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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I found a copy of this book at a library book sale, and was intrigued by the synopsis.
“The Girl They Left Behind” follows one woman starting when she was abandoned by her parents at a very young age. During WWII, a young Jewish girl and her family are forced to flea their home in Bucharest. Her parents quickly realize that they can not hide with their daughter, so they leave her in the lobby of a building in the hopes that someone will find her and care for her until they can better protect her. A young Romanian family adopts this little girl and names her Natalia. As Natalia grows up and struggles with her own history and identity, the Nazis begin their occupation of Romania, and quickly, Natalia’s life is turned on its head once again.
This story was devastating in the most beautiful way possible. Natalia is so surrounded by love, in spite of the war being waged around her. Her birth parents loved her so much they left her in the hopes that she would have the best future possible. Her adoptive parents loved her and sheltered her in the best way they could given the dire circumstances they were living in. Both sets of parents never gave up on her and it was absolutely beautiful to witness.
Despite this book spanning over a couple decades, the pacing felt perfect and the story felt very much well told. We did not get to see every tiny detail of Natalia’s life, but we did get to watch her grow into a strong woman. I never felt like I was missing part of the story, and by the end I felt like I had the entire story.
The ending of this book absolutely broke me. It was such a poetic and full circle reveal, and I have not been able to stop thinking about it since I finished this book.
The author shares in a note at the end that this story was inspired by the true story of a similar nature that happened to her mother. The author’s mom was abandoned by her parents during the tragedy of World War II, and although her story ended much differently, it inspired the author to try to write a possible story about a little girl who was left behind.
I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, and I will definitely have Roxanne Veletzos on my radar!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail