Saving Amelie - A Book Review

Saving Amelie by Cathy Gohlke is truly an amazing book that I believe will touch the heart of anyone who reads it.  Within the pages of this book you will journey to a time in history that never should be forgotten.  The events that took place during WWII were evil and heartbreaking, but during this time there were people, true heroes, that put aside their own needs to help others.  This book captures the very essence of those people.  It depicts the horrific events that went on, but also paints a beautiful picture of love, friendship and the bonds formed between people from different walks of life.

I can't even imagine the research that must of went into writing Saving Amelie.  One of my favorite things about Cathy Gohlke is how she takes true events from history and interweaves them into a fictional story.  She has a way of taking her readers on a journey to another time and place where you experience joy, pain, sorrow, fear and every other emotion right along with the characters.  From the first page to the last I was captivated.  I cried, I hoped and I feared.  When I wasn't reading I was thinking about it and talking about it.  When I slept I was dreaming about it.

Even more this book reached down into the depths of my soul and moved me.  It pulled on my heartstrings in such an emotional way and it made me think about things that I normally don't think about.  Life is about helping others.  About putting our needs aside and doing things for the good of other's even if it is not what is easiest or best for us.  I felt as if God was speaking to my heart through the pages of the book.  Cathy Gohlke is a gifted writer and I can't wait to see what she writes next!

More about the book:

Amelie is a 4 year old German girl who is deaf.  Her father is an important German officer who is less than pleased with her "imperfection" and blames Amelie's mother for producing a child with a disability.  When Kristine, Amelie's mother, realizes that Amelie's days are numbered she turns to Rachel, her childhood friend for help.

Rachel is the daughter of an American eugenics researcher.  The more Rachel finds out about her father's research the more she realizes that he is not the kind loving father she thought him to be.  A matter of fact it seems that Rachel's whole existence is not what she thought.  With the help of Jason Young, an American journalist who is in Germany to cover the war, Rachel and Amelie go into hiding in Oberammergau, a Bavarian village that puts on a Passion Play every decade.  Many people help hide Rachel and Amelie putting their own lives at risk in the process.



Christy Gohlke is two time Christy Award winning author.  You can visit her online HERE.

***This book was provided to my by Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my review.