Saving Amelie

GIVEAWAY

GOHLKE, CATHY
SAVING AMELIE

Increasingly wary of her father’s genetic research, Rachel Kramer has determined that this trip with him to Germany—in the summer of 1939—will be her last. But a cryptic letter from her estranged friend, begging Rachel for help, changes everything. Married to SS officer Gerhardt Schlick, Kristine sees the dark tides turning and fears her husband views their daughter, Amelie, deaf since birth, as a blight on his Aryan bloodline.

Once courted by Schlick, Rachel knows he’s as dangerous as the swastikas that hang like ebony spiders from every government building in Berlin. She fears her father’s files may hold answers about Hitler’s plans for others, like Amelie, whom the regime deems “unworthy of life.” She risks searching his classified documents only to uncover shocking secrets about her own history and a family she’s never known.

Now hunted by the SS, Rachel turns to Jason Young—a driven, disarming American journalist and unlikely ally—who connects her to the resistance and to controversial theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Forced into hiding, Rachel’s every ideal is challenged as she and Jason walk a knife’s edge, risking their lives—and asking others to do the same—for those they barely know but come to love.

My Review:

Mesmerizing. Captivating. Contemplative. Agonizing. I'm having difficulty corralling my scrambled brain. Gohlke's words have penetrated my heart, mind and soul. This is the kind of read that changes you. Challenges you. Charges you to strive to be a better person in a fallen world.

I've long been fascinated by holocaust and resistance stories and this one is an incredible tribute to the courage of the every day people who dared to stand against the Nazi's reign of terror. Gripping from the very first page, I pretty much dropped everything and read my way to the end. Read with an accelerated heart rate, a lump in my throat and terror tracking down my spine. I am still reeling over the stupidity of the masses who blindly followed a madman. But I'm filled with hope as well, because Hitler was ultimately defeated by thousands of individuals who did the right thing under unconscionable circumstances.

Saving Amelie is a compelling novel with a stand-up-and-cheer kind of ending worthy of the biggest blockbuster hit. I wept buckets at the end. An exceptional read.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Saving Amelie please leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you post a comment and add your email address, please use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in the address to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email please remember to put the title in the subject line so that it's easy for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday July 27 2014. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

My thanks to Tyndale Publishing and Net Galley for providing me with a review copy of this book.