the government has rescinded their offer and that passengers will no longer be allowed to disembark and will need to return to Europe. All hope is lost for Hannah and Leo, (who promised themselves to each other) as well as their families and everyone else on the ship. After tense negotiations, only 27 passengers are allowed to disembark, Hannah and her mother are two of them, leaving Hannah’s father and Leo on the ship, to return to France, Great Britain and other parts of Europe, where there is little hope for their futures.

Years later, in New York, Anna Rosen receives mail from Hannah Rosenthal, an Aunt she never knew she had. Anna’s father, passed away on September 11th leaving no known family. The mail contains photographs to a history that Anna yearns to know about, including a photograph taken for a magazine of “A German Girl.” In analyzing the photographs, Anna and her mother search for Hannah and discover family they never knew they had and aide to help Hannah heal from the pain of the past and find peace.

The German Girl is based on the true story of the St. Louis. It honors the lives lost in World War II. Armando Lucas Correa wrote such an incredibly beautiful story, and he told it with such sensitivity. The novel switches between the past and present day, with Hannah narrating her side of the story and the past up to the present day and Anna narrating her side of the story in the present day. Hannah and Anna are both such incredibly strong young women and both touch me in immeasurable ways.

Though the novel was hard to read at times, it was incredibly well told, is a stunning book and I enjoyed it immensely. I can’t recommend it highly enough and think it would be great for a book club read or those who enjoy true literature.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Armando Lucas Correa for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Published on NetGalley and Goodreads on 9/6/16.

**Will be Published on the store on 10/18/16.

"The German Girl" is the story of a 12-year old Jewish girl from Berlin who is forced to leave Germany with her mother and father in 1939 in order to escape the persecution of the Jews and, ultimately, certain death. They take passage on the ocean liner "St. Louis" which will take them to Cuba. Here is where the fictional life of Hannah Rosenthal blends in with the true story of the St. Louis. Over 900 Jewish refugees arrived at the port of Havana on the St. Louis but only 22 of them were allowed to enter Cuba. The others were sent away, denied entry into the United States and Canada, and had to return to Europe. Hannah and her mother were two of those allowed into Havana. Her father had to leave and ended up dying in a concentration camp.

The book is written as two separate story lines: Hannah's life in Germany and then in Cuba from 1939 on and her grand-niece Anna's life in New York in 2014. Anna and her mother find out about Hannah, go to visit her in Cuba and find out the whole story of what happened.

The two story lines are handled very well. It's a very readable book and the characters are very well developed. I can easily give it 5 stars.

I got quite confused by the characters of Hannah and Anna. I didn't know at times which character was which. The ship was quite opulent so I could not feel too bad for the characters. There was a lot of attention paid to the dress of the day and how the mother appeared to be quite haughty. Not a sympathetic character. It was repetitive and couldn't figure out what Leo saw in a 12 year old girl. It was quite tedious and hard to get through. I would not recommend it. I read it for Book Club and I am quite tired of that period in time and has many better books written about it.

Because historical fiction is my favorite genre, I've read a number of stories on this general theme. This one was a bit different, because it was about a wealthy Jewish family that got out of Germany early-on, in 1939. For that reason, I felt that this story was not as interesting or emotional as most of the others. The mother and 12 year old daughter were able to take jewelry and clothing with them, and thanks to accounts in other lands, no one ran out of money during the 1939-present day span of time. To be honest, I was speed reading towards the end. Still, I think historical fiction lovers should read this since the ship and sailing to Cuba was true.

What an interesting take on the tragedy of the St.Louis, a ship with the majority of passengers were German- Jewish refugees on their way to Cuba. Cuba refused to let the ship dock as did the US and Canada.
The author switches between two characters, Hannah, a 12 year old in Berlin and Anna, a 12 year old living in NYC. The reader learns how these two are connected.
While this book subtly deals with WW II and the 9/11, it is really about families and how they deal with extreme disruptions to their lives and how the wishes of parents can change the lives of their children.

Heart-breaking novel about a horrible period of history. Well-designed, cohesive juxtaposition of people in Berlin, Cuba and New York with interesting relationships between the characters and historic decisions impacting their lives. Very readable and very enlightening.

The true historical nature of the story is what made it most interesting. Otherwise, it’s easy to get bogged down in the narrative. The book has a sad tone from start to finish. I did finish, but didn’t really enjoy this book.

Descriptions of Nazi Germany and their beliefs of being the master race seem historically accurate though repulsive. Restrictive laws were enforced and any opposition was not tolerated. Yet efforts to escape were exceedingly difficult as evidenced bly the ship St. Louis. Characters in the plot are vividly described as well as the geographic backgrounds. Once again if we turn our backs on others, who will be there for us?

A disappointing read that could have been better presented in a non-fiction format similar to Erik Larson's books of historical incidents.
The author attempted the link too many similar circumstances in this NOVEL. Comparing the 1939 Berlin Jewish situation to the 1958 and beyond Cuban political events and exiles. The main character losing her father with the 12 year old whose father was a victim of 9/11. The depression of the both mothers of the 12 year olds, and friendships and adventures with young boys of the same age. The premise of the circumstances of the St.Louis ship departing Germany and being turned away from Cuba, U.S. and Canada could have been penned to be a good read. It was not.

Beautifully written, about yet another part of the events leading up to WWII that I didn't fully know about. How can you not like a book that starts with "I was almost twelve years old when I decided to kill my parents". Hannah's life was extremely sad for me, the amounts of happiness she had didn't come close to matching the unhappiness. I was mostly confused as to why Hannah detested Tuesdays so much, I must have missed the first thing that triggered her hate.

I liked the alternating time frames in the story, though it’s hard at times to keep the Annas straight.It was interesting to read about life in Cuba ( which I also visited) before and after rhe revolution. Both Annas were very strong-minded females. A bonus to the story for me was that I had just visted Berlin and stayed in The Adlon Hotel(new-rebuilt in the ‘80’s). I thought the present Anna’s story about living in NYC and then her mother returning there to give birth to a son, and eventually
returning toCuba, could have been fleshed out more.

I don’t know why this book at such a high reviews. It is a disjointed story based on historical facts about Jews fleeing the Holocaust on the St Louis who mostly were rejected by Cuba and the US. The first half of the book is interesting but the entire second half of the book in Cuba lost me in a boring plot and the ending is disappointing and confusing. Pass on this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an e-arc of this title, in exchange for an honest review. I've read many books about this period in history, and I am a hard sell. I really liked this title a great deal. It brought out many emotions, and I was hooked from the beginning. If you enjoy WWII historical fiction, this is a great title to add to your list. This rates up there, for me, with The Nightengale and The Commandant's Girl.

Engaging description of the tragic flight of German Jews to Cuba to escape persecution in pre WWII Nazi Germany. Emphasizes the trauma and personal struggles involved. Excellent storytelling and plotting.

Let me first start by saying that I LOVE HISTORICAL FICTION. I've heard people say, "if you've read a WWII novel, you've read them all." Wrong. I could read a thousand WWII novels and not tire of them. This one takes the award for most depressing and boring read yet. I don't mean depressing in the sense that it gruesomely describes how millions died. I mean depressing in the sense that there is no happy ending to a love story, rather an ending in suicide. I mean depressing in the sense that the protagonist's mother feels that the family is cursed and so the entire book carries the curse the whole way through. I honestly can't imagine that any reader gave this book anything above a 3 star review...

This is a fascinating piece of historical fiction that has been very well researched and brought to life with these very believable characters.

I had never heard of the MS St. Louis and the fate of the Jewish passengers on board. The author has told this story through several different viewpoints - all poignant and vivid.

The writing is excellent and it amazes me that this is a debut novel!

Descriptions of Nazi Germany and their beliefs of being the master race seem historically accurate though repulsive. Restrictive laws were enforced and any opposition was not tolerated. Yet efforts to escape were exceedingly difficult as evidenced bly the ship St. Louis. Characters in the plot are vividly described as well as the geographic backgrounds. Once again if we turn our backs on others, who will be there for us?

A disappointing read that could have been better presented in a non-fiction format similar to Erik Larson's books of historical incidents.
The author attempted the link too many similar circumstances in this NOVEL. Comparing the 1939 Berlin Jewish situation to the 1958 and beyond Cuban political events and exiles. The main character losing her father with the 12 year old whose father was a victim of 9/11. The depression of the both mothers of the 12 year olds, and friendships and adventures with young boys of the same age. The premise of the circumstances of the St.Louis ship departing Germany and being turned away from Cuba, U.S. and Canada could have been penned to be a good read. It was not.

Beautifully written, about yet another part of the events leading up to WWII that I didn't fully know about. How can you not like a book that starts with "I was almost twelve years old when I decided to kill my parents". Hannah's life was extremely sad for me, the amounts of happiness she had didn't come close to matching the unhappiness. I was mostly confused as to why Hannah detested Tuesdays so much, I must have missed the first thing that triggered her hate.

I liked the alternating time frames in the story, though it’s hard at times to keep the Annas straight.It was interesting to read about life in Cuba ( which I also visited) before and after rhe revolution. Both Annas were very strong-minded females. A bonus to the story for me was that I had just visted Berlin and stayed in The Adlon Hotel(new-rebuilt in the ‘80’s). I thought the present Anna’s story about living in NYC and then her mother returning there to give birth to a son, and eventually
returning toCuba, could have been fleshed out more.

I don’t know why this book at such a high reviews. It is a disjointed story based on historical facts about Jews fleeing the Holocaust on the St Louis who mostly were rejected by Cuba and the US. The first half of the book is interesting but the entire second half of the book in Cuba lost me in a boring plot and the ending is disappointing and confusing. Pass on this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an e-arc of this title, in exchange for an honest review. I've read many books about this period in history, and I am a hard sell. I really liked this title a great deal. It brought out many emotions, and I was hooked from the beginning. If you enjoy WWII historical fiction, this is a great title to add to your list. This rates up there, for me, with The Nightengale and The Commandant's Girl.

Engaging description of the tragic flight of German Jews to Cuba to escape persecution in pre WWII Nazi Germany. Emphasizes the trauma and personal struggles involved. Excellent storytelling and plotting.

Let me first start by saying that I LOVE HISTORICAL FICTION. I've heard people say, "if you've read a WWII novel, you've read them all." Wrong. I could read a thousand WWII novels and not tire of them. This one takes the award for most depressing and boring read yet. I don't mean depressing in the sense that it gruesomely describes how millions died. I mean depressing in the sense that there is no happy ending to a love story, rather an ending in suicide. I mean depressing in the sense that the protagonist's mother feels that the family is cursed and so the entire book carries the curse the whole way through. I honestly can't imagine that any reader gave this book anything above a 3 star review...

This is a fascinating piece of historical fiction that has been very well researched and brought to life with these very believable characters.

I had never heard of the MS St. Louis and the fate of the Jewish passengers on board. The author has told this story through several different viewpoints - all poignant and vivid.

The writing is excellent and it amazes me that this is a debut novel!

3.5 rounded up

I have read a good number of holocaust stories and I'm always amazed how much there is to learn, and as I always say when reviewing these books, it is so very important, no not just important, but imperative that we remember. This is a heartbreaking story about an incident that occurred in 1939 that only some may know about and that is precisely why this book is one that should be read. In 1939 over 900 German Jews fled on the ship the Saint Louis leaving Germany for asylum to Cuba , many of them with plans to further move to the United States. The shockingly awful refusal by Cuba and the US to accept these people is told though one of the alternating narratives of two twelve year old girls, one in Berlin in 1939 and one in New York in 2014.

Hannah from a well to do family must leave her comfortable home but is accepting of it since she is leaving with her loving parents and her friend Leo. But the situation turns and only 28 people are allowed to embark in Cuba and while Hannah and her mother are among them, her father, Leo and his father are not . Anna, living in New York with her mother in 2014, thinks her father has disappeared and but then it becomes painfully clear to her that he died on that day in September and to the reader as her school commemorates those lost on 9/11. She's never met her father. An envelope arrives from Cuba with negatives to be developed, a German magazine with a cover photo of a young girl who looks like Anna- a mystery to be pieced together with these things sent from Hannah, a woman who says she is the aunt who raised Anna's missing father. A link between these two who have both lost fathers becomes a bond of hope.

This is a heartbreaking story which felt somewhat simplistic in the writing ; it is understandable since the bulk of the narratives are from the perspective of two young girls . It's a little light on the treatment of the holocaust and I would have thought that this should have been described as geared to a YA audience. Yet it is impactful. It's about horrific things that happened to people, represented by these two voices and about the resilience of the human spirit.

I received this ARC from Atria Books through NetGalley.

Loved this book. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genre of writings becasue I love to learn things about history, especially during the period of WW11 and Civil War. i learned how countries closed their borders to the Jewish people when they were seeking asylum and unfortunately I feel like history is repeating itself as many countries, including the U.S, are closing their borders to those seeking safety and a better life. Very eye opening.

The book really held my interest in the beginning and ‘til about the half way mark; however, then it started to become tedious. Great story line and a new view of WW ll, from my perspective, but lost my interest. Pleased that I read it but would recommend it with reservations!

I was very interested in reading this book. I am fascinated with most things WWII, Holocaust, survivors, etc. There were times when I really enjoyed the book but in the end, it was very frustrating. Too many details were left unexplained. Too many things made little or no sense and the ending itself is pretty awful. The author was trying way too hard to be philosophical and really missed the mark.

It almost worked but the banal ending. Killed it.. what a disappointment.. and it was hard to believe that both the mother and daughter stayed in habana for ever.. sorry I can't buy it.. .. i just cant recommend it because the finale was so bad.so much repetition about the same people.

Not my favorite WWII book. It felt a little slow and uneventful. I've read a lot of WWII books, and this one just fell a little short. I found myself skimming through just to finish it. I would suggest "The Lilac Girls" before "The German Girl."

Loved this book. Loved reading a different take on the horrors of WWII and on the family it affected that survived. We often dwell on the dead or the ones who experienced the horrors fist hand and don't think about the one who got out and were left behind.

The German Girl is an historical novel based on a little known incident involving Jewish refugees escaping the Holocaust. A ship of Jews who bought their passage to Cuba, with the blessing of the Reich, is forbidden to land.
The story is the saga of the Rosenthal family from 1938 to 2014.

A interesting story of two persons on the Saint Louis trip to Cuba in 1939, and it brings you forward to their life in Cuba, and
their descendants. One of their descendants was killed on 9/11. THe family was united in the end. It was a beautiful story,
and well worth reading.

This historical fiction work tells the story of a well to do Jewish family that is forced to leave pre war Germany on a ship (St. Louis) that is headed to Cuba. The story revolves around an adolescent girl of 12 in Berlin (1939) and her granddaughter of 12 (2014) who lives in Manhattan whose father was killed in the World Trade Center. If you enjoy family narratives I think that you will find this book worthy of your time.

I received as ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my review. I really think this story, although set at the beginning of WWII could be more timely than it is right now. It is the story of twelve-year old Hannah Rosenthal who has lived a very privileged life in 1939 Berlin. When the Nazi party takes over she finds her world turned upside down. Her father books passage for the family to Cuba where they plan to live until they can get visas to move to the United States. However, upon arrival they are turned away and forced to return to Europe. This book is so interesting because it shares a story I have never heard before about WWII. This story is especially timely with the controversy with immigration in the United States. A very unique-but true WWII story.

2.5 STARS - WWII fiction is one of my favourite genres so when I saw this book I knew that it was right up my alley. The story is told via two 12-year-old narrators in two different eras. One follows Hannah, a Jewish girl living in Berlin in 1939 and modern day Anna, a descendant of Hannah's, who lives in New York City.

The first half of the book briefly introduces us to Anna but most of the page time is given to Hannah and her family's escape from Germany just before war breaks out. Living in Germany under the increasing power of what Hannah calls 'the Ogres' is hard. While Hannah has the unique experience of being a Jew yet looking more Aryan in complexion, this does not make her life easier and causes discord within her Jewish community. As Jews they are constantly denigrated by their neighbours and fear that their lives are in danger. This abuse, as well as the mood in Berlin at the time, is vividly portrayed to the reader.

Surprisingly I didn't find myself invested in Hannah's (or Anna's) hardships. The setting and the plot were screaming for an emotional connection but it felt like Correa didn't delve deep enough into the emotions of his characters. Add in the very slowly paced plot and unfortunately I didn't feel like I had much of a connection to either of the girls whose personalities were so similar that they seemed to blend together. Personally, I would have preferred for Anna's story line to be omitted entirely with more focus on Hannah's family.

After reading this book I questioned whether or not this is supposed to be a Historical Fiction for young teens instead of adults. The writing itself, while descriptive to a point, felt geared to a younger audience. It felt like the effects of this horrific war were toned down for the reader. If this book is written for a younger audience (and I could find no mention of it being specifically a YA read) I suppose it could be said that Correa was making his book age appropriate. Personally, if this is written for adults I don't think the devastation of WWII and the horror that was inflicted on Jews by the Nazis is something that should be glossed over. I also don't understand why, except for one instance I can recall, the author chose to not use the terms Jew, Nazi or Holocaust in his book.

What I will take away from this novel is the fact that I enjoyed learning about the S.S St Louis, the trans-Atlantic ship that Hannah and her family took with almost 1,000 other people to Cuba to escape the horrors of war. I had previously no knowledge that there were refugees who escaped the Nazis only to be turned away by Cuba (who suddenly decided not to honour the visas that the passengers had procured earlier). ** Note: The US and Canada were also among the countries who also turned away these refugees. ** That was an aspect of WWII, in all of my reading, that I had no knowledge of and I'm grateful that I now know more about that aspect of the war.

A plot focusing on the plight of Jewish refugees during WWII gave The German Girl all the makings of a unique, touching and wonderful WWII fiction read. Unfortunately, I don't think that Correa, an award winning journalist and author, delved deep enough into the issues or the emotions of his characters to make it a truly gripping and emotional read.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary e-book copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Anyone that enjoys World War II books would enjoy this. It’s tragic definitely tears at your heart. Solid writing and very well written ending. The history at the end of the book was incredibly interesting too.

Heart-breaking novel about a horrible period of history. Well-designed, cohesive juxtaposition of people in Berlin, Cuba and New York with interesting relationships between the characters and historic decisions impacting their lives. Very readable and very enlightening.

I couldn’t stop reading this book. It held my interest from the first chapter. Hannah and Anna are separated by decades but are interwoven in events and history. I recommend this book to historical fiction readers.

I "enjoyed" the story but found the language (perhaps the translation) stilted and awkward in many places. But it wove in so many horrifying facts about the St Louis tragedy - definitely a story that needs to be told and heard.

I had not heard his story earlier in any of the Holocaust literature I had read. While I enjoyed learning about this history through fiction, I did find the writing sometimes melodramatic. Good story and worth the read.

Book seemed to wander into a rant about the current Cuban government, making it sound like the author longed for the good old days of Baptista. Book should have ended fifty pages before it did to come off as a researched novel about the St. Louis instead of a thinly disguised anti Castro narrative.

A book which touches on the great tragedy of the European Jews trying to escape Nazi Germany and the disregard of the western world to their sufferings. Written from the perspective of a young adolescent girl, and many years later, a touching recounting of this girl's continuing tragedy under the Castro regime. Easy reading, but emotionally draining.

I found this book long winded and boring, full of contradicting unnecessary details that did nothing to move the story forward. I found the main characters unrealistic and didn’t connect with any of them. A very arduous and disappointing read... not sure why I stuck with it as it was just a punishment to read.

A fascinating complement to my own novel "Passing Through Havana" written in 1983 and published by St.MMore passing through Havana artin's Press. My story,which is autobiographical, begins in Belgium during the German occupation and delves into the character's deep conflicts as she adapts to a sweet decadent life in pre-Castro Cuba under Batista. Her need to escape the stigma of persecution lies at the heart of this book.

An absorbing story both in the past & present concerning a shameful period in our history. Exceptionally well written with warmth & feeling. A page turner where the characters come to life. Highly recommended.

It was a great read. It kept captivating me and drawing me further into the book.
Unfortunately this will be the last book I will purchase through the store. I can only purchase it only via America. Then get slugged by the bank for foreign currency exchange. Which doesn’t make it that cheap to purchase! Really disappointing

Eleven year old Hannah Rosenthal lives a perfectly wonderful life until the Nazis reign. Then her parents lose their possessions, forced to move to an undesirable part of town. They have been shunned by friends and neighbors. Finally, Hannah's father realizes that they must escape Germany before it is too late. They board the cruise ship St. Louis to go to Cuba. However Cuba reneges and allows only a few to enter Cuba. Included in this is Hannah and her pregnant mother but are forced to leave her father on the ship. One day Anna Rosen receives a package from her Aunt Hanna Rosenthal in Cuba. Anna and her mother have lost Anna's father to 9/11. They still are missing him. Anna wants to know about her father as does her mother so they go to Cuba to learn more.

Thee author has the two main characters in alternating chapters.. The two "girls" are separated by decades. It is a powerful, emotional story. It is a coming-of-age story as well a story of bravery and surviving in difficult times. At times, as I read this novel, my heart would be caught hoping that it would turn out well. Read the story yourself to find out.

Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

"There was a blast on the ship’s siren. We were going— together— to somewhere where no one would measure our heads or noses, or compare the texture of our hair, or classify the color of our eyes. We were going to the island you drew in the muddy water of a city to which we would never return."

Hannah is a Jewish girl growing up in Germany at the onset of Hitler’s reign. When the exile begins she struggles to understand what it means to have your personhood defined, measured and ranked.

"In the end, I knew that however much I washed, burned my skin, cut my hair, gouged out my eyes, turned deaf, however much I dressed or talked differently, or took on a different name, they would always see me as impure."

As things escalate, Hannah begins to learn the true nature of the grave situation she is in.

"The cleansing had begun in Berlin, the dirtiest city in Europe. Powerful jets of water were about to start drenching us until we were clean. They didn’t like us. Nobody liked us."

Fortunately, Hannah’s family has means and they secure passage to find asylum in Cuba- an exotic, unknown land.

"We would start from scratch and make Khuba into an ideal country, where anybody could be blond or dark haired, tall or short, fat or thin. Where you could buy a newspaper, use the telephone, speak whatever language you wished and call yourself whatever you wanted to without bothering about the color of your skin or which God you worshipped. In our watery maps, at least, Khuba already existed."

However, safety is fleeting and Hannah soon finds herself amidst an unsure future aboard the St. Louis.

"We were a wretched mass of fleeing people who had been kicked out of our homes."

Juxtaposed with Hannah’s story is that of Anna, another young girl and descendant of Hannah who is also looking to understand what the future holds- but she must look first into the past.

"I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I see Dad in Berlin, Havana, New York. I’m German. This is my family, forced to call themselves Sarah and Israel, whose businesses were destroyed. The family that fled, that survived. This is where I come from."

The German Girl is a sweeping tale of the controversial and largely unknown voyage of a ship meant as a safe haven for Jewish German citizens which turned out to be something worse.

"Until now, in Cuba, the tragedy of the St. Louis has been a topic absent from classrooms and history books. All the documents related to the arrival of the ship in Havana and the negotiations with Federico Laredo Brú’s government and Fulgencio Batista have disappeared from the Cuban National Archive."

Wow..just wow. This book has to be up there with my favourites of all time.
I love reading books on the holocaust, even though it's such a sad subject I feel like it's one that needs to told time and again so when I saw the subject of The German Girl, I knew it would be right up my street.
This book tells the story of a Jewish family and how they fled Germany to go to America, the story is told by Hannah (The German Girl). This is the first time I have heard of the St Louis and the crossing to Cuba and it is heartbreaking.
It's hard to pinpoint what it is about this book that's so amazing, the writing is brilliant, the story is amazing and so sad at the same time. I loved Hannah's mother who despite everything that happened to them, she wouldn't let the outside world know how she felt inside.
I sobbed at the end of this book and it's one that will stay with me for a long time. I wanted to hear the story but I didn't want it to end. I feel like now I don't know what else to do, if that makes sense!
Everyone needs to read this book, it is amazing and I would give it more than five stars if I could. Read it you'll love it.

The sad story of the steamship "St. Louis", bound for Cuba in 1939 with passengers fleeing Nazi Germany, is the background for this compelling novel. The story centres on the Rosenthal family, a wealthy Jewish family from Berlin, and in particular their 12 year old daughter Hannah. The story is told through alternate chapters set in 1939 and 2014; woven into this story is the story of Anna, daughter of Hannah's great-nephew, who lived in Manhattan and died in the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. Hannah never knew her father but at age 12 she meets 87 year old Hannah, still living in Havana, and learns of her family's history and her legacy.

I found "The German Girl" an interesting read which held my attention right to the end.

Not my favorite WWII book. It felt a little slow and uneventful. I've read a lot of WWII books, and this one just fell a little short. I found myself skimming through just to finish it. I would suggest "The Lilac Girls" before "The German Girl."

This historical fiction work tells the story of a well to do Jewish family that is forced to leave pre war Germany on a ship (St. Louis) that is headed to Cuba. The story revolves around an adolescent girl of 12 in Berlin (1939) and her granddaughter of 12 (2014) who lives in Manhattan whose father was killed in the World Trade Center. If you enjoy family narratives I think that you will find this book worthy of your time.

Just when I thought I’d had my fill of WWII historical fiction, I was encouraged to read another after reading rave reviews from friends. Wow, I loved it, especially the chapters written from Hannah’s perspective! She is a strong and determined soul who we are introduced to as an energetic 11-year old girl fleeing occupied Germany in 1939 with her family. As this novel spans 70 years, we meet her again in her 80’s.

The second narrator is 11-year old Anna who in 2014 receives a mysterious package containing old rolls of film from her great aunt Hannah, a woman who raised Anna’s father but someone she’d never met. Anna was born after her firefighter father perished on 9 /11 and is desperate to learn more about him so she travels with her mother to Cuba to meet her elderly great aunt.

This is a stunning story and I loved its characters although wished I knew more about Leo – what a colorful and brave soul! I had to know more about this new piece of Holocaust history so did a search on the S.S. St Louis to learn more about the tragic voyage. What an incredibly desperate situation, and seeing pictures of actual passengers made it even sadder. An amazing debut and emotional page-turner that will stay with me for a long time.

The characters were vivid and I felt like each character told such a realistic story that I was drawn into each character.
I think it would be a great Book Club story. I had very little knowledge of this incident and look forward to learning more.