"The Red Ribbon" by Lucy Adlington is an extraordinary and powerful historical fiction novel that will take young readers on an emotional journey through one of history's darkest periods. Set in a concentration camp during World War II, this book is a compelling and eye-opening tale of courage, friendship, and the strength of the human spirit.

The story revolves around Ella, a young girl who finds herself trapped in the horrifying reality of a concentration camp. Through Ella's eyes, young readers are exposed to the atrocities and challenges faced by prisoners during this tumultuous time. Despite the bleakness of her circumstances, Ella clings to hope, finding solace in her friendships and the simple red ribbon she cherishes dearly.

Lucy Adlington's writing is both evocative and sensitive, transporting young readers to a harrowing period in history while maintaining an age-appropriate tone. The author masterfully captures the emotional depth of the characters and the heart-wrenching experiences they endure, creating a profound impact on young minds.

Ella is a brave and resilient protagonist who serves as an inspiration to young readers. Her determination to survive and her unwavering spirit in the face of unimaginable hardships will resonate with young audiences, teaching them the importance of courage and compassion even in the darkest times.

"The Red Ribbon" explores the significance of friendship amidst adversity, as Ella forms a bond with her fellow prisoners that brings comfort and strength. This emphasis on camaraderie and empathy reminds young readers of the power of compassion and the value of standing together in times of need.

The book also delves into themes of sacrifice, resilience, and the importance of preserving one's identity and dignity even in the most trying circumstances. The red ribbon, a symbol of hope and individuality, serves as a powerful motif throughout the story, leaving a lasting impression on young readers.

While "The Red Ribbon" is an emotionally intense read, it is an essential and eye-opening book that sheds light on a dark period of history. It encourages young readers to understand the importance of remembering the past and promoting peace and understanding in the world.

“The Red Ribbon” is a poignant and thought-provoking novel that will leave a lasting impact on young readers. With its rich storytelling, powerful themes, and memorable characters, this book provides a valuable opportunity for children to learn about history, empathy, and the resilience of the human spirit. It is a must-read for young readers seeking a meaningful and engaging tale that will stay with them long after the final page.

The Red Ribbon is the story of the friendship between two teenage girls who worked in the dress shop in the harrowing camp of Aushwitz-Birkinau. Obviously this covers a particularly painful part of history but I think this was an interesting look at a different kind of "prisoner" and their life in these camps. This was not based on a true story so there were bits that seemed a bit unrealistic at times. But overall, I enjoyed Ella and Rose relationship. Overall, the book presents the reader with moral questions regarding the lengths one will go to survive in an accessible way for a younger audience.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had to DNF this one very sadly. I did not like the writing style of this one and I just couldn’t force myself through the storyline. As much as I wished I could have loved this one, I didn’t.

I thought this would have been something I would love as it is a historical fiction novel but i just did not connect with the story. I did not really like the main character Ella as I found her to 2-d and not with enough about her to make her interesting. This had moments that I liked but this was a bit bland and I found the plot weak and not very good when compared to similar stories.

I loved The Red Ribbon for its honesty, bravery, and surprisingly? Its beauty. Adlington is a talented writer, giving readers a vivid and heartbreaking insight into life at Birchwood. The novel is well-researched and executed, with the historical atrocities of the Holocaust rendered accurately with the lens of a teenage prisoner who has (and deserves) dreams bigger than Birchwood.

In the first few chapters, two main things struck me about Adlington's writing. First, the significance of colors: Ella sees Birchwood with a dressmaker's eyes, so even in the greyest and muddiest places, she sees shining colors and inspiration for her dream dress shop. I loved how each chapter was linked to a color, which would then be pointed out in thoughtful comparisons and linked thematically to the plot. Secondly, the descriptions of food were particularly striking, and I could tell that the intent was to emphasize the emptiness of Birchwood in contrast to the saturation of Ella's former life. A girl's sharp nose "could've cut cheese." Brown pattern paper, like the kind sausages came in, "plump sausages with bits of chopped onion." A green coat becomes an apple, from the tree in Ella's yard. Baked into "apple crumble flecked with caramelized sugar, flaky pastry apple turnovers, and even apple cider." I was not expecting the novel to make me hungry!

I fell in love with Ella and Rose instantly. Ella's dreams of being a designer and owning a dress shop seemed far-fetched, but I wanted so badly for her to have them. I wished with all my heart that she would find her grandparents again, and I loved her memories of sewing and designing with her grandmother in their house. Her strength and willing to do whatever it takes to survive is a testament to the horrors that went on inside Birchwood.

And Rose. Rose, with her stories and countess palace and the kindest heart in the darkest place. I cried when she went to the Hospital and smiled every time she shared her rations with someone. I loved her friendship with Ella, and how the two girls stuck up for each other even through their incredible obstacles.

Everything about this novel was stellar. I would recommend it thoroughly to every reader. 5/5 stars.

Looking for your next can't-put-it-down book? If historical fiction's your thing, this one from Lucy Adlington is perfect.
Presenting yet another take on WWII fiction, this tale takes us into the world of a young seamstress caught up in a Nazi concentration camp. It has tragedy and triumph, hope and despair, friendship and loneliness.
Fans of WWII era stories, grab this five-star read!

I enjoyed this book. It's a novel about two friends struggling to survive one of the worst periods in history the best they can. It's an eye opening book and it made me sad for a bit. But I enjoyed reading about the friendship in this novel and how big a role it played in these girls lives. We are spared the details of what happens in Auschwitz because this is a YA novel, but you feel the impact it makes on these characters. This novel is very well written, the characters are engaging, and the author is sensitive to the issues of Auschwitz. Highly recommend this great novel about friendship!

I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book courtesy of Candlewick Press via NetGalley.

Release Date: September 11, 2018

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Genre: Teens & YA

Rating: 5 / 5

Storyline (from the editor):

“Three weeks after being detained on her way home from school, fourteen-year-old Ella finds herself in the Upper Tailoring Studio, a sewing workshop inside a Nazi concentration camp. There, two dozen skeletal women toil over stolen sewing machines. They are the seamstresses of Birchwood, stitching couture dresses for a perilous client list: wives of the camp’s Nazi overseers and the female SS officers who make prisoners’ lives miserable. It is a workshop where stylish designs or careless stitches can mean life or death. And it is where Ella meets Rose. As thoughtful and resilient as the dressmakers themselves, Rose and Ella’s story is one of courage, desperation, and hope — hope as delicate and as strong as silk, as vibrant as a red ribbon in a sea of gray.”

The Good:

This book surprised me in a great way. I began reading the book without re-reading the books description, which turned out to be the perfect way to capture my attention. The book starts in a way that could have led itself to be some sort of dystopian novel with “Hunger Games” vibes, then BAM! We learn that this is Auschwitz (also known as Birchwood) during the Holocaust. Real life. Real history. Wow. I got goosebumps when it was revealed, and it made me so glad I had no idea what the book was about going into it. I was hooked and loved the rest of this novel. Ella is tough, and full of hope while Rose is delicate and full of fantasies, but together the darkness of the horror around them begins to lift slightly. Together, these friends navigate the harshness of a concentration camp towards the end of WWII.

The Bad:

I can’t think of anything bad to say about this book. Historical Fiction isn’t my main genre, but this book read easily and kept my interest immensely.

The Bottom Line:

A fierce novel of friendship born of the most horrific place in our history.

This was a good read. I liked that the author showed a different aspect to Auschwitz that I wasn't aware of. The prisoners making clothes for the guards and their wives. I also found it interesting reading about the department store where the items taken from prisoners when they arrived were sold to guards.

In comparison to other books within this genre, I did not feel an emotional connection to the main character. I did like the friendship shown between Ella and Rose although I do feel that it could have been developed more so that when they were separated there would have been more of an impact.

I liked that this story offered something a bit different from other stories within this genre. In places, the story moved a little bit slow and it didn't have a lasting impact on me in the way that other WW2 have had. Whilst the ending was happy I am not sure how realistic that is.

Overall I thought that this was a good read. I didn't have the emotional reaction that I was expecting and I don't think that this book will have a lasting impact on me but I enjoyed it whilst I was reading it. I think if you are looking to get into historical fiction this may be a good place to start

The Red Ribbon" is an excellent ya novel covering some of the lesser known aspects of life in concentration camps. It also presents several types of "prisoners" not often covered. The brutality is not withheld and the harsh truth of what it took to survive is on full display. My heart was broken several times throughout, and I feel like I learned quite a bit. Highly recommended.

"The Red Ribbon" is an excellent ya novel covering some of the lesser known aspects of life in concentration camps. It also presents several types of "prisoners" not often covered. The brutality is not withheld and the harsh truth of what it took to survive is on full display. My heart was broken several times throughout, and I feel like I learned quite a bit. Highly recommended.

This historical novel sent in Auschwitz, Ella is a 14 year old Jewish girl who was taken and sent to work in a dress shop as a seamstress for her captors. She must do all she can to survive in this volatile world. The pages of this book are beautiful but do not take away the theme of this story and the harrowing things that the people in Auschwitz went through everyday, in this awful time of history. This book brings to light things that we never hear about in history lessons. I never knew they had women and girls making dresses for the officers wives and dignitaries. A lovely book.

I think WWII books are very important to read and I don't find myself reading them often even though I have a few on my shelves. This one, unfortunately, was just okay for me. I read it in two months (well, I started it in October then put it down for two months before finishing it) and that's because this story didn't interest me all that much. I was a little bored to be honest. There were moments I liked reading it but most of the time I was reading it because I had to.

I did find the story to be unrealistic at times (and happier than what might have really occurred). This book wasn't as heartbreaking as you might expect from a WWII book but I guess it's meant to be read by younger readers? Also, I wished the one sentence where the FMC said she might kiss her best friend would have been developed but that didn't happen. However, I did like the friendship they had.

(I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my review)

Definitely admirable in its telling of a horror camp, told in a way that feels true and authentic, while still keeping it appropriate for younger readers (the mature MG crowd). That being said, it was a little dull for me. I lacked a connection to the characters and it felt like it took forever to get anywhere. I did honestly think the characters are well-written, as far as their decisions and motivations, because pondering what humans choose in tough nigh impossible situations, it's all incredibly believable. Obviously, I wanted everybody safe and free, but if they hadn't made it, I probably wouldn't have cared too much, which sounds terrible, but it particularly accounts for the low rating. I simply wasn't invested.

The Red Ribbon was a lot more hard hitting than I was expecting, the story of Ella will stay with me for a long time.

Although set in Auschwitz, locations are rarely mentioned, this gives the book an almost fairytale feel that makes it more relatable to today’s readers.

The Red Ribbon is set in a horrible place in a horrible time but the hope and friendship of Ella and Rose shines through. No matter how bleak the situation Rose will be telling tales of far away lands and Ella will be dreaming up dresses.

All the characters in the Red Ribbon faced difficult decisions everyday to survive Birchwood. Their choices affect other people and can change them as a person. What if they stole fabric? What if they ratted out another ‘stripey’? It is hard to see what the girls must do to last in Birchwood.

The Red Ribbon is an eye opener on how important clothes can be to an identity. The ‘stripeys’ clothes are removed and everyone must wear the same outfit and lose a bit of themselves. All that separates ‘them’ and the guards are what clothes they wear. The department store was devastating to read about, all the peoples clothes being turned into dresses and outfits for the guards.

I would recommend the Red Ribbon to anyone who loves historical fiction but make sure you have some tissues handy!

*ARC received from Candlewick Press via Netgalley, all opinions are my own*

This book was so good!! I really enjoyed reading it. I loved the story as well as the setting that the story takes place. Thank you!

I was drawn to this book more than I expected to be having read as many Holocaust set books as I have. However, this story, of Ella and her efforts to survive and remain herself, was quite lovely and engaging. throughout most of the book. It is more hopeful than many of these books are and that is both its strength and weakness. Overall, the book presents the reader with moral questions regarding the lengths one will go to survive in an accessible way for a younger audience. Ella's counterpoints - Marta and Rose - present alternative approaches and it is clear that none of the answers in these situations can be good ones. Ella is a believable protagonist, one who has been thrust into a situation that forces her to adapt each day. The story is paced well and the writing is lovely. Adlington made the choice to consistently refer to Auschwitz-Birkenau as Birchwood instead, along with several other euphemisms. While on the one hand this seems to go against the historical research that has been put into the novel, it also allows for the reader to initially access the story on its own terms rather than immediately through the lens of Holocaust history. The reveal of specific details throughout the story make the historical reality crystal clear, however. There is an included author's note on the historical realities that I found more than a bit patronizing in tone and content, though perhaps necessary for a younger reader who may not have learned about the Holocaust yet. Ultimately, this concludes in a way that is a bit too emotionally satisfying rather than likely or as meaningful as it might have been.

The Red Ribbon is about the story of Ella, a quite determined and tough almost sixteen-year-old girl who grew up with her grandparents because her mom was working in a factory. Her grandma is a seamstress and Ella inherited her talent from her. She dreams of becoming the best seamstress and to own a boutique someday. While on her way home from school, she was suddenly taken and shipped to Birchwood, more commonly known as Auschwitz-Birkenau, as a prisoner because she's a Jew.

Barrack blocks in the camp were long, long and miserable buildings. Thousands of prisoners were sent to the camp, stripping them the clothes they are wearing, and of the other belongings that they carry. They were given one pinstripe clothing, headscarf for women and cap for me, and discarded shoes from a pile. Moreover, all prisoners were obliged to work or else, they will be sent to the chimneys, also prominently known as the gas chambers. The sick or those who have contagious illness were sent to the hospital, which is another dead-end for the prisoners because those who enter or sent to it never return.

The commandant's wife set up a tailoring shop in the camp where families of the German officials and guards could order whatever kind of clothes they want. The shop was run by another Jewish prisoner named Martha who teaches Ella surreptitiously on how to survive in the camp, by trying to act tough and seize every opportunity possible.

Another girl in the story is Rose/Rosalind and became Ella's friend in the camp. She was imprisoned because she's considered as a political enemy because her mother is a writer and she writes against the Nazi Germans. Rose also claims that she used to live in a palace and that she was a countess. Rose love to tell stories about fables, legends, fairies, and other make-believe tales. She started in the ironing job but later she did embroideries because Ella insists that she must and because she has the talent.

The narrative is divided into six chapters and the name of the titles are colors, which are all significant to Ella's stay during and after the camp imprisonment. The first color is green which is the first dress that Ella sew for Martha's challenge on who should be chosen to stay. Yellow is next, which is the color of the dress that Ella sew for Carla, a women's guard and one of the shop's usual customer. Red is the third and it is the color of the ribbon that Rose gave to Ella as a symbol of hope to them. Fourth is gray because Ella and Rose's life turns into gray when they were kicked out from the tailoring shop because of how Ella defied Carla by wearing the red ribbon. White is the fifth because it is the time when the war is starting to end and freedom for everyone, especially for the camps' prisoners. Lastly, pink because it is the color of liberation dress that Ella sew.

Red Ribbon is another great historical fiction that is intended for teens and young adults. Although the narrative of the suffering of Ella, Rose and the other prisoners is not that gruesome, it is still a reminder that even kids were not saved from the suffering inflicted during the Holocaust. The happy ending to the story of Ella and Rose in the book is sort of a beacon of hope that all bad things will come to an end.

Ella was taken to Auschwitz while she was on her way home from school. She has been separated from her grandparents and can only count on herself to survive. Ella is an accomplished dress maker, thanks to her grandmother. She uses this talent to get a job at the camp's dress shop, which creates clothing solely for the officer's wives and other women in power. While the job helps to keep her incrementally safe from being sent to the gas chambers, sewing keeps Ella alive and hopeful for the future. Ella makes friends with posh Rose and several other seamstresses, who find ways to help each other even in these torturous times.

I am in a weird place with this book. I appreciate the exploration of seamstresses in the concentration camps. I was not previously familiar with the aspect of the history. I don't know if the tone and the wording truly matched the horror of the times, especially by translating the camps name to Birchwood (I get that this is the literal translate, but...), which makes the concentration camp sound like a summer camp, instead of the death camp it was. I thought the relationship between Ella and Rose was borderline (maybe not so borderline) LGBTQ, which was an interesting layer. I positively responded the concept of hope, as it relates to survival, but I don't necessarily know that this will be one of the books I will be recommending first to the kids at my library.

The Red Ribbon is about Ella's determination to survive the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Ella fights for a spot in the Upper Tailoring Studio where her sewing skills win her a position making dresses for the officers' wives and female guards.

I really enjoyed Lucy Adlington's addition to the World War II genre. The sewing room led to some fascinating and horrifying circumstances for Ella, and it's not something I've seen in other WWII narratives. The contrast between the beautiful clothes that Ella makes and the circumstances of her daily life were jarring and very effective.

I also really loved Ella's character. She struggles with what it means to be a friend and a good human in these horrific circumstances and finds that her humanity makes her stronger.