Lilac Girls: A Novel by Martha Hall Kelly is not a light beach read! It is however,  historical fiction at its best! The story takes place during World War II and is told from the perspective of three women living very different lives. Carolyn Ferriday is a young New York City socialite  who volunteers for the French consulate and spends her days sending clothes and food to the children of France who have become orphans due to the war. Kasia, a teenager who works as a courier for the underground resistance movement is arrested along with her sister, her mother, and her beloved, Pietrik. Kasia is transported to Ravensbruk, a Nazi concentration camp for women. Lastly, Herta a young German doctor who has rationalized the horrendous, experimental surgical procedures she performed on the Ravensbruk women or “rabbits” as they are called as an act of nationalism.

Growing up I had learned of the horrible atrocities that the Jewish people had endured in the Nazi concentration camps. I remember the horrific images of the starving figures as they entered the gas chambers. I never remember learning about Ravensbruk and the experiments that were performed on the women known as the “rabbits.”

While you may want to pick a more lighthearted read for the beach make sure to pick up Lilac Girls, you won’t be disappointed!

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