The German Girl

A Novel

By: Armando Lucas Correa

Narrated by: Joy Osmanski

A stunningly ambitious and beautiful novel, perfect for fans of The Nightingale, Schindler's List, and All the Light We Cannot See, about 12-year-old Hannah Rosenthal's harrowing experience fleeing Nazi-occupied Germany with her family and best friend, only to discover that the overseas asylum they had been promised is an illusion.

Before everything changed, young Hannah Rosenthal lived a charmed life. But now, in 1939, the streets of Berlin are draped with red, white, and black flags; her family's fine possessions are hauled away; and they are no longer welcome in the places that once felt like home. Hannah and her best friend, Leo Martin, make a pact: whatever the future has in store for them, they'll meet it together.

Hope appears in the form of the SS St. Louis, a transatlantic liner offering Jews safe passage out of Germany. After a frantic search to obtain visas, the Rosenthals and the Martins depart on the luxurious ship bound for Havana. Life on board the St. Louis is like a surreal holiday for the refugees, with masquerade balls, exquisite meals, and polite, respectful service. But soon ominous rumors from Cuba undermine the passengers' fragile sense of safety. From one day to the next, impossible choices are offered, unthinkable sacrifices are made, and the ship that once was their salvation seems likely to become their doom.

Seven decades later in New York City, on her 12th birthday, Anna Rosen receives a strange package from an unknown relative in Cuba, her great-aunt Hannah. Its contents will inspire Anna and her mother to travel to Havana to learn the truth about their family's mysterious and tragic past, a quest that will help Anna understand her place and her purpose in the world.

The German Girl sweeps from Berlin at the brink of the Second World War to Cuba on the cusp of revolution, to New York in the wake of September 11, before reaching its deeply moving conclusion in the tumult of present-day Havana. Based on a true story, this masterful novel gives voice to the joys and sorrows of generations of exiles, forever seeking a place called home.

©2016 Armando Lucas Correa. All rights reserved. (P)2016 Simon & Schuster

Loved it.

Best book I have read this year. Narrator exceptional. Read for sure!!!!
Learned a lot too.

Excellent reader

I listened to this on Audible. It was a great story and the reader did an excellent job. This story kept my interest right to the very end.

Looking for rainbows.

Found this book to have so many negative undertones that I struggled to finish. This time period did have many that faced serious hardships but in life there are rainbows if you choose to see them.

Loose ends

Is there a follow up? What happens to the money in trust? Do Anna and her mother file claims against the German Government for the property owned for generations?
I just felt let down. This sad woman and her wasted life.
At least a prologue.

Great story but....

I listened to this for about an hour but I found that the narrators voice was so bad that you do not want to listen to the book. She is nasally and has no inflection in her voice. It is hard to realize the characters in your mind when you can’t get past her voice.

I loved the book

The book was written excellent! Since I was born in Hamburg/ Germany in 1941 to a Jewish mother
It sounded like a true story that definitely could have occurred as written.
I have the book itself in my library but I preferred to listen to it on Audible! Thank you !

Really good!

The story was quite interesting, going between the two characters. I had no idea of what happened with Germans that boarded ships and were refused entry. Such a tragic era. Good story line. I recommend it for anyone interested in WW2 stories.

a little confusing

The story is a good one, but I found it a little confusing at times as it went back and forth between generations. Narration was okay but emphasis was sometimes a little off.

Had high hopes

I had high hopes for this book but it was so boring, sad, depressing and the narration was very flat. I pushed through to the end but none of the characters are interesting and the mothers of Anna and Hannah are portrayed as being always too emotionally affected and sad. Wow, how did they ever get through life? I was annoyed at this portrayed of women. I really was hoping for characters that caught my attention.

Slow

It was difficult to finish the book. I was having trouble getting into the story. It was not a great story line, could have been a lot shorter.