Wow wow wow. Despite the mixed reviews, I for one found this book to be absolutely stunning. It felt fresh and unique within the historical fiction genre and evoked and accomplished a lot in its mere 272 pages. For many that's not enough to develop a true attachment but I thought it was perfect. It felt like a tool all itself in adding to the powerful beauty of this story.

Fair warning, this book is sad. It's definitely not sunshine and rainbows. It's a moving portrayal of the mother and daughter relationship, forgiveness and hope. It all unfolds in an alternating then and now timeline, WWII Germany and present day Wisconsin. The phenomenal story and writing here calls for the reader to pay attention. There's a lot of bouncing around between characters and place and it's not always clear cut. But rather than messy, I found it truthful and packing that extra punch. I had to savor this one and really feel the emotions portrayed on the pages. It's intimate and deep and I enjoyed coming alongside the well-developed, honest characters as the story unfolded.

A true gem in the historical fiction genre. This is one for my favorites shelf!

This was okay, but I couldn't get into it too much. It was all over the map.
Thank you NetGalley for the chance to review.

This didn’t quite do it for me. I had a hard time with the back and fourth of timeline that I just couldn’t follow.

So different from most WWII stories, this one is based on the author’s own letters from her great-grandmother to her parents that she found in a basement in her 20s. Like the characters in the story, she details a family escaping Germany to create a new life in the United States. She says about it, “Send for Me is a novel. My great-grandmother’s letters weave through it. The names are changed, but every word of the letters is true.”

I kind of hate to use the word sweet to describe it, but it is a short, quick story of these letters, of family (multiple generations) and how their lives were irrecoverably changed.

This story just wasn't a fit for me. That doesn't mean that others won't find this a fit for them, but it wasn't for me. I stopped around the 50% mark.

Annelise, a dreamy, absent-minded teenager, in late 1930s Germany, her day starts early as she works all day at her family's bakery. She is so excited to see her boyfriend as he comes to the bakery to buy treats. Then, one day, he no longer comes to the bakery. She discovers he has a new girlfriend, and along with this, the anti-Jewish sentiment directed at her family starts to increase. Friends who are no longer friends, people the family can no longer trust, rocks thrown through windows. What is the family to do? Decisions are reached that involve not only her and her husband and daughter, but her parents as well. She and her husband and daughter are among the lucky ones - they are able to get visas and leave Germany. But they must leave behind her parents. With promises to get them out as quickly as possible, they go. They are never able to get the parents out. Annelise's daughter, years later, finds a cache of letters from her grandmother, opens her eyes to what it really means to be part of an extended family.

A good look at yet another side of World War II.

This character-driven historical novel about the all-consuming love between mothers and daughters was beautifully written. I frequently read multi-generational books and find they add a richness to the story, but I found Annelisa’s seeming lack of concern for her parents to be bewildering. Many of the letters from her parents were like howls of grief and the heavy sense of desperation made it a foreboding read. I ghostwrite memoirs and I tell my clients to include some upbeat content no matter how tragic their story is.

The biggest problem with the book and largely responsible for the lower rating, was its length. It was too short for me to be invested in the characters, and the strangely abrupt ending left me feeling deflated. It was good, but not great.

*Note: I did not finish this book!*

Send for me was not what I expected it would be like. With no cohesive storyline, the chapters jumped from the past, present, and future tense with characters that interchanged — supposedly creating a narrative that will come together at the end (I hope, anyway). Honestly, it felt more like a compilation of short stories rather than a novel that was said to follow a young woman during WWII before fast-forwarding to her granddaughter in present-day America! There was no emotional connection! Just when I thought I understood the characters, the author would give away what would happen in the future! It was as though someone would enter a scene one minute, and the next, the readers were given a massive spoiler that made it pointless to continue the story!!

The audiobook definitely made things more confusing as there were no chapter titles or breaks between sections. The narrator flowed from one page to the next, causing me to lose which character was telling the story and what I was supposed to be understanding! Maybe the book is better? I don't know, but I will not spend more time trying to figure that out...

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a pre-release copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are entirely my own!*

I felt like this was okay Historical Fiction. I had issues with characters being relatable. The story of WWII and the Holocaust are so over done, that it is hard to retell this story in a new light without the characters to carry the storyline.

As the world reels from the sight of the U.S. Capitol under siege, many people wonder how a subset of Americans can believe what is clear to most to be outrageous lies. And what are the consequences of these beliefs? With Nazi flags being waved in the sanctuary of democracy, it’s a strong reminder that the lies that were spread in Germany in the 1930s resulted in the deaths of 75 million people worldwide. We know we’re living through historical times. Did the Jews of Berlin know that, too?

In her latest book, Send for Me, author Lauren Fox has strayed from her usual humorous women’s fiction to write a deeply personal novel. For the rest of the review, click on the link below.

I'll confess, I do not like present tense writing. For some reason, instead of placing me in the story, it takes me out of it and confuses me. So that bothered me about this. I loved the generational aspect to this and the overall story. It's a very oversaturated genre, but this one felt different enough to me to add interest and keep me reading. I would give this a 3.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A very personal and generational story of a Jewish family caught up in the events preceding WW2. Fox used actual letters from her great- grandmother to shape this quiet story. Strong characterization along with examinations of mother - daughter bonds over the generations infuse the book with a tenderness, sorrow, and family strength.

This is a quiet, contemplative meditation on love and motherhood during the Holocaust. The story is based on letters written by the author’s great grandmother to her grandmother. From a Jewish German family, Annelise manages to emigrate to America with her husband and young daughter but had to leave her parents behind. There’s very little “action” in this story, which sets it apart from most WWII historical fiction but once I settled into the domestic tone I really enjoyed being immersed in Annelise’s world. From the growing anti-semitism in Germany before the war begins, to finding herself a domestic servant struggling to learn the language and customs of her new home in Wisconsin, this is a beautiful love letter from the author to her maternal grandmother. The story also has a dual narrative structure, with the second timeline set in the present day with Clare, Annelise’s granddaughter but I found Clare’s story less interesting. The real gem in my opinion was the first person perspective of Annelise’s life. Overall a very touching story. For fans of We were the lucky ones.

The story goes back and forth between the granddaughter, mother, and grandmother during World War 2 . Claire, the granddaughter , finds letters her grandmother wrote from Germany. I could just smell the odor of the bakery her grandmothers had. So many difficult choices for each generation. A beautiful work of history! And to think they settled in Wisconsin next to me!

This book moves back and forth between Germany before World War II and present day Wisconsin as it spans the story of four generations of women. Annelise and her parents live in Feldenheim, Germany. They are the owners of a bakery and they happen to be of the Jewish faith. They work hard and the bakery is a successful business until the day when anti-Jewish sentiment starts to take hold in Germany.

Annelise has married and is now a mother and she realizes that anti-Jewish sentiment is becoming more and more dangerous and intolerable. Annelise and her husband along with their daughter Ruthie decide to relocate to America because they are fearful for their well being. They leave with the hope that Annelise’s parents will soon be able to join them in the United States. Unfortunately, the two generations never reunite. After making many attempts, her parents are unsuccessful at obtaining the paperwork that will allow them to leave Germany.

Years later, Ruthie’s daughter Clare finds a collection of letters that her great grandmother Klara, Annelise’s mother, had written and sent from Germany to Clare’s grandmother, Annelise in America. The letters are filled with the hope and expectation that they will all soon be reunited. As she reads through the letters, Clare begins not only to understand her family’s history but she also begins to see a clearer future for herself.

Four generations of females are represented in this novel. The relationships between mothers and daughters, grandmothers and granddaughters are beautifully developed as they shift from one generation to another. The author explores the moments of their everyday lives in a moving and emotional narrative.

The author uses excerpts from actual family letters to give realism to the tragedies and atrocities of World War II both due to anti-Jewish sentiment and separation from family. This use of actual letters details a fictional family history is a unique way.

The book also recounts the difficulties of adjusting to new places and of making new friends in a new location with a different language and culture while still clinging to, and longing for, what you have left behind.

The author has chosen a very worthwhile and interesting topic while presenting it in a very unique format. Unfortunately, due to the quick transitions between time and generations and the resulting lack of depth along with an abrupt conclusion, I couldn’t fully connect to the characters or to their stories. Even so, the book has merit because it can provide one more perspective on how World War II brought unhappiness and upheaval into many people’s lives.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the egalley of this book.

This is a lovely story, told through the voices of different women in the same family, from the 1930s until present day. The point of view shifts between Clara (in present day), her mother Ruthie, Ruthie's mother Annalisa (in the 1930s) and Ruthie's mother, Clara. Woven into the story are letters discovered by a granddaughter from her great grandmother written to her grandmother many years ago, detailing the unbreakable bond and unwavering love between a mother and daughter. Set against a backdrop of WWII in Germany and then in present day Wisconsin, this is a story that is powerful and beautiful, albeit heartbreaking at times.

This book blew me away! I was unable to but it down. Perfect, dazzlingly, very well written. The details the author described throughout the book was so amazing. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

I want so badly to love this book.
But I definitely struggled with the writing style.
I think that it was time jumps that had me ultimately posting this one as a DNF.

At first I did not think I was very interested in this book, but the more I though about it , the more I realized it spoke to yearning and hopelessness that must have been common during WWII when people were were trying so hard to get out of Europe. The book depicted both the pain of separated families and the joy for those who made it , along with the effects on succeeding generations

Lauren Fox writes a beautiful and compelling story that pulls you into the emotional life of each character. I found that I could not wrench myself from the story’s grasp until the very last page.

Send for Me is a haunting story that deals with family bonds during Hitler’s rise in Germany. Fox’s vivid prose set the stage for the rising pressure and fear of this time period. I found myself knee deep in the emotions of the characters as they made difficult and life altering decisions that ultimately lead to separation, and strained relationships between generations of mothers and daughters.

Fox gave her book even more depth with the artful inclusion of letters written and sent from Germany during the war between the family. These letters were heart wrenching, but so very eye opening. I found myself thinking about my own family relationships, and how my own son will be venturing out into the world on his own in a few short years.

This is a beautiful story that brings together multiple generations. I appreciated how the plot shows a current generation realizing the struggles and sacrifices made by the generations before them. Send for Me was a fast paced read that hooked me from the beginning chapter and had me holding on to the characters even after I finished the last page. Pick up you copy of this book today! I cannot recommend it enough.

Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Publishing for the gifted digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.