My enemys cradle is a story of love and its tendency to be found where we least expect it, and not to live where we seek it. This program pressured girls to have sex with ss officers and to get pregnant. During world war ii, lebensborns were set up to aid woman pregnant with children of german soldiers. Book recommendations for people who like my enemy s cradle by sara young. Cyrla, child of a polish jewish father and a dutch mother, is sent to live with her late. It is a love song to kinship, an elegy for the women we have lost, and a lullaby for the children we must save. Cyrla is a true heroine, although young and naive at the beginning of the book.
Free download or read online my enemys cradle pdf epub book. My enemys cradle opens in schiedam, holland in 1941, where cyrla, the novels firstperson narrator, has been living with her late mothers family for five years. At the book s outset, cyrla is strident, idealistic, and foolishly outspoken, but as she matures she begins to understand the complexity of the world around her and the people she has known. For cyrla in my enemys cradle, this mantra is born of bitter experience. Part love story and part elegy for the terrible choices we must often make to survive, my enemys cradle keens for what we lose in war and sings for the hope we sometimes find. But because she is young, smart and a naturally caring person, she is able to quickly grasp other people s feelings and situations, and provide friendship and support. It is hoped her germanic blondness will be enough to keep her safe. I happen to think this book is one of the best i have ever read. Our group thought that it was an excellent young adult book, however we would have liked it to have gone into more depth. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. My enemy s cradle is about cyrla s coping with a horrific situation, forcing herself to maintain a calm exterior while experiencing deeply troubling feelings. Unlike the spanish civil warworld war ii book i read earlier this week, my enemys cradle has a happy ending.
It was an easy read and a book you will not be able to put down. Pdf my enemys cradle book by sara young free download 365. Her cousin, anneke, is pregnant and has passed the rigorous exams for admission to the lebensborn, a maternity. Praise for my enemys cradle youngs youthful charactersespecially her heroine, cyrlaare utterly believable, their longings, fears and hopes etched with an authenticity and sense of urgency that make this story vibrate on the page. But because she is young, smart and a naturally caring person, she is able to quickly grasp other peoples. My enemy s cradle goes to the very heart of hope and how it can survive in even the darkest and most dangerous of times. Goodreads members who liked my enemys cradle also liked. The main characters of this historical, historical fiction story are anneke, cyrla. Despite having read lots of novels set in wwii, this book was my first exposure to nazi germanys lebensborn program for young women who were pregnant with good german soldiers babies. I recomend it because its a heartstriking novel with some twists and turns that make it worth the read. Anne d leclaire tenderly and fiercely felt, youngs tale of a young jewish woman trapped in the sinister web of the nazi lebensborn program is that true find, a. My enemys cradle goes to the very heart of hope and how it can survive in even the darkest and most dangerous of times. Wonderful read, sad at parts, but it isnt a book mired in sadness of the holocaust.
In my enemys cradle, sara young weaves a twisted story based on historical facts. Mining a lost piece of history, sara young takes us deep into the lives of women living in the worst of times. Through an cruel twist of fate, cyrla enters a lebensborn as her pregnant cousin, anneke. Format kindle book overdrive read adobe epub ebook 1. My enemys cradle is about the lebensborn program of nazi germany during. My enemy s cradle has 5 available editions to buy at half price books marketplace.
My enemys cradle chronicles the nazi lebensborn project or, at least gives a fictional account of a girl who uses it for protection. Compelled to learn more, sara young knew that this was a book that needed to be written. My enemys cradle book by sara young 5 available editions. Books similar to my enemys cradle meet your next favorite book. Cyrla, child of a polish jewish father and a dutch mother, is sent to live with her late mothers family in holland on the eve of world war ii. Anne leclaire author of entering normal secrets of betrayal, love, and honor drive the plot in this riveting historical novel about a young woman caught up in the nazi lebensborn program. Praise for my enemy s cradle young s youthful charactersespecially her heroine, cyrlaare utterly believable, their longings, fears and hopes etched with an authenticity and sense of urgency that make this story vibrate on the page. Being my 100th book and satisfying one of my other goals which was to diminish the pile of books that i have had for more than a year.
Cyrla is halfjewish and living with her gentile relatives in holland during the occupation. Sara young takes us into the very heart of the nazis cradle with a powerful story of love set against the true events of one of the most secret and terrifying of heinrich himmlers wartime projects the. Cyrla wants to keep her child, though, so she resolves to leave the maternity home. This book had me enthralled and kept me turning the pages in record time. The first edition of the novel was published in 2008, and was written by sara young. Sara young writes with the intelligence and authority of an historian, but also with the sensitivity, precision, insight and grace of a poet. Anne leclaire author of entering normal secrets of betrayal, love, and honor drive the plot in this riveting historical novel about a young woman caught up. With my enemy s cradle, sara young shows herself more than capable.
With her blonde hair, cyrla resembles her dutch christian mother and can easily be mistaken as her cousin annekes twin. However, when a friend told me about the bang bang challenge, i decided to hold off a little bit and use this as one of my. My enemy s cradle sara young, 2008 houghton mifflin harcourt 384 pp. Her cousin, anneke, is pregnant and has passed the rigorous exams for admission to the lebensborn, a maternity home for girls carrying german babies. M ining a lost piece of history, sara young takes us deep into the lives of women living in the worst of times. This story concerns the lebensborn program, one of the more horrific programs hitler used to ensure racial purity. With her blonde hair, cyrla resembles her dutch christian mother and can easily be mistaken as her cousin annekes. In my enemy s cradle, sara young weaves a twisted story based on historical facts.
About the author under the name sara pennypacker, sara young has written seven books for children, including the acclaimed stuart series stuarts cape and clementine. My enemys cradle offers intrigue, suspense, compassion, heartbreak and joy. History, world war, 19391945, cousins, pregnant women, children, fiction. In my enemy s cradle, cyrla travels to the other side of war, love, and the heartbreak of survival.
My enemys cradle book columbus metropolitan library. My enemy s cradle is about cyrlas coping with a horrific situation, forcing herself to maintain a calm exterior while experiencing deeply troubling feelings. My enemys cradle was an intriguing story about a young half jewish girl hiding out in a lebensborn home, a maternity home for young women carrying the babies of german soldiers. My enemys cradle by sara young 2008, hardcover for sale. Through one young girls experience of a war that for her does not involve bombings and shootings, starvation or the gas chambers other than as a little known and less understood backdrop to the way life is. Although the characters in the novel suffer terribly, there is an optimistic thread that runs through the novel to the very end.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Find books like my enemys cradle from the worlds largest community of readers. Barnes and noble readers gave my enemys cradle 4 12 star. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. That being said, however, there are few other weaknesses in this utterly powerful book. Sara young cyrla lives with her dutch relatives in nazioccupied holland. The characters are so real you hate for the book to end. Anne d leclaire tenderly and fiercely felt, young s tale of a young jewish woman trapped in the sinister web of the nazi lebensborn program is that true find, a story truly never before told. My enemys cradle examines themes of war, hope, and love.
If my enemy s cradle has a fault, it is that young drops a few too many clues early in the novel, leaving some later revelations and ironies less than surprising for careful readers. The novel bears witness to the shame and courage of third reich families during the devastating final days of the war, as each family members fateful choice lead the reader deeper into questions of complicity and innocence, to the novels heartbreaking and unforgettable conclusion. My enemy s cradle by sarah young, 9780151015375, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Loses her family and falls in love along the way with a soldier. Cyrla lives with her dutch relatives in nazioccupied holland. My enemy s cradle one of the best books i have read in years. Oct 06, 2008 download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read my enemys cradle. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read my enemy s cradle. My enemys cradle by sara young reading guidebook club.
A great story in its time, tells of a halfjewish girl who gets trapped into the lebensborn baby slavery during the holocaust. It kept me on the edge of wherever i was sitting, it never ceased to let me down. She has been successfully hiding the fact that she is halfjewishuntil neighbors threaten to expose her identity. In this compelling first novel set against the little known nazi lebensborn program, sara young creates a heroine the reader will not easily forget. My enemy s cradle is a good read, though there are plot elements and character interactions that may strike some as unrealistic. Compelled to learn more, sara young knew that this was a book that needed to. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 365 pages and is available in hardcover format. Sara young previously has published seven childrens book under the pen name sara pennypacker, including the stuart series and the clementine series. However, these portions do gain credibility by virtue of the unnatural setting and extreme time in which they take place. My enemys cradle is about the lebensborn program of nazi germany during world war ii which affected so many women and children in so many countries, and yet no one seem to know about it. Cyrlas life is turned on its side over and over again in this shocking story of love lost, the holocaust and the innocence lost during the nazi propoganda campaign. Goodreads members who liked my enemy s cradle also liked. My enemys cradle book johnson county library bibliocommons. My enemys cradle sara young second world war nazi lebensborn.
I found myself feeling terrified for cyrla with the danger she was in. Cyrla s life is turned on it s side over and over again in this shocking story of love lost, the holocaust and the innocence lost during the nazi propoganda campaign. Feb 29, 2008 my enemy s cradle by sarah young, 9780151015375, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Intensely romantic in a way that only wartime fiction can be. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus.
Part love story and part elegy for the terrible choices we must often make to survive, my enemy s cradle keens for what we lose in war and sings for the hope we sometimes find. Sara young writes with the intelligence and authority of an historian, but also with the sensitivity, precision, insight and. Find books like my enemy s cradle from the worlds largest community of readers. My enemys cradle sara young, 2008 houghton mifflin harcourt 384 pp.
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