Book Review: A Sparrow in Terezin by Kristy Cambron

My Thoughts:
My book has a handful of earmarked pages, something I rarely do (I can't stress how rare that is for me).  I struggle with books that have two story lines, in two different time periods.  They are often put together in a manner that makes it hard to follow and harder to care for the characters.

Kristy Cambron is a master at taking two story lines, one past and one present, and weaving them together in a way that is seamless and appears effortless.  She makes you care about all the characters: William and Sera in the present day as they struggle with legal issues feel like people you might know.  While Liam and Kaja's story surrounding the London Blitz and Terezin Camp pulls you in as well.  You feel the heartache, struggle, call to purpose, love and trust in God's time (a theme throughout).

This is a book of forgiveness, hope, faith in others, faith in God and His timing.

Would I Recommend This Book?
A million times over!  I loved the first book in this series, The Butterfly and the Violin.  I really do think that reading that one first makes a difference for understanding Sera and William's story as well as the relationships between different characters and plot threads.  Kristy Cambron's writing is personal, it pulls you in and dares you to not be drawn in.

My Rating:  4.5/5 Stars ... Let's be real this is one I am keeping... 5/5!

(Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  I am under no obligation to provide a positive review.  All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.)

A Description from the Publisher:

Bound together across time, two women will discover a powerful connection through one survivor’s story of hope in the darkest days of a war-torn world.

Present Day—With the grand opening of her new art gallery and a fairytale wedding just around the corner, Sera James feels she’s stumbled into a charmed life—until a brutal legal battle against fiancé William Hanover threatens to destroy the perfectly planned future she’s planned before it even begins. Now, after an eleventh-hour wedding ceremony and a callous arrest, William faces a decade in prison for a crime he never committed, and Sera must battle the scathing accusations that threaten her family and any hope for a future.

1942—Kája Makovsky narrowly escaped occupied Prague in 1939, and was forced to leave her half-Jewish family behind. Now a reporter for the Daily Telegraph in England, Kája discovers the terror has followed her across the Channel in the shadowy form of the London Blitz. When she learns Jews are being exterminated by the thousands on the continent, Kája has no choice but to return to her mother city, risking her life to smuggle her family to freedom and peace.

Connecting across a century through one little girl, a Holocaust survivor with a foot in each world, these two women will discover a kinship that springs even in the darkest of times. In this tale of hope and survival, Sera and Kája must cling to the faith that sustains and fight to protect all they hold dear—even if it means placing their own futures on the line.

How do I rate books?
 5 stars= A definite favorite, will be re-read again and again, and permanently placed on my bookshelf.
 4 stars= A pretty good book, one that will be re-read eventually, placed on the bookshelf.
 3 stars= An average to good book, that may or may not be read again, probably has a place in my library.
 2 stars= A not liked book, I wouldn't read it again, and wouldn't have a place in my library.
 1 star = A book I really didn't enjoy, wouldn't read again, would not keep in my library.)