Poignant, sweet, and engaging, this novel and its characters will carry you along as they learn from one another about life, choices, and integrity. Heartwarming and life affirming, the novel explores the Holocaust and its enduring impact on families today.

This was a n interesting story, which delves into many different story-lines. One of the main people in the book is Stephanie, a forty something advertising executive, who is a wife and mother of two boys, one about to take off for college.
When they take their eldest son to college, they ask the younger one where he would like to go, as a special treat for him, and he decides he would like to go to the “Valor of the 40's” a fair which reenacts the feel of WWII, where everyone dressed their parts whether German, French, American, where one could sense a slice of what everyday life may have been like.
While at the reenactment, Stephanie wanders into an area which depicted France, and what happened there, and while looking around, Stephanie comes across a gentleman selling “love letter” from WWII.
One of the letters turned out to be a plea from a mother and written from an internment camp in France, before they sent the people on to Auschwitz, or other German concentration camps.
Stephanie thought that the letters might help her, with a new design she was working on for a client, but it became much more than that for her; as now she was intrigued by the son who was separated from his parents, Isadore, (Izzy) 4 years old at the time and wanted to do some research and see if he was still alive, as he also shared a birthday with Stephanie's departed father.
The story, besides her search and discovery, is also about her strength, and love of family, whether blood related or just extremely close through friendship. About her work and the clients that she is working with, her own set of moral standards.
This is a book has wonderful characters, who show us their strong morals, values and ethics.
A book which kept me very interested in the story-line, and its characters. Well written and at times very heart warming.
I would like to thank NetGalley for the ARC.

4 and 1 / 2 stars

This is a remarkable book.

Stephanie a forty-something advertising executive and mother of two goes to a 1940’s reenactment fair with her son and husband. On a whim she purchases some old love letters from the World War II. Amongst them she finds a letter from a mother pleading for assistance for her family. It was written from a concentration camp in France. She has a young son called Isadore who is just four years old.

She investigates and eventually meets up with Isadore, called “Izzy” by his friends. He is a charming seventy-five year old man who lives just two hours away from Stephanie. They become fast friends.

Stephanie comes to help Izzy find some peace with his past. She takes him to meet the French woman who rescued him from the camps. But he still doesn’t know what happened to his parents. He only knows, and Stephanie can only find out that they were shipped to Auschwitz.

This book takes the reader on a delightful journey through remembrance and friendship. With them come all the pain, joy and nostalgia the making of such memories can bring.

The book is very well written and plotted. I simply loved it! The story moves along apace and the transitions are well done. I am anxiously looking forward to reading the next book that Ms. Smolkin publishes.

I want to thank Netgalley and Linda Smolkin for forwarding to me a copy of this most wonderful book to read.