"Because books bring us to another time and place."  This quote by a character in The Book of Lost Names is so true about historical fiction for me.  And this book is a perfect reason why I appreciate and love historical fiction so much.  Kristin Harmel has a gift of taking history and bringing it back to life through her realistic characters and vivid portrayal of historical events.  I had no idea there were document forgers in the French Resistance during WWII.  Ms. Harmel took me to another time and place in the pages of this book through the eyes of retired Eva Traube Abrams as a piece of her past reappears 65 years later. The Book of Lost Names.   This is the story of Eva's past as a document forger and the daughter of Jewish parents.  

 Ms. Harmel has written a novel that made me take a look at what happened in history through these pages. I became one with the characters living the horror and dread of what was unfolding during the invasion and the rounding up of a people just because of their religion. Living in fear as Eva and her mother flee Paris.  The anxiety was palpable when the forged documents were scrutinized by the Germans.  I felt the terror of never knowing when their cover could be compromised and exposed.  The heartbreak of losing families and loved ones was excruciating.  I joined Eva as she and her underground resistance  put their lives on the line to protect the children and see them to safety. "I mean that I would rather die knowing I tried to do the right thing than live with knowing I had turned my back."   Their resolve in the face of these extreme circumstances was heroic.   I felt I was experiencing these events because of Ms. Harmel's incredible writing.  

I will always appreciate how the author wrote this story to honor the spirit and determination of the Jewish and French people in unbelievable and horrific times. I love learning new things from history and this book has taken me to that place. I was especially touched by this passage.... "....But we aren't defined by the names we carry or the religion we practice, or the nation whose flag flies over our heads.  ..... We are defined by who we are in our hearts, who we choose to be on this earth."  I want to thank Ms. Harmel and Netgalley for the honor of reading this book! A five star read for me.

The Book of Lost Names is another fabulous accounting of what happened to children during the Holocaust, those who saved them and their desire for the children's identities not be forgotten.

We follow Eva and her mother as they escape from Paris to the countryside after Paris is invaded by Germany.  Though her parents felt they were safe and protected living in Paris, as the Germans close in Eva's father is taken away from their home.  Eva promises him she will take care of her mother.  

Using her knowledge learned from her father who was a typewriter repairman, she is able to help the resistance in assisting children and others to escape across the French border.  She keeps herself busy working with the resistance movement in this small town as she and her mother wait to also cross the border.   Creating new passports and papers for many children who are traveling without their parents to safety.  She meets and works with Remy who is also experienced in forgery.  They work in the local church together helping others.  In an effort to make sure the children's original identities are not lost they create a code that they use in the the church bible to save the names of the children who they are renaming so that when the war ends they will be able to reconnect them with their families.

So many years later, Eva is living in Florida, not knowing what became of Remy and never assuming the church bible of names still exists when she sees an article in the newspaper.  

The story is told in reverse order, meeting Eva in current day and then traveling back with her in her memory of the war time.  The end is a bit unreal, but satisfying none the less.

Eva Traube was a graduate student in Paris during World War II, forced to flee after her foreign born parents became targets of the Nazis. Her artistic talents prove useful in ways that Eva never anticipated, allowing her to help hundreds of Jewish children. Will the dangerous job of forging identity papers put the young woman in danger?

The novel begins in the present, working its way swiftly to the past after an elderly Eva sees an important part of her past in a newspaper article. The best part of the book are the middle pages, as the historical fiction aspects drive the story and make it very compelling. I am not a fan of the ending, as some things are better left unsaid.

The Book of Lost Names includes interesting parts of French history, especially regarding the small towns near Switzerland, full of caring individuals, that were pivotal in bringing Jewish children and other targets of the Nazi regime to safety. I would recommend The Book of Lost Names to those interested in World War II historical fiction.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Book of Lost Names by NetGalley and the publisher, Gallery Books. The choice to review this book was entirely my own.

This is a terrific story, based on true events and people who really saved many lives as the main characters in The Book of Lost Names do. I only wish the author had prolonged the last chapters a little bit, I didn't want the book to end! I look forward to reading more of Kristen Harmel's work.

I felt like this one was just another WWII novel.  The details on forging documents were interesting, but the rest of the novel was predictable.  I would have liked to see more with the journey of the Jewish children.

Really loved this book! A beautiful story and characters with a new spin on World War II historical fiction.

I was blessed to receive an eARC of this phenomenal book from NetGalley. This book will stay with me for a long time. When I finished the book on my kindle I knew I needed a hardcopy to how forever. 

Eva.... what a heroine! The story has dual timelines but Eva remains the main character in both times. I actually really loved that aspect because often in dual timelines there are brand new characters in each timeframe which can be alot to remember or keep up with. 

In this story Eva helps Jewish children escape the war and keeps a "book of lost names" as a means to remember the children's true identities. 

Beautifully written!

I have read a lot of books about this period of history but this one really was a different perspective. I enjoyed it very much and would highly recommend it.  The story being centered around a book of lost names , who’s names are in the book and how they came to be put there really kept me turning the pages for more. I was very pleased with the ending also,

Although I am a lover of historical fiction books it wasn’t until recently that I read any books by Kristin Harmel. I had recently read The Room on the Rue Amélie by Kristin Harmel when I was given the opportunity to read the  Book of Lost Names. This book which begins in May 2005 is the riveting story of Eva whose story is told as she discovers through her job as a librarian an article which takes her back to her life in Paris in July of 1942. Unbeknownst to her son Ben, Eva’s past has been a lot more complicated than he knows. Through the tumultuous times of World War Two France Eva and her family who are Jewish struggle to stay safe from the Germans. Through this story of love and the importance of family Eva finds her talent for forgery which will help her to make a difference in the lives of others . I loved this book with the romance of Eva and Rémy interwoven in the horrific times of World War Two. An unforgettable book and my favorite of 2020 it illustrates the strength of the human spirit to survive and to help others even in times of adversity.

I finished The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel last night, and I am still reeling from it. I have loved all of her books, but this is truly the best book yet. Sometimes you read a book that stays with you forever, and this book is definitely it. 
This book was well researched, has exceptional characters and storyline.  The detail and descriptions transport you to a different country and time. I could not get enough of this book. The emotion and pull you feel for the main characters grow with each turn of the page. You find yourself engrossed in Eva's journey as she finds courage and resilience that she didn't know that she had. You find yourself cheering for her as she risks her life to save the identities and lives that were destroyed by pure evil. You also find yourself with the hope that love truly will win. 
To think of a time before cell phones, computers, and technology where people were using their true abilities to rewrite the lives of the Jewish people, and risking their lives daily. It leaves me speechless. How they created an underground network to work together to save thousands of strangers because they did not agree with the word of a pure evil man is inspiring. These people need to be honored and remembered. They risked everything to ensure that the people that they helped save were remembered as well. I know that this book is fiction, but it felt real. It felt like these were real people. 
This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is right up there with The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. It is a compelling story about courage, heroism, resistance, and hope. Once you start this book you will not be able to put it down.

This book follows two timelines – present day (2005), and the past (1940s).  We follow a young Jewish girl named Eva during World War II.  Despite this heavy topic and setting, I found this book to be an enjoyable read, and really found myself enjoying Eva’s character.  It was at moments uplifting, while heartbreaking in others.  I found the ending to be so gripping, once I hit about the 80% mark, I could not put it down.  The ending was surprising, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.  This book was my first Kristin Harmel, but hopefully not my last.
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This was a wonderful WWII story full of angst, drama, sadness, love, and loss. I love the characters that Harmel created and this book read as if it really happened.

I'm torn with this one. While this was a WWII book, it stuck to a much lighter tone than most. While there was loss and death, of course, it didn't focus entirely on that aspect of the war. The main character focused on the work she was doing as a forger and the relationships she made. On one hand, it was nice for the book to not be deeply heavy. In fact, I have put off many WWII books for a time when I can handle the heaviness and gravity of the history. On the other hand, it felt like this book sort of breezed over the gravity of what was happening in every other area of the war, except her little town where she found solace and safety. In that way, it didn't feel real.

Along those lines, I didn't feel like the story or characters were completely realistic. Here is where there are some spoilers so if you don't want any, then you can stop reading here.
There were two--mark them TWO--forgers doing the forged paperwork hundreds of people? I mean, she just started one day of her own accord because "she was always good at art" and then became a renown forger in a tiny town with only one other person helping her...who wasn't even always there with her. I just don't see how they were able to put out that much work when it certainly sounds detailed and tedious. Plus all the changes the Germans were making on the documents, paper and instructions.... My goodness, she must have been a genius to keep up with how much the narrator explains was changed regularly. 
I also did not enjoy the romance. It felt a little fluffed and discombobulated. Like I don't know why it took them so long together while also not understanding their chemistry and why they got together at all.
PLUS the traitor. Saw that a MILE AWAY. No surprise there. But apparently there was supposed to be a surprise. And Eva's mother was in such denial, but Eva didn't notice that at all. She didn't address it. She just placated her and lied to her and hurt her mother over and over again.
I just didn't really "get" the characters.

The story was interesting enough. I loved the idea of the book.....although I didn't follow how they made or kept up with the code. And I was kind of disappointed (another spoiler) that she just sort of lost track of the book and nothing ever came of it. Like, oh great, she finds it 5 or 6 decades later, but does nothing to help the kids who were in it.

I don't know. Like I said, I'm torn.

Such a good story. This book is full of historical information. You fall in love with Eva and Rémy. You want them to succeed in their task of making documents to help people escape. You wonder who is on their side and who are the traitors. The method to record the names of the children was incredible. I was getting so annoyed with Ava's mom. How unsupportive she was yet, I know she was just looking out for her daughter and she was grieving her husband. This book was so well written I did not want to put it down.

Thanks to Netgalley, Gallery Books and Kristin Harmel for this ARC. This is a great story of a  Protagonist young woman, scared but willing to forge papers for in danger Jewish people and eventually  others, to help get them out of France during the Holocaust. Written  from the view of  one of my favorite authors after  much research. . I recommend this author and her works to everyone that loves reading, and if not into history, this is the author that will change their minds . I never enjoyed reading WW II history till I picked up a book by this author. Always a 5 star in my book.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for this advanced reader's copy.

This book is wonderfully different take on WWII fiction. Kristin Harmel has done it again!

This is the story of Eva and her mother and father and their version of WWII as a Jewish family.  They are warned of the round up in Paris, but choose not to heed the warning they are given.  They are separated when Eva's father is captured by German soldiers.  The story follows Eva and her mother on a path to a safe place after Eva forges papers to get them there.

It is a wonderful story full of love, hope and loss.  Fantastic!!

During WWII there were many heroes.  In The Book of Lost Names Kristin Harmel tells the story of one such hero.  Based on a true story, a woman with a talent to create fake documents, helps hundreds of Jewish children flee Nazi-occupied France. 

When Eva Traube witnesses the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew, she leaves Paris with her mother and finds safety in a small French village. She is offered the opportunity to put her skills to work as a forger and she agrees to help, over the protests of her mother.  Concerned that by giving the children new identities they will forget their true names, Eva devises a plan to secretly record and retain their names for them.

The Book of Lost Names is a love story with WWII and the resistance movement as a backdrop.  While I enjoyed the historical aspects of the story, I found the overall pace to be quite slow and I didn’t really feel fully invested in it.  Much of the plot seemed predictable, a bit cheesy, and focused more on the blossoming romance than anything else.  Also, the relationship between Eva and her mother became increasingly aggravating, distracting, and redundant.  

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

I loved this book! I was immediately pulled into the story and didn’t want to put the book down. With that being said...
I would like to Thank NetGalley and Gallery Books for an advance copy of this book for an honest review. I would also like to apologize for taking so long to read it. When I request the book I had every intention of doing so. With the pandemic I had no desire to read as it keep going. I’m now just getting back into reading and trying to catch up on my NetGalley reads.

A tragic yet beautiful story about a young Jewish girl who loses her father in a raid of Jews in Paris. She escapes the city with her Jewish mother only to become involved in an intricate forgery group. Resistance, and avoidance fill these pages and Kristin Harmel does a wonderful job of weaving sadness, love, tragedy and history within these pages. Well thought out, well researched and well written; this book will draw you in and keep you connected until the end. Heart breaking truth is woven into these pages if the reader knows only a bit about the resistance in France but Harmel furthers entangles the lives of Remy, Eva, Mamusia, Joseph, Genevieve and others until your heart feels as if it will burst.

Fast paced book and I really enjoyed it. Good story line and I think people are gonna love it. I would definitely read again and recommend