Book Blurb:
Amid wartime brutality and unimaginable suffering, a teenager in flight from the Soviet Army struggles to survive, find her brother—and hold on to hope . . .
Winter 1945. The Red Army is sweeping into East Prussia, and they have their sights set on punishing Germans for the Nazis’ reign of terror.
Thirteen-year-old Giti and her younger brother, Otto, live with their mother and grandmother. After soldiers arrive and brutally attack the two adult women, killing their grandmother, the farm is set ablaze and the children, along with their severely wounded mother, are loaded into a crowded train bound for the Soviet Union.
When their mother tragically dies on the train, the two children are thrust into a dark world, orphaned and terrified. Giti is determined to lead them to freedom, but her escape plan goes horribly wrong. While she manages to jump from the train, Otto gets trapped and is left alone heading north.
Wandering into the forest, scared and alone, a traumatized and mute Giti is rescued by a disabled veteran hiding in the woods. The two strike up an unlikely bond and help each other survive—until Russian soldiers arrive . . .
As Giti fights for her life, she is determined to be reunited with her brother. But how long will she have to wait, and will the reunion be as joyful as she envisaged?
Book Buy Link: https://geni.us/x0XH
Author Bio:
Carolyn Newton is a native of the American South, part of a creative and adventurous family that spent summer holidays at national parks and memorized poems for sport. Her vibrant childhood launched a life-long love of history and stories. She became a teacher with a specialty for sharing the often-overlooked tales of courageous people doing extraordinary things, and she always dreamed of becoming a writer. She lives with her family near the mountains of South Carolina where she loves to explore the woodsy trails in search of waterfalls and breathtaking vistas. The Refugee’s Daughter is her first novel.
Editorial Review:
What does it mean to “do your best”? The reader will be left contemplating that
question long after finishing "The Refugee's Daughter”, a historical novel by Carolyn Newton. The story is written through a dual…make that triple, quadruple, well, okay, multiple
timelines. Each of the stories and characters is compelling in their own way, and
skilfully woven together. Love and betrayal are at the heart of the story, but the
powerful nature of these themes is amplified when set against the catastrophe of
World War Two and the bleak years of its aftermath. In a time where children witness
unspeakable scenes, where they are torn from the security of family and have to
survive with only their wits, fate and chance to save them, right and wrong very
quickly become vague and academic concepts.
“This was a new realization for me. I had written in my head a story of brave,
long-suffering Lithuanian people oppressed by Soviet invaders. I had not created a
space in my mind to consider that there were Lithuanians that were participating in
and encouraging Stalin’s abuses of our homeland. I must think on this and adjust
my willingness to trust even my own countrymen.”
It is not a criticism of the novel to note that the historical storylines are arguably more
gripping than the modern plot line. The wartime storylines underscore a world gone
mad and the extent of human cruelty, but also the enduring bonds of family. It is all
very well for the modern reader to sit on the swing chair on the porch, calling out a
greeting to their neighbour home from work, waiting for their delivery of fast food and
ensuring their teenager manages their screen time, perhaps reading “The Refugee's
Daughter” and quietly judging the choices people make within its pages, pages where
a time of starvation, loss, death and trauma were commonplace and ingrained.
There is a heroine – Giti – and her character and resilience are well described and
enduring, to the extent that her brother Otto’s story and character is slightly
overshadowed. But that may be the intent of the story, as Giti is tantalising, her
location lost as her brother mourns her memory and his lost family, as all around Giti
are drawn to her, protecting her despite the danger lurking everywhere. The
presence and wildness of nature is also a background theme of the novel.
“Giti was a girl, but she had lived a lifetime of hurt. Folk tales held no promise for her.
She knew the magic of the forest, and it wasn’t a bloom with special powers. For her,
it meant solitude and the escape from terror. She ventured to a quiet spot, away from
the crowd but still within earshot of the raucous gathering at the fire. She
sat on the soft moss covering the forest floor and leaned against an old log.”
In the post-war chaos, before the internet and smartphones, "The Refugee's Daughter”
is a stark reminder of the reality of separation where devastated families were simply never
able to find each other and reunite, despite the efforts of the Red Cross and similar
organizations. The representations of correspondence from the Red Cross as they
try to assist with enquiries and fill in family blanks are heart-breaking.
The concerns of Otto’s modern family are quite different – career, travel, marriage.
The story opens with a death, and the reader assumes this will likely be some form
of self-discovery novel where a young widow sets off to find herself with the hesitant,
inconstant advice from her mother ringing in her ears. The sentence “She was too
well- bred to make disparaging remarks about Joe’s family, but she had mastered
the art of communicating exactly how much she disapproved without a single word”
is an early highlight in the opening pages, which deftly illustrate the reality of an
emotionally distant family where difficult topics are simply not discussed. But
“The Refugee's Daughter” swiftly becomes something quite different, transporting the
reader to the haunting times of wartime Europe where children are forced to make
unimaginable decisions.
The modern storyline of Otto’s daughter Brigit is perhaps slightly predictable, and the
convenient advent of her love interest unsurprising. But despite that Brigit serves as
a valuable mechanism to piece together the past and create a highly memorable
conclusion to the novel – and to the families within. The plot twist discovery of a
neglected package full of historical documents never fails to set the reader up for a
riveting journey back to the past! Brigit also illustrates how Otto, and others like him,
were always prisoners of the past to some extent, trapped in their memories and yet
trying to live in a modern world as a father and husband.
“The Refugee's Daughter” portrays a sense of danger throughout, and sense of rushing energy to solve a family mystery and unearth secrets before it is too late. From a child hiding
from soldiers, to partisans fleeing in a moonlit forest, to the deceptive family
environment in a farmhouse, to a hospital bed where an elderly man cries, there is
always a sense of urgency and fear. The result is an intense, albeit detailed,
narrative, weaving backstories, documents, reminisces, and letters together into a
memorable and highly readable tale of some of the world’s darkest times.
*****
“The Refugee's Daughter” by Carolyn Newton receives 4 stars from The Historical Fiction
Company
To have your historical novel editorially reviewed and/or enter the HFC Book of the Year contest, please visit www.thehistoricalfictioncompany.com/book-awards/award-submission
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