Lilac Girls

By Martha Hall Kelly
Lexile = ?

Caroline Ferriday is a wealthy, youngish New Yorker that works at the French consulate in New York City in 1939. She is tasked with arranging visas for French citizens that are fleeing Europe as Hitler spreads his influence throughout the continent. She also creates and sends care packages to orphanages in France.

Kasia Kuzmerick is a young Polish girl that gets involved with the Polish resistance and their undercover activities. Her actions place her in the cross-hairs of the Nazi regime.

Herta Oberhauser is a young German doctor who, as woman, struggles to find her place in the medical establishment in Germany.

The cover of Lilac Girls, as you can see, shows three women walking arm in arm. I guess I assumed as this story begins that these three main characters are friends. Well, that is misleading.... they don't even know each other and won't ever walk arm in arm anywhere. The title is misleading as well. I never got where that came from, but perhaps I missed something.

Yes, this is another World War II story. Caroline Ferriday is a real person. Kasia's character is based on a real person. What sets this novel apart for me is that so much of the plot is concerned with what happens after the tragedy of war... how these three women cope and battle and survive when the war ends.

Watch an amazing video from the author (and an explanation of the lilacs!) HERE.