Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

Title: Lilac Girls

Author: Martha Hall Kelly

Published: 2016

Call #: FIC Kelly

 Lilac Girls is inspired by the true story of three very different women during World War II, each of whom serve as a narrator in the story. Kaisa is a Polish teacher working for the resistance, Herta is a German doctor who takes a job with the Nazis as a way out of her desolate life, Caroline is an American debutante who works at the French Embassy in New York.  The story unfolds with each chapter narrated by either Kaisa, Herta or Caroline.  Kaisa is arrested and sent to the Ravensbruck Concentration Camp in Germany.  There she is subjected to horrific medical experiments that leave her and others like her hobbled.  Herta is one of the doctors involved in the experiments on Kaisa.  Caroline learns of their plight and campaigns to have them brought to the United States for medical treatment.  This book is not an easy read due to the subject matter, but the ending is worth the read.  The story needed to be told and deserves to be read. 

Michaelle S.
Popular Materials Assistant