In WHEN WE WERE BRAVE, we find a conflicted SS officer, Wilhelm Falk, who risks everything to escape the Wehrmacht and get out the message about the death camps. Izaak is a young Jewish boy whose positive outlook is challenged daily as each new perilous situation comes along. American citizens, Herbert Müller and his family, are sent back to the hellish landscape of Germany because of the DNA … coursing through their veins. In the panorama of World War II, these are the high-stakes plots and endearing characters whose braided fates we pray will work out in the end.
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Reviewed by Susan Violante for Reader Views (02/2020)
“When We Were Brave” by Karla M. Jay takes readers by the hand into the WWII era through the lives of an SS Officer who plots against Hitler and his death camps, a Jewish boy’s holocaust journey as he hopes to be reunited with his father, and the Muller family, as they realize that being American citizens is not enough in the US if you are of German origin.
These stories are presented in a vignette format where the reader can follow along the parallel journeys through each vignette/chapter. I loved how these stories show how WWII’s scope goes beyond borders and continents, affecting people far away from the battle zone, showing what the reality is when speaking of a ‘world war.’ The stories also show readers how ordinary people discover what they are made of as they are forced to face unthinkable circumstances that are beyond of their control. How can you plan your next move, when in the next second your circumstances look totally different? That is what these characters had to live through. As the daughter of WWII Italian war survivors, I appreciated the German point of view and felt each day of their experience to the bone.
Karla M. Jay does an amazing job presenting three stories in one. Well written, captivating, and presented in a way that flows effortlessly for readers. As an author on WWII myself, I know first-hand how difficult it is to write and research, and I take my hat off to Jay for her impeccable writing, accurate research, and personable voice which allowed me as a reader to experience each story as if I was there.
I loved “When We Were Brave” by Karla M. Jay and found it an endearing, suspenseful, heart wrenching, and thought-provoking experience. Readers will be captivated from beginning to end, finding very hard to put down this powerful story. A Five Star MUST Read!
I want to start off by saying that I won this book in a goodreads giveaway. In return for my honest review and thoughts. I enjoyed reading this book. I highly recommend this book. I really liked all the different point of views. I will be rereading this book again in the future. I enjoyed the writing and the way Karla told these characters stories.
A fiction wrote about actual events during WWII. Told in 3 different POVS. Faulk, who is a SS Officer that has witnessed terrible things. Izaak, a Jewish boy, who loves to draw and doesn’t quite understand what is actually happening. Muller, a German American, who can’t understand how things have spun so out of control. I highly recommend.
This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: When We Were Brave
Author: Karla M. Jay
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Number of Readers: 15
Stats
Editing: 9/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Content: 9/10
Cover: 6/10
Of the 15 readers:
15 would read another book by this author.
8 thought the cover was good or excellent.
15 felt it was easy to follow.
15 would recommend this story to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 8 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
Of all the readers, 7 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
14 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
15 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
Readers’ Comments
‘This is a superb WW2 novel, very much character-led and written with verve. Loved it!’ Male reader, aged 43
‘So, you know the old saying, judge a book by its cover. Well, don’t. The cover is horrible but the book is not. This is a moving story of survival during WW2. The pacing is excellent and the characters simply jump off the page. Terribly sad in parts, but always with a tiny element of hope, this is perfect for anybody who enjoys well-written historical novels.’ Female reader, aged 50
‘I loved many things about this novel but what I loved the most was the author’s knowledge of that time in history and and how she brought it to life through her protagonists and what they went through.’ Female reader, aged 70
‘Wow! This author can write. Crisp dialogue, intricate knowledge of the time and place, complex characters, and a determination to show how innocent people can face up to and overcome terrible evil.’ Male reader, aged 62
To Sum It Up:
‘Historical storytelling at its very best. Powerful, often shocking, and always gripping. A FINALIST and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
The best book I have read this year.
Follows the life of three families during WW 11
A must read
Haunting
When We Were Brave gives us unique insight into aspects of WWII that are not typically as well-researched and documented as they are here. Told from the points-of-view of three lives heavily impacted by Hitler’s Third Reich, we are provided details of 1) an American family that was targeted and harrassed by their neighbors and U. S. government officials until the family decided to repatriate to Germany; 2) an SS officer who became so appalled and ashamed of the atrocities being committed that he determined to inform any government that might intervene on behalf of the millions of Jews suffering at the hands of Hitler’s regime; 3) an eight-year old Jewish child who attracted the attention of Joseph Mengele and who barely escaped that particularly evil menace.
WWII literature and American movies have generally afforded more attention to Japanese internment camps than to German camps designed for the same purpose. It is not commonly noted that German-Americans were encamped and then sent to Germany in exchange for Americans who were caught overseas and unable to return to America before the outbreak of war. Also given more than usual attention here is the pseudo-town at Terezin, the concentration camp that was literally re-created as though it were a movie set, complete with coffee shops, theaters, and houses, all to convince a visiting Red Cross task force that all was well within the Jewish “detainee camps”.
When We Were Brave is specific, detailed, and personal. It is informative and emotional and should be read with that in mind. I highly recommend it to those who are interested in a wider historical and personal context of the Holocaust.
Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher.