About this item
Highlights
- A young Jewish woman finds refuge from the terrors of WWII inside a Nazi birthing facility in this "gripping novel" set in war-torn Holland (Historical Novel Society).
- Author(s): Sara Young
- 384 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Historical
Description
About the Book
Cyrla has been warned that her neighbors know she is half Jewish--grounds for certain arrest in their Nazi-occupied town. A cruel twist of fate places Cyrla in a terrible dilemma in this page-turning debut novel.Book Synopsis
A young Jewish woman finds refuge from the terrors of WWII inside a Nazi birthing facility in this "gripping novel" set in war-torn Holland (Historical Novel Society).Cyrla's neighbors have begun to whisper. Her cousin, Anneke, is pregnant. And she's eligible for admission to the Lebensborn: a German maternity home for girls carrying Aryan babies. But Anneke's love, a German soldier, has disappeared. And she knows that Lebensborn babies are either released to their father's custody--or taken away.
Meanwhile, someone has discovered the truth of Cyrla's identity. As a Polish Jew, she was sent to her Dutch relatives for safekeeping years ago. Now she must choose between certain discovery and posing as Anneke in the Lebensborn. But how can she take refuge in the enemy's lair?
Mining a lost piece of history, author Sara Young takes readers deep inside the Nazi Lebensborn program. An elegy for the terrible choices women must sometimes make to survive, My Enemy's Cradle is also a story of finding love, hope, and humanity in the darkest of times.
From the Back Cover
"[A] brave work . . . [Young's] passion and her desire to give voice to innumerable silent victims shine through." --The Dallas Morning News
"I am grateful you are not here, Cyrla'sJewish father last wrote from Poland. He had sent her to Holland for safekeeping with relatives, but now that country too has been overrun by the Nazis. In a rush, she takes refuge in one of the Lebensborn--maternity homes for girls carrying German babies. But can she escape before her real identity is discovered? And will her love keep her safe when danger surrounds her? In My Enemy's Cradle, Cyrla travels to the other side of war, love, and the heartbreak of survival. It is a love song to kinship, an elegy for the women we have lost, and a lullaby for the children we must save.
"Young shines a powerful flashlight on one of the lesser-known Nazi atrocities: the thievery of children from their mothers. When devouring this novel, you'll swear you're reading a genuine survivor account." --Jenna Blum, author of Those Who Save Us
"What a story! My Enemy's Cradle offers intrigue, suspense, compassion, heartbreak and joy. I was hooked from page one." --Elizabeth Berg, author of Dream When You're Feeling Blue
SARA YOUNG graduated with a BA from Marietta College in Ohio. Under the name Sara Pennypacker she has written seven books for children, including the acclaimed Stuart series (Stuart's Cape) and Clementine. She lives on Cape Cod.
"Review Quotes
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR MY ENEMY'S CRADLE
"In the tradition of Leon Uris and other writers, Sara Young has written about the bitterness, fragility, and especially the resilience of human spirit under the shadow of the beast. Her characters, living in Holland at the beginning of the Holocaust, manage to find reason where there is no reason, as well as innocence and passion, love and longing. No one who has ever felt joy against reason will fail to hear Young's song." --Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End Of The Ocean --