A Very Powerful Story.

To look upon the sun by Shannon St. Hilaire is a beautifully written book set in Germany just before the war. It is a historical fiction book about Ilse who finds herself pregnant then discovers the truth about the father’s background when she finds out he is Jewish and has just escaped out of Germany with his family. That left Ilse in a terrible position, and Ilse is forced to enter a home for unwed Aryan mothers. When Ilse gives birth to Otto her heart melts when she holds him, and she does not want to give him up for adoption to a German couple.
IIse manages to keep her baby in exchange for working in the home. When Otto is six months old, he is developing slowly and one day Ilse finds that the doctor came to see Otto and have taken him away to do more tests. Sadly, Ilse finds out that Otto has been liquidated under Hitler rule only children who are of Arian decent and have no disabilities can survive as the true Arian race.
This devastates Ilse and she is now forced to enter the Lebensborn program to save herself Ilse is heartbroken and is now sent to another place after finding out they want to sterilize her but on the last minute she is told it was the birth that caused Otto problems. Ilse now must work in a kitchen feed the SS and Arian girls who are there just to procreate, and she is expected to join the SS soldiers do the same. IIse fight for survival begins as she secretly picks herbs to stop the women getting pregnant and makes unthinkable choices just to survive as she knows if anyone finds out what she is up to then she will be shot or hung.
Shannon St. Hilaire has extensively written, and professionally researched this book. It is a well told story giving us much information about this program and the terrible things that happened to the women and children. There is much suspense, and you find yourself remembering Ilse story long after you finish. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this period of history and I look forward to reading more books from this author. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Ilse felt no choice but to unknowingly join the "Nazi breeding program". What starts off as an unexpected pregnancy with one who the Nazi's deemed an unwelcomed citizen, ends with a strong woman that turned against her what her country preached was the perfect German way.

Everytime I read a WW2 historical fiction novel I learn something new and interesting. This "breeding program" was something completely new to me. I really enjoyed reading about Ilse and her discovery ways to work around the Nazi way of life. I also love reading novels with strong female main characters.

In the beginning, I felt the German words throughout the text was tough. It would've been nice for the translation of the word to be included. I found myself using Google to translate it for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Shannon St. Hilaire, and the publishers for this free ebook. This review is 100% my own and honest opinion.

After discovering that she is pregnant, Isle is thrown out of her house with little options. In desperation, she joins the Lebensborn, a home for expectant German mothers. Terrified that the Nazi’s will discover that the father is Jewish, she keeps to herself and does everything she can to get along. When her baby is born with deformities, the true horror of the Lebensborn home is revealed.

While Ilse was an interesting and well-developed character, the plot seemed to move slowly. The book was not predictable and had a number of unexpected turns that kept me reading. Overall, 3 out of 5 stars.

This is a really enjoyable read and perfect for any fans of historical fiction. It takes place in Germany before WWII. Young Ilse is a German girl who finds herself pregnant, and gets placed in the Lebensborn. The problem- she's German and the father is Jewish. This is a part of history that I am not very familiar with. Girls, who were "racially pure" were "encouraged" to have children with Nazi officers to populate Germany with Aryan children. They were sent o homes to give birth and the child was raised by other German couples.
The author did her research for this book. You will come away not only with a great story, but you will learn more about German history. Many thanks to the author, Wild Sage Books and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This incredible debut is so much more than an extensively researched, well-written World War II historical novel. It is a cautionary tale for all women. We experience the awakening of Ilse who is 17 in 1938 when the story begins. Although very bright, her life's path has already been set by her low economic status and Germany's narrow vision for women. She is apolitical because she is just trying to avoid her father's beatings while working as a maid. Her awakening begins when her father throws her out of the house due to her pregnancy giving her little choice but to go to a Lebensborn home. At this point, the book becomes the Nazi edition of The Handmaid's Tale.

If you think that you've read plenty of books about Lebensborn, concentration camps, or the euthanasia program for the disabled, I assure you that there are new facts in this one that you've never read before. I was horrified by the depravity of the SS although I had believed nothing could shock me anymore. I was wrong. This is one of the most powerful books I've ever read. Although set in Nazi Germany, through Ilse's eyes we see how men have controlled women and history for thousands of years, even through the arts. At one point, Ilse wanted nothing more than to be a man. "To have control over her own body. For it not to be a constant vulnerability, a liability, an asset to be used as those in power saw fit." What woman cannot understand that, especially at this moment in America? I loved this book and will be gifting copies to my daughters and friends. It's a multi-layered historical novel that will surprise you with its depth. You don't want to miss this one and you won't be able to stop thinking about it.

To Look Upon the Sun by Shannon St Hilaire is a Holocaust book different than any I’ve read. It focuses in Lebensborn, which was either a home home for the birthing of babies, both from unwed mothers or highly placed Nazi wives, or a brothel for SS, assuring pure Aryan children be born of the women there. It is is story of Ilse, a young German woman who found herself pregnant and then discovered the father was Jewish and had fled. For the next several years she lived in terror that this secret would be discovered. Would the baby look Jewish? What would be punishment be? In due time she fave birth, Otto, and made a deal to work at Lebensborn to stay near him. After about six months, when he was not developing as he should, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and taken to hospital. She was set to be sterilized as she had given birth to a disabled child and could not be allowed to repeat that mistake. Then her life changed on a dime.

This was two years as scary as any concentration camp story I’ve read. Ilse had had a good life until her mother died and her father became abusive. He was furious about the pregnancy and she had to leave, which is how she got sent to Lebensborn. There life was not much better. S he certainly had no freedom. The experiences she had were piercing in their cruelty. She hung in for a long time, but than had to get out. She planned it carefully. She was a clever woman who had manipulated the system as long as she could. It was an amazing story. One worth reading. Thanks Shannon for sharing it.

I was invited to read To Look Upon the Sun by Book Whisperer. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #BookWhisperer #ShannonStHilaire #ToLookUponTheSun

To Look upon the Sun by Shannon St. Hilaire takes us back to Germany and Hitler. It brings to life the trials faced by the German people during WWII. Hitler was set on building his Aryan race and anyone that did not fit into that category was not worth living. His Lebensborn program was developed for the breeding of an Aryan population and it is this program we learn much about.

Isle is pregnant and unwed. She discovers the truth about the father’s background when she finds out he has escaped out of Germany. That left her in a terrible position. She is forced to enter a home for unwed Aryan mothers. These children will be important to the Reich. Isle keeps the babies father a secret in hopes that none of his genes show through. Eventually they do, but it is attributed to birth problems and she looses him. She is forced to enter the Lebensborn program to save herself.

It is a well told story giving us much information about this program. Many of the situations that arise put us on edge. There is much suspense and you find yourself hoping for a good outcome. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this period of history.

I would like to thank Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this book until towards the end when I felt that it dragged on.. I couldn’t wait to turn the pages all through the book, but like I said, until towards the end

To Look Upon The Sun takes a closer look at the Lebensborn in Germany during the Nazi. Period. A different slant than most others. Seems to have been well researched, and was a very enjoyable read. One could empathize, not only with the heroin, Ilse, but with many other characters in the book. It showed that not everyone in Nazi Germany was a Hitler lover; even some of his own SS. They too questioned.

Ilse and her father lived in an apartment in Germany. She is a good German girl, loyal to the Reich. Ilse is pregnant and when she gathers her courage to visit her boyfriend, he and his family have escaped Germany. Her boyfriend is Jewish. Looking back at their relationship, Ilse realizes she was blind to the signs. Having a child that was Jewish and German is unacceptable. In desperation, Ilse tells a dangerous lie to be accepted into the Reich's Lebensborn program. She knows that she must never reveal her secret. Ilse will need to remember her surroundings at every moment.

Lebensborn was a critical piece of Hitler's propagation of the Aryan race. There was tremendous oversight of the program. Good, fertile German girls were expected to deliver 8 or 9 children in their lives. Ilse needs to survive this perilous situation. She will face many challenges to her beliefs. Will she be able to emerge from Lebensborn unscathed?

Very few books have been written about Lebensborn and Hitler's plan to populate Germany with "pure" Aryan blood. Shannon St. Hilaire's character Ilse is tragic and admirable. Her journey from abandonment to living as a Nazi "breeder" is emotional as readers feel the anxiety of Ilse's life. Well-researched, excellent characters, and a good storyline make this the perfect book for WWII historical fiction readers.

I appreciate the advanced reader's copy from Shannon St. Hilaire, NetGalley, and The Book Whisperer.

Young Ilse's situation with being a model Aryan, unmarried, and pregnant leads her to being an expectant mother in the Lebensborn. She carries the deep secret that the father of her child is Jewish. I won't go beyond this point of the story so no spoilers are revealed, but Ilse has to walk a tightrope in order to survive the Lebensborn society. Will she succumb to being a 'breeder' for the Nazi agenda, or will she find ways to rebel?

I was provided a free copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was completely captivating. It is set in Nazi Germany during Hitler’s regime before and at the start of World War II. It follows a young German girl who finds herself in a Nazi breeding home. They were trying to “purify” the German race by breeding the women who were deemed to be perfect German specimen. Our main character’s only choice is to breed with an SS officer. She has little control over her life, but she finds a small way to fight back.

I loved this story from start to finish. The whole idea of breeding these women to create perfect SS officers is horrifying. This book will stick with me for a long time. It’s the side of Nazi Germany that we don’t really hear or learn about. This book is an easy 5 stars.

Shannon St. Hilaire’s, To Look Upon the Sun captivated me from the first page to the last. Young, pregnant, and alone, Isle must navigate the world of Lebensborn, the German program to propagate a superior race during WWII. Powerful, heartbreaking, and at times challenging to read, I highly recommend this book for its chilling portrayal of what it means to live, sleep with, and become a member of the SS in Germany in the early years of the war. St. Hilaire’s tale is a masterfully written and well-researched piece of storytelling that will keep you riveted to the pages long after midnight. I read. I cried. I empathized. The horrors and fears Isle meandered as she grappled with her pregnancy, the birth of her child, and the horrific aftermath will stay with me for a very long time. Isle had one secret that she somehow managed to keep throughout the story: the baby’s father was Jewish. What sets this novel apart from other WWII stories I have read is the attention to detail and the impact St. Hilaire’s storytelling had in further educating me on Lebensborn. I was transported to the realities of the Third Reich, the philosophies of some in power to propagate a master race while imprisoning others. At the same time, many of the young BDM girls accepted their duty to the Reich to become wives, mistresses, and mothers both inside and outside of marriage. As Isle navigates a maternity house for pregnant women, she learns the truth behind many of the Reich’s pogroms. Driven to ensure she would never fall victim to the pressure to bear a child with an SS officer, Isle goes to great lengths to shield herself from another pregnancy. St Hilaire’s research is so intricately woven inside her tale, and her characters are so rich and believable, I felt as if I was walking the streets of Germany and sharing a room with Isle at the maternity home. The characters sprang off the page as the plot thickened. The story takes us on another adventure as Isle plots to escape the Lebensborn system. This book is a testament to the power of resilience, the survival of many under horrific odds, and the determination of some to avoid the Reich's coerced indoctrination. I couldn’t put it down. Five Stars all around. Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy. This review is my opinion and mine alone.

I love when authors write about topics that are not commonly written about, such as the Lebensborn programs the Nazi's used all over Germany and other countries they occupied during WWII. To Look Upon The Sun tells the story of Ilse, a young German girl who finds herself pregnant out of wedlock. If the Nazi's find out who the baby's father is, she could find herself and the life of her unborn baby, in grave danger. Eventually, Ilse ends up at a Lebensborn home, working hard everyday to hope she and her baby will be save and that her secret is never discovered. What awaits Ilse is sad, heart wrenching, and sometimes hard to stomach, however; it's important her story, although fiction, is told. This story is filled with heartbreak, tragedy, desperation, and the will to survive: and so many women had to do just that.

The author, Shannon St. Hilaire obviously did her research and crafted a gripping WWII story that is both accurate and nearly impossible to put down. Ilse's story accurately depicts what happens when young and impressionable youth grew up hearing a Nazi ideology and fall victim to the horrors of the Third Reich, unbeknownst to them.

For WWII fiction lovers, this is a must read!

A young woman gets pregnant in Germany during WW2 and is sent to a home where she gives birth to a son who is taken from her. She is then assigned as a cook in a home where SS men get together with pure women to procreate their race. She finds herbs to help herself and other women not get pregnant.

A very interesting novel which I have greatly enjoying! What particularly attracted me in this story is its time setting. Indeed, it starts well before WWII. This fact gives a captivating insight into how people and young people in particular got indoctrinated in Hitler's ideas and aims. This leads to the main theme of the storyline: Lebensborn. It shows how women were treated as breeding machines. Machines indeed, as a loving bonding to their children was forbidden. Such loneliness! Anyway, many of these babies were then adopted. Beware, if the children were not healthy.... Through Ilse's young life experiences, we learn all about it as well as her awakening as to what Nazism actually meant... A great story which should not be forgotten.
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I am leaving voluntarily an honest review.

A really interesting story about a part of the Nazi life that I had not read about before. The common people in Germany during that time really had to endure a lot and a complete domination of their lives and what they could do and what they were forced to do. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in that time in history.

To Look Upon the Sun by Shannon St. Hilaire
I couldn’t put it down! This formidable story, set in pre-WWII Germany, reveals the horrors of the Nazi’s race purification and Lebensborn program. “Just as we breed Hanoverian horses using a few pure stallions and mares, so we will once again breed pure Nordic Germans by selective cross-breeding…From the human reservoir of the SS we shall breed a new nobility. We shall do it in a planned fashion and according to biological laws. –Richard Walther Darre, chief of the SS Race and Settlement Main office.” (Pg 137)
On one fateful day, seventeen-year-old Ilse not only discovers she is pregnant but also that unbeknownst to her, the father, her boyfriend, is Jewish. Plus, he and his family have fled the country. She realizes her child will be a “Mischling of the first degree” i.e. an undesirable in the Nazi’s eyes.
Ilse’s father is abusive and a staunch Nazi. She must leave home. “Her head felt too heavy to lift; she hadn’t dared to fall asleep last night. The bruises from her father’s blows had become hideous purple splotches on her arms. Her body ached so much from the beating, and from shivering through the cold night…” (Pg.25)
With no other options, Ilse forges papers regarding the baby’s father and enters the ill-fated Lebensborn program. What lies ahead is unimaginable.
The author immerses the reader into the setting with excellent sensory imagery. “Outside, it was a damp, cold night. The moon was nowhere to be seen. No stars peeked through the clouds. Ilse was yet another woman in the house on the hill, screaming with no anesthetic, only a photo of the dear leader to gaze upon as a pain reliever. She, however, squeezed her eyes shut.” (Pg 72)
Ilse’s voice is vivid throughout the story. We feel her fears and hear her innermost thoughts. Her situation is unimaginable. “She traced his apple-round cheek and something fierce and wild rose up in her, a force bigger than herself. She would tear the world apart for him. She would work hard, get promoted, save money. Stay out of trouble.” (Pg.85)

Out of her expert historical research, St Hilaire has created an extremely personal account of the true horrors of Nazism. To Look Upon the Sun is an outstanding piece of historical fiction. Rating 5

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley. I read a lot of historical WWII fiction and I've read about the Nazi brothels and breeding location before, but it is still as disturbing to think of young women and teens being used in this way. The writing was good and Ilse is quite the centerpiece of the story as she comes of age during WWII in Germany.

“To Look Upon the Sun” is a pre-WWII (and also during WWII) German historical fiction book by Shannon St. Hilaire. This book starts with 17 year old Ilse being pregnant and discovering that her baby’s father is Jewish - something she wasn’t aware of until she discovers the family has left Germany. Through her membership in a Nazi program, Ilse goes to another Nazi program, the Lebensborn, to have her child. Upon her arrival there, she discovers that all isn’t what she’s been told. She decides to keep her baby (instead of giving it up like she said she would) and is allowed to work at the Lebensborn helping new mothers-to-be and doing housework. Something happens and Ilse is moved to a different Lebensborn, becoming their cook. There’s more to the plot, but I cannot say more without giving away key bits of info. I have to say that at first I thought “oh, wow, another Lebensborn story - read it, know how this goes.” This one didn’t always match up with how I thought it was going to go, so that was a nice plot twist. However, something about Ilse just didn’t work for me - and I cannot put my finger on exactly why that is. I did like a number of the side characters - from her child’s godfather to the female pilot. They had more depth and I could feel sympathy with them (or maybe I just found them more interesting in general). I could tell that a bit of research went into the creation of this book - and the author’s notes confirms that. This was a fine book, thus the four stars, but this book wasn’t a consistent fantastic read for me.