The Woman with the Blue Star

by Pam Jenoff, Nancy Peterson (Read by), Emily Lawrence (Read by), Jennifer Jill Araya (Read by)

Overview

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Girls of Paris comes a riveting tale of unfathomable sacrifice and unlikely friendship during World War II.

1942. Sadie Gault is eighteen and living with her parents amid the horrors of the Kraków Ghetto during World War II. When the Nazis liquidate the ghetto, Sadie and her pregnant mother are forced to seek refuge in the perilous sewers beneath the city. One day Sadie looks up through a grate and sees a girl about her own age buying flowers.

Ella Stepanek is an affluent Polish girl living a life of relative ease with her stepmother, who has developed close alliances with the occupying Germans. Scorned by her friends and longing for her fiancé, who has gone off to war, Ella wanders Kraków restlessly. While on an errand in the market, she catches a glimpse of something moving beneath a grate in the street. Upon closer inspection, she realizes it’s a girl hiding.

Ella begins to aid Sadie and the two become close, but as the dangers of the war worsen, their lives are set on a collision course that will test them in the face of overwhelming odds. Inspired by harrowing true stories, The Woman with the Blue Star is an emotional testament to the power of friendship and the extraordinary strength of the human will to survive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665068703
Publisher:	Park Row Books
Publication date:	05/04/2021
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 6.70(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Pam Jenoff is the author of several books of historical fiction, including the New York Times bestsellers The Lost Girls of Paris and The Orphan’s Tale. She holds a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University and a master’s degree in history from Cambridge, and she received her Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania. Jenoff ’s novels are inspired by her experiences working at the Pentagon and also as a diplomat for the State Department handling Holocaust issues in Poland. She lives with her husband and three children near Philadelphia, where, in addition to writing, she teaches law school.

Nancy Peterson is a prestigious Audie Award nominee. With over 25 years of acting experience, she enjoys breathing life into each audiobook performance.

Emily Lawrence, an actor and writer, is passionate about bringing stories to life. Her greatest strength as a performer is her ability to bring herself to the role, creating a wide range of emotionally resonant performances that leap off the page, stage, or screen. Her favorite characters are complicated, conflicted, and still searching for their inner truths. She has narrated more than 190 audiobooks, half of which were USA Today or New York Times bestsellers, and has also worked in film, television, and theater. Born and raised in New York, she moved to Los Angeles shortly after receiving her BFA in drama from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She also lived in London while studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her greatest loves are acting and reading, so narrating audiobooks is a dream come true. Her other passions include traveling, LARPing, aerial circus, and chocolate.

Jennifer Jill Araya has been trained as an opera singer and orchestral cellist, lending a musicality and depth of understanding to her narration that help bring her authors’ stories to life. When she’s not narrating, Jennifer can be found hiking, biking, running, or generally exploring her home city of Cincinnati with her husband Arturo and their two children.

Editorial Reviews

A page-turner.” —Washington Post

“Mesmerizing and meticulous… Jenoff creates a rich historical drama from her compelling characters’ connection, growth, and perseverance.” —Booklist

"This is a heartfelt, emotional tale about human connection, hope, survival, and struggle during one of humanity’s darkest moments." —Library Journal

“Pam Jenoff’s meticulously researched account of an unlikely and dangerous friendship during WWII is a timely and compelling account of the lengths we go to for the family we are born with, and the family we make for ourselves. It will leave you gasping at the end.” —Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Two Ways and A Spark of Light

“Heartfelt and beautifully written… This emotional novel is filled with twists, turns, and displays of bravery and love that you will never forget, culminating in an ending that manages to be both surprising and uplifting at the same time. This is singular historical fiction that you will not be able to put down.” —Lisa Scottoline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eternal

"As I read this searing story of the Holocaust, I was transported, heart and soul, to a moment in history that still defies comprehension. In Pam Jenoff’s sure and sensitive hands, however, this is a story of friendship, love, and hope – hope that transcends even the darkest days of our past. The Woman with the Blue Star is a profoundly moving novel from a writer who is, deservedly, both admired and beloved for the truth, power, and beauty of her work." —Jennifer Robson, New York Times bestselling author of The Gown

“The Woman with the Blue Star is a beautifully written and extraordinarily well-researched story. Pam Jenoff captures the trials and the triumphs of the human spirit during the WW2 era like no one else. This book is a must-read for all historical fiction fans.” —Kelly Rimmer, New York Times bestselling author of The Things We Cannot Say

“The Woman with the Blue Star crackles with suspense as this haunting, harrowing tale of love, loss and survival takes us deeper and deeper into the lives of two courageous young women. This is the historic fiction novel Pam Jenoff was born to write, and she does so with passion and authenticity. Readers who loved The Nightingale and The Alice Network will happily follow The Woman with the Blue Star into this new intriguing Eastern European-set landscape.” —Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of Hello Summer and Sunset Beach

“Once again, Pam Jenoff displays her mastery at illuminating little-known yet remarkably important nuggets of WWII history. I was immediately mesmerized by The Woman with the Blue Star, a haunting tale of enduring bonds, impossible sacrifice, and an inspiring fortitude to survive the darkness—in every sense. Book clubs will assuredly devour this compulsively readable novel that both wrenches and warms the heart.” —Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of Sold on a Monday

From the Publisher

Set in WWII-era Poland, this audiobook tells the parallel stories of two young women, Sadie and Ella. The war has hit each of them hard: Sadie is forced into the sewer to avoid Nazi persecution, and Ella is struggling to adapt to life with her cruel, Nazi-sympathizing stepmother. When their paths cross, Sadie's and Ella's lives change forever. Three narrators—Jennifer Jill Araya, Emily Lawrence, and Nancy Peterson—present the plot reliably; the biggest distraction here is its delivery. The story, flawed in some parts and inconsistent in others, contains all the drama necessary to engage listeners, but the narrators overemote. Their overwrought performances, combined with the other frustrations, do not create a rewarding experience. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2021 - AudioFile

Set in WWII-era Poland, this audiobook tells the parallel stories of two young women, Sadie and Ella. The war has hit each of them hard: Sadie is forced into the sewer to avoid Nazi persecution, and Ella is struggling to adapt to life with her cruel, Nazi-sympathizing stepmother. When their paths cross, Sadie's and Ella's lives change forever. Three narrators—Jennifer Jill Araya, Emily Lawrence, and Nancy Peterson—present the plot reliably; the biggest distraction here is its delivery. The story, flawed in some parts and inconsistent in others, contains all the drama necessary to engage listeners, but the narrators overemote. Their overwrought performances, combined with the other frustrations, do not create a rewarding experience. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2021 - AudioFile