The poor level of typesetting, spelling, grammar and punctuation really made reading this book difficult. It detracted from the concentration needed to focus on the story. The story jumped from the second world war to later times and I found this very confusing. i didn't really engage with the story nor the characters. I felt there needed to initially be some back story to the characters in order to get the reader engaged and this was not there. I normally really love stories set around the second world war but feel thsi book really did disappoint.

Inspired by a true story, the story begins in 1940s Germany with Noa, a young Danish girl, working as a cleaner in railway station. Noa has been through a tough time, banished by her father after she became pregnant, her baby has been taken and adopted through the Nazi's lebensborn programme. Noa finds a cattle truck full of babies, unclothed and freezing to death, heading East. On an impulse she takes a baby boy, determined to save him, but she is now on the run! Can she protect and feed the baby boy without any papers or ration cards?
The fear and the threat that many people were living under during this period is clear and well written, and the authors description of the way in which they tried to protect themselves really brings it home.
Noa finds protection within a circus, but only on condition that she earns her keep by working as a trapeze artist. Noa has to learn how to fly on the trapeze and quickly!
The story follows the circus as they set off to France on tour, performing to the local people and the German soldiers deployed there. Noa is not the only person being protected by the circus, and many are at risk if caught.
Full of fascinating detail and based on real events, this book is intriguing, thrilling and horrifying in equal parts. I particularly enjoyed the description of life in the circus during the war. Circus people were not highly regarded by the Nazi party, the majority ended up being sent to concentration camps.
A must read for anyone interested in life in Europe during the 1940s under the Nazis or the lives of circus folk. A gripping story that you won't be able to put down!

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.
Set in world war 2 this book tells the story of a young Dutch girl, impregrenated by a German soldier, her baby taken away from her and thrown out by her family. Living above a German rail station to earn her keep, she finds a Jewish baby boy in a box art and takes him to make up for having to give her own baby up for adoption. Running away with him she is found by a travelling circus who take her and the baby in. She is trained to be part of the flying trapeze act by Astrid, the lead aerialist who is Jewish. Initially their relationship is difficult but what develops between them is a strong bond of friendship, strengthened by their pasts.
Pam Jenoff writes exceptional books and I have loved all the ones I have read. This one is beautifully written, with lots of descriptive narratives which makes it so real. Not my favourite by this author book but still a lovely, emotional read that I would highly recommend.
4.5****