In this New York Times bestseller, two women in different eras face similar life-altering decisions, the politics of exclusion, the terrible choices we face in wartime, and the redemptive power of love.In 1945, Elsie Schmidt is a naive teenager, as eager for her first sip of champagne as she is for her first kiss. She and her family have been protected from the worst of the terror and desperation … worst of the terror and desperation overtaking her country by a high-ranking Nazi who wishes to marry her. So when an escaped Jewish boy arrives on Elsie’s doorstep on Christmas Eve, Elsie understands that opening the door would put all she loves in danger.
Sixty years later, in El Paso, Texas, Reba Adams is trying to file a feel-good Christmas piece for the local magazine, and she sits down with the owner of Elsie’s German Bakery for what she expects will be an easy interview. But Reba finds herself returning to the bakery again and again, anxious to find the heart of the story—a story that resonates with her own turbulent past. For Elsie, Reba’s questions are a stinging reminder of that last bleak year of World War II.
As the two women’s lives become intertwined, both are forced to confront the uncomfortable truths of the past and seek out the courage to forgive.
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This book is very spellbinding. I could not put it down. I highly recommend it.
Lovely dual-timeline story combining a contemporary thread in modern-day El Paso with an intense episode from WWII; one of McCoy’s best. The contemporary thread includes loving descriptions of treats from a German bakery, and like the best food writing, it’s not to be read on an empty stomach.
Nicely written, and interesting perspective of life for the general public living within Germany during WWII.
Real people dealing with the hardships of war and trying to survive.
excellent to read
I enjoyed the story line starting in the past and jumping to now following the main character through her life.
The story takes place during World War II in Germany as well as in modern day Texas. It includes great characters, especially in the earlier segments. The delicious recipes link both time periods.
I enjoyed this book
I enjoyed her writing. I was interested in the experiences during WWII and the experiences and people in America.
The variety of characters and their interaction, combined with the historical significance of the time made this book very educational, yet captivating.
Wonderful story, even though fiction it was realistic giving a viewpoint of what it really was like during WWII and the hardships people faced. The author did a great job!
I found the whole context of the Schmidt bakery in Nazi and post-Nazi Germany to be very evocative and well-detailed. Sarah McCoy obviously did her homework because every action and conversation seem real and grounded in historical understanding.
Enjoyed reading this book with my book club, we all enjoyed the many twists and turn in the story.
A gripping tale, and some absolutely wonderful recipes at the end. Worth reading twice!
Much of the book takes place in Nazi Germany where a baker’s daughter finds herself unexpectedly sheltering a young Jewish boy from the S.S. The other part takes place decades later in El Paso Texas. The book is well-written and the characters are, for the most part, well developed. I stayed up late to finish the book.
Very good story. Liked the characters and cared about what happened to them.
Interesting subject matteer and good story, but the writing isn’t good enough. There is no real buildup in the story. It feels like it reaches a peak and then skips ahead to the next era. It is written in different time periods, which is interesting, but it could be woven together better.
Just as another book I just reviewed that took place in Nazi Germany, this novel shows that life for the gentiles in Germany was fraught with issues such as food shortages and moral dilemmas. The characters are wonderful, especially as one of them is seen during her childhood in Germany and her later years in Texas.
Good characters and …
Lovely story, well written with wonderful characters
Good WW II story about how the war affected the average German family and how the Nazis destroyed their lives.