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Title: Saving Amelie

Author: Cathy Gohlke

Narrator: Rachel Botchan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-06-16

Publisher: Lamplight Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Increasingly wary of her father's genetic research, Rachel Kramer has determined that this trip with him will be her last.

A letter from her friend changes everything. Married to SS officer Gerhardt Schlick, Kristine fears her husband views their daughter, Amelie, deaf since birth, as a blight on his Aryan bloodline.

Rachel fears her father's files may hold answers about Hitler's plans for others like Amelie. Rachel turns to journalist Jason Young, who connects her to the resistance....

Critic Reviews:

"At times both emotional and suspenseful, this is a fantastic novel for those who love both historical fiction and human interest stories." (Romantic Times)

"A haunting story of the courageous few who worked tirelessly and at great risk to themselves to save people they did not know, whom they would not see again." (Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

I really enjoyed this book

I really enjoyed this book. I had read a similar series by Bodie Thoene about 20 years ago which this book reminded me of. But this was just one book and that was a six novel series. This book just covered the first two of the Hitler years. It had various characters narrate at different times so it offered many points of view. The characters grew as the book went on. Rachel went from the spoiled and selfish daughter of the eugenics scientist to a caring and selfless friend. The interaction with the reporter, Jason, and Detrich Bonhoeffer helped change her perspective to show compassion to those she had been raised to disdain. She went from being resentful of sharing her hiding place with a Jewish teenager to embracing her as a sister.

I think the biggest aspect of the book for me was seeing how the German culture put patriotism ahead of faith and slowly came to tolerate, if not accept, the terrible policies of the Nazi regime. They were fearful of speaking up so ended up furthering the Nazi agenda. My own father was an American prisoner of war in Germany. While he was terribly mistreated he always told me that it was the Nazis, not the people or even the soldiers, who were to blame for what happened. By the time the people started to realize and believe what was happening, it was too late. If they spoke up they would have been imprisoned or killed. Even so, there were many who risked their own lives as well as their families to save those who the Nazis wanted to destroy.

I think this book made me consider our own country where laws are passed that we don't agree with. The separation of the 3 branches of government is no longer effective. We can speak up but usually to no effect. I fear that if something doesn't change soon we may be going down the same path as Germany.

All in all a very good and thought provoking book.

Hiding in plain sight in 1939 Germany with a deaf child and being hunted by the Nazi regime

Very well-told story about life in Germany in 1939 under Nazi power, but I felt that it was too drawn out as a 429 page book. Lea and Rachel, twins, exchange identities numerous times as decoys to fool the Germans, which became ridiculous after a while. Too much dialogue about rehearsing with village children for the Passion Play, which is cancelled by the Nazis before performance time. Too much time put into thinking for Rachel and Amelie to escape Germany and none of it comes to fruition. Half-way through the storyline I wanted it to speed up and not plod along so much.