A beautiful story of Sara, who is kept alive in the Auschwitz camp due to her skills as a seamstress. This is her story and her journey through such tough times and you really get the feeling of how it was for these women, very hard, very traumatic and yet friendships were made and not everyone is bad.

This is such a well written book and the story is very emotional and heart-breaking but you can feel the strength and courage of these women. The survival skills are far more courageous than any of us in this day and age could possibly imagine. The depth of this story is what keeps you reading and emotions will keep you riveted to this book page after page. A great read.

Thank you NetGalley and Book Whisperer for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

A romanticized tale of the seamstress sisters who creatd for the wives of the hird Reich. An easy read, very enjoyable.

A heartbreaking story of one girls fight to stay alive after suffering so much loss. I read this book in a day in between work and it’s was great. It had me griped from the start. A strong female lead who loves her family and losses everything so quickly.

What a story, the author has captured this snapshot well. The characters are well developed. As I read I felt the whole range of emotions from sadness to happiness; hope to dispair; joy and anger and more besides. I loved every moment and so I can’t thank you enough for bringing it to life.

Thank you for allowing me an advance copy which I have now read and reviewed freely I look forward to reading more from C K Mc Adam.

This story was very well told. I felt like I was experiencing the events along with the main character. I appreciated this different look at what it was like inside of a Nazi concentration camp. We really get to know the characters and see the stamina people had to have in order to survive.

The Seamstress of Auschwitz by C.K. McAdam is a well written and emotional novel that pays tribute to the strength and bravery of those who lived through the Holocaust. Through the story of Sara, the author captures the complexity of human nature, the importance of family and friendship, and the power of hope in the face of unimaginable suffering. It is a moving and thought-provoking read that will leave a lasting impact on its readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Book Whisperer for the ARC!

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5 stars)

Review:

The Seamstress of Auschwitz by CK McAdams is a poignant and compelling historical novel that delves into the harrowing experiences of a young woman surviving the horrors of Auschwitz through her remarkable skills as a seamstress. McAdams expertly weaves together history and fiction, offering a vivid portrayal of the strength and resilience displayed by those who endured such unimaginable suffering.

The story is both heartbreaking and inspiring, with characters that are fully realized and relatable. The protagonist’s journey is a testament to the power of hope and human connection, even in the darkest of times. The friendships formed within the concentration camp, based on shared experiences and mutual support, add an emotional depth that resonates throughout the novel.

While the book handles the sensitive subject matter with care, there are moments where the pacing slows, and I found myself wanting more exploration of certain secondary characters. However, these are minor issues in an otherwise powerful narrative.

Overall, The Seamstress of Auschwitz is a moving and memorable read that pays tribute to the resilience of the human spirit. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in historical fiction that highlights the personal stories behind one of history’s darkest periods.

I think there can never be enough books about the Holocaust. It is something that shouldn’t be forgotten or dismissed. And there are some beautifully written stories and then some not so well written. Unfortunately for me, this book is in the later.
Where was the editor to take this story from the passive to the active? So many sentences starting with I and we are constantly told things which grated on me. So little description and stilted dialogue. It was a tough read and not because of the content.
With some editorial tweaks this story could be as good as the others written about Auschwitz. Without I would give this 2 stars for writing and 4 stars for story.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

Wow! This is a powerful and inspiring story of strength, family and friendship in the worst of times. Told beautifully and sensitively it was both hard to read and compelling by to read.

The Seamstress of Auschwitz is a well-written and extremely moving book by CK McAdam. Sara Schönflies and her sisters are Jewish living in Germany during the rise of the Nazi regime. Their story is one of appalling treatment that has been well documented at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Their sewing skills kept them alive nut it was their own resiliency that gave hope during this terrible time.

From Germany to Palestine to the US, we go along with Sara, feel her heartaches, see the horrors, but also know her strength. An unforgettable story.

A beautifully written story of Sara, a gifted seamstress. Her journey includes time in Auschwitz and Palestine, searching for the man who saved her life. The story runs the gambit of emotions-hope, faith, despair, death. I found it too be a story I could not put down.

This is a historical fiction centered around Sara Schonfliesm a young, Jewish woman living in Nazi Germany. This is a harrowing tale of a seamstress who loses virtually everything yet persists at an Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, leveraging her knowledge of seamstressing as a means of survival.

It was clear that C.K. McAdam did her research, and I found it fascinating to learn in the acknowledgements that the novel was inspired by Hedwig Hoss who ran a fashion salon in the extermination camp, utilizing seamstress prisoners to create fashionable pieces for the wives of guards and officers.

I highly recommend this book, not only for it being a page turner, but more importantly to engage with characters and ideas that make us uncomfortable so we can build empathy, build perspective, and remember the past is ever-present.

Sara and her sisters are transferred from their loving home to the hell of Auschwitz-Birkenau. From a family of tailors and seamstresses, the girls use their talents to find work in the sewing shop.

I hate to say this about any holocaust story, but I found this book a bit lacking. I didn’t feel like I knew the sisters. The book could have used a lot more character development. Perhaps the author could have used alternating points of view, or some other technique to bring the sisters to life. Overall, not a book I would reread or recommend.

This was a very emotional novel showing the bond between sisters and family during the most horrible time. I highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in learning more about the Holocaust. I learn something new about this horrible time in history each time I read a book, even fictionalized one's. Never forget!

ARC review

A beautiful and harrowing story which broke my heart.

The author treated the awful events with such respect. The character building was done really well, causing strong and painful connections.

Very hard to read, but so, so worth it.
Have tissues to hand.

The Seamstress of Auschwitz narrates the expirience of Sara and her Jewish family amidst the turmoil of World War II. As their once-thriving community turns against them, their cherished family tailoring business is shattered. Sara and her sisters are ultimately thrust into the harrowing reality of a Nazi concentration camp, navigating the harshest of things.

I’m passionate about historical fiction, especially World War II novels, as I’m fascinated by that period of history. This book was a captivating read; its simplicity made it accessible, while its depth allowed readers to deeply empathize with the characters.

This was a heartbreakingly beautiful story of love and loss in the concentration camps it is a beautiful story of survival when political ideology and religion causes man to be inhumane to others .
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me

Thank you NetGalley and Book Whisperer for this eCopy to review

The Seamstress of Auschwitz is a poignant and gripping historical fiction novel set during one of the darkest periods in human history, WWII. This novel, inspired by true events, offers a harrowing yet hopeful tale of survival, resilience, and the indomitable human spirit.

The story follows Sara, a young Jewish woman from a family of talented tailors and seamstresses in Germany. As the Nazi regime rises to power, Sara’s life is turned upside down. She and her sisters are sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp and later transferred to Auschwitz. Their survival hinges on their ability to sew exquisite garments for the wives of SS officers and Nazi dignitaries

Amidst the horrors of the camp, Sara’s determination and skill as a seamstress become her lifeline. The novel also explores her journey from the displaced persons camps to the shores of Palestine, driven by her relentless pursuit of the man who once saved her life

Sara nearly dies from a number of illnesses, and nearly gives up, but her spirit is strong and her family and friends make sure she survives. Sara has a great deal of hope and always believes that there is a better life if she can survive, she never gives up hope of meeting Paul again and waits everyday at his Uncle's café

I was caught up in Sara's story and praying for her to survive, McAdam really brought home the horrors of the concentration camps and how families were destroyed. A very powerful and moving story, that will stay with me for a long time.

I enjoyed this book. It isn’t so different than other historical fiction books about young girls sent to concentration camps, but each one strikes at one’s heart. And every person who lost their lives in those deserves to be remembered by the living. So I will happily read any historical fiction or non fiction from this time.
Sara wasn’t a flawless character but she was a real character. She did what she could to keep her and her sisters alive until she couldn’t. With a little help from some along the way.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

The Seamstress Of Auschwitz is a new and incredibly powerful Second World War historical fiction novel from author C. K. McAdam. This was my first time reading anything from the author and I believe hers is a newer voice in the genre but she has a compelling writing style which has crafted an unforgettable story.

Told through a first-person narrative, we follow Sara and her family through their time in Ravensbrück and then Auschwitz as they depend heavily on their skills as seamstresses to survive. It’s an incredibly emotional and harrowing story which had me sobbing at times and is a brilliant tribute to the bravery, determination and resilience of those in the concentration camps.

The chapters prior to the family being arrested were also very good and they touched on subjects such as the Kindertransport. We often see historical fiction novels covering what was happening in the larger cities in Germany so it was interesting to have the story initially set in a smaller town, just south of Hamburg.

This is a very fast-paced story which is on the shorter side. This did mean that at times it lacked the depth I wanted certain chapters to have, particularly those exploring the deaths of Sara’s different family members. It felt at times like those deaths happened, many of them very traumatically, but the plot just moved on regardless. I can understand to a degree that that was ultimately life in the concentration camps; people died and everyone else just had to carry on and try and stay alive themselves, but ultimately I do think that we did need greater depth in these scenes to do them justice.

Overall, The Seamstress Of Auschwitz is a powerful and compelling story which is a strong addition to the Second World War historical fiction genre. I’m excited to see what comes next from C. K. McAdam.

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I have posted my review on my blog www.yourschloe.co.uk

*Thank you to NetGalley, C. K. McAdam and Book Whisperer.