The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff ~ Book Review

After being thrown out by her father for becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier, sixteen year old Noa finds herself totally alone dealing with the grief of not only being abandoned by family but also having her baby taken at birth.  She now lives above a rail station and spends her days with her head down cleaning the station in order to  earn her keep.  When one day a rail car rolls into the station Noa has no idea how her life will now change.  She discovers one of the cars is filled with Jewish infants with no adult in sight, headed for one of the concentration camps.  Grieved at her finding Noa manages to take one of the babies and flees into the forest.  Now having to hide not only herself but a Jewish infant, Noa comes upon the home base of a travelling circus whose owner takes pity upon her and puts her into the trapeze act.  Noa has never done anything like this and she is terrified to learn.  Just as terrifying is the woman, Astrid, the lead aerialist, who has been charged with teaching her.  Astrid has her own secrets she is hiding and her resentment at having to teach Noa to become a trapeze artist is such a short time brings a lot of tension into their relationship.  But as time goes on they develop a strong friendship that seems to continuosly be tested under the strain of the war and the weight of their secrets.

I enjoyed this story that is built around a real European circus hid some Jewish people within it's ranks during WWII.   The story goes back and forth between Astrid's and Noa's point of view.  At times I did find Noa's reactions and actions frustrating and sometimes I found myself mad at her character until I reminded myself that she was really just a teenager and Astrid was about 20 years her senior.  There were harsh moments in the book as the realities of the war and what was happening in Europe brought tears to my eyes.  The whole idea of the boxcar full of children which became known as the Unknown Children  broke my heart.  I did not see the ending coming.  This was my first Pam Jenoff book and I will read more of hers.  

I rated this 9/10

Reading Goal Challenge Met:  December/Read a book with a winter element on the cover