Wildflowers of Terezin by Robert Elmer

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Wildflowers of TerezinAbingdon Press (April 2010)by

Robert Elmer





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robert Elmer is a former pastor, reporter and as copywriter who now writes from he home he shares with his wife Ronda in northern Idaho. He is the author of over fifty books, including eight contemporary novels for the adult Christian audience and several series for younger readers. Combined, his books have sold more than half a million copies worldwide. Like his popular "Young Underground" youth series, Wildflowers of Terezin was inspired by stories Robert heard from his Denmark-born parents and family. When he's not sailing or enjoying the outdoors, Robert often travels the country speaking to school and writers groups.







ABOUT THE BOOK

When nurse Hanne Abrahamsen impulsively shields Steffen Petersen from a nosy Gestapo agent, she’s convinced the Lutheran pastor is involved in the Danish Underground. Nothing could be further from the truth.



But truth is hard to come by in the fall of 1943, when Copenhagen is placed under Martial Law and Denmark’s Jews—including Hanne—suddenly face deportation to the Nazi prison camp at Terezin, Czechoslovakia. Days darken and danger mounts. Steffen’s faith deepens as he takes greater risks to protect Hanne. But are either of them willing to pay the ultimate price for their love?



To read the first chapter of Wildflowers of Terezin, go HERE.

My thoughts:

I have to admit that I was a bit apprehensive about reading this book at first. Lately I've been in the mood for "light" fiction reading and the setting of this novel told me very quickly that it was not going to be "light". Not at all. So, with just a slight bit of reluctance I started reading it...only to discover within the first couple of chapters that I didn't want to put it down.

Steffen is a Lutheran minister and Hanne is a Jewish nurse who meet and fall in love during WWII in Denmark. Their love begins while they hide Jewish refugees and help them escape to Sweden. Then it, along with Steffen's faith, is tested when Hanne is sent to a prison camp.

Robert Elmer did a wonderful job of blending historical events and facts into this story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction and even to those of you who don't.