Review: Children of the Stars by Mario Escobar

Children of the Stars

by Mario Escobar

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 368

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  August 1942. Jacob and Moses Stein, two young Jewish brothers, are staying with their aunt in Paris amid the Nazi occupation. The boys’ parents, well-known German playwrights, have left the brothers in their aunt’s care until they can find safe harbor for their family. But before the Steins can reunite, a great and terrifying roundup occurs. The French gendarmes, under Nazi order, arrest the boys and take them to the Vélodrome d’Hiver—a massive, bleak structure in Paris where thousands of France’s Jews are being forcibly detained.

Jacob and Moses know they must flee in order to survive, but they only have a set of letters sent from the south of France to guide them to their parents. Danger lurks around every corner as the boys, with nothing but each other, trek across the occupied country. Along their remarkable journey, they meet strangers and brave souls who put themselves at risk to protect the children—some of whom pay the ultimate price for helping these young refugees of war.

Kritters Thoughts:  A set of brothers were sent to their aunt's house in hopes for a safe place until their parents could reunite with them outside of Germany's occupation.  What they thought was a safe place isn't and they end up in the heart of a roundup and narrowly escape, but this sends them on a journey to reunite with their parents and hopefully out of the purview of the Nazi regime.  

This book was a combination historical fiction with a side of road trip/adventure saga.  These two boys were racing against being detained by the Nazi regime and at almost every step of the way they found angels who were willing to risk their lives to get these boys to their destination.  There were a few moments where I thought the story lagged just a bit, but overall the pacing kept me reading quickly wanting to know if these boys would ultimately find freedom and their parents.  This book couldn't exist in our current times with the technology and forms of communication, so it fit just perfectly in this time and place.  

If you have read a lot of World War II and you think you have read them all, I would challenge you to read this one as it is just a little different from the rest of the pack.  


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.