Comments (38)

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Jan 31, 2024heatherm1954 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I loved this book. Very talented author.
Jan 22, 2024
" The Orphan's Tale " is a breathtaking historical novel about WWII - torn Europe . The author has a great descriptive talent ! A lot to learn about the Holocaust survivors who found refuge in a German circus.
Jun 19, 2023LorettaMCottone rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Disappointed, it should have been compelling but something was missing. 3/4 through I started to skip to the end. The Author's Note at end was more interesting than the book.
Jun 16, 2023BRITT FITTS rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Noa is young, but that doesn't mean she can't take care of herself. After some major mistakes, her father turns her out and the Reich takes her baby from her just moments after she gives birth. When she finds a train care full of Jewish…
May 06, 2023
Jenoff weaves history and the wonderment of the circus in this novel set in World War II. Through her detailed writing the circus performers come to life as well as their unceasing dread they feel performing and hiding in plain sight under…
May 04, 2022CLAIREPATERSONREED rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
A disappointing book. Lots of dramatic, alarmist writing. Average to poor storytelling and character development. Dialogue was dull, boring and stilted. A love story with WW11 backdrop. And a whole lotta overdone drama.
Dec 24, 2021wmtlady rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I wish there was a way of differentiating between a C+ (3.5) and a B- (3.5). The story was good but the writing was not up to a 4.0 level. The book featured the little known culture of the European circus life and their role during WWII…
Nov 01, 2021
DUE BACK 3-20-23 CHECKED OUT 2-27-23 ON HOLD 2-22-23 Author of Lost Girls of Paris
Sep 03, 2021sher5678 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed the twists and turns in this book.
Aug 10, 2021Janeann12 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Great Book!! Very different from other time period stories.
Mar 13, 2020
I enjoyed this book. The characters of Noa and Atrid were well developed and I thought the author did an excellent job of building the relationship between the two. The earlier relationships between Astrid and her first husband and…
Jan 27, 2020
Noa’s Dutch family kicks her out after an affair with a Nazi soldier leaves her pregnant. She gives up the child but in her new life as a train station washerwoman she finds a boxcar full of Jewish infants. She rescues one, flees and is…
Jan 06, 2020TheresaAJ rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Jenoff explores hidden bits of World War II through the eyes of two women who end up in an unlikely place. Noa, a 17-year-old Dutch girl, finds herself in Germany when her family kicks her out for becoming pregnant by a German soldier. …
Aug 31, 2019
I did not enjoy reading it. I felt like the author could have used certain character elements to build suspense, and create character depth but instead used long, over-detailed sentences. I did not make it past the first chapter.
Jul 27, 2019Tica77 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Although I found some parts of the book drawn out, it was interesting to learn of the life in the circus during war-torn Europe. Several of these family-owned circuses harbored serval Jews, several of them whose lives were saved. The main…
Apr 15, 2019trabbiej rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Good, fast read but not as good as the Lost Girls of Paris, read that one first
Feb 27, 2019redleggedme rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
A poorly-written story that seems to have been written only to swing along on the popularity of "Orphan Train" (a similar cover and title, and I would hope, a much better book) and the popularity of World War II stories in general, with a…
Feb 22, 2019LibraryLES rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I did enjoy a different aspect of this time in history with the circus acts, the rough life and how they hid Jewish people among them. It was a nice read, but the story somehow never really grabbed me.
hrogness
Jul 15, 2018hrogness rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
overall very good. At one stage, devolved into romance novel intentions, but overall a good story
Jun 23, 2018Eil_1 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Despite the tragedies in this story, it is told with absolute truth . We must never forget history lest we repeat it.
Apr 25, 2018parkerreidel rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
Did not like this at all. Guess in these scary times, stories happier, and lighter, are much more welcome.
Apr 18, 2018orange_lobster_23 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The story is a tale of survival, friendship and building trust by two women whose livelihoods are as arialists in a travelling circus in Vichy France during WWII. Both women from disparate backgrounds are united by having been rejected…
Mar 15, 2018MariePat rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I really loved this book. It was an easy read and page turner. It is about 2 women working in a circus in the middle of World War II and the sacrifices they make for each other. I highly recommend!
Nov 25, 2017Jenkskitten rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable reading mostly of the lives of two women during WW2 and the hardships they overcame. The understanding of the title doesn't come until the end. This is another view of some unforgotten people who survived or died during this…
Nov 17, 2017
Babies given up and stolen. Circus performers who are best friends and bitter rivals. And Nazis.