Send for Me by Lauren Fox was another emotional historical fiction detailing the loss and heartbreak of the Holocaust. Instead of focusing on the concentration camps, as a lot of World War II books do, this focused on emigrating to the US, and having to leave all their friends and family behind in a war torn country. 

I enjoyed this book. I loved to read the little snippets of the letters from her Mother, which were all real letters she had sent in the 30s and 40s. I wish the narration would have been more of a 1st person, or like we were living in her world. I felt like the writing was telling a story from long ago, and we were never in Annaliese's shoes. The ending was also so abrupt. I couldn't believe I had reached the end when I saw the acknowledgments. I'm not sure what I expected as an ending, but it wasn't that. I didn't feel like I had enough of Clara's story either. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read Historical fiction/Holocaust survival stories, or just looking for an emotional read.

What a lovely, lovely book! An intense and complicated story of family, loss, and mothers and daughters over five generations, this story is powerful.  
We start with Klara and Julius in Germany, on to their daughter Annelise, granddaughter Ruthie, and ultimately Clare, the great granddaughter who finds heartbreaking letters; that impact her greatly.  
Reading any historical fiction set during WWII we know that Holocaust survivors and their children experienced an excoriating life, of pain, and lost chances.  
It took a little bit for me to get into this book reading into the book, but Lauren Fox has done a tremendous job of weaving these generations of women.  

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC.

An intense and complicated story of family, loss and mothers and daughters over five generations, the story is powerful.  Starting with Klara and Julius in Germany, to their daughter Annelise, granddaughter Ruthie, and ultimately Clare, the great granddaughter who finds letters that impact her greatly.  Owning a bakery, Klara trains her daughter to work there until the laws change and not only is their business closed down, but their friends begin to reject them based on their “blood”.  We know early on that Annelise and Walter end up in Milwaukee, receiving heartbreaking letters from Germany as visas and approvals fail to come through.  The letters are heartbreaking, and impact Clare’s ability to be happy.  Holocaust survivors and their children experience life in such a different light, of pain, of evil and lost chances.  Although it took me reading into the book a bit before getting the tone and rhythm of the writing, the author has done a wonderful job of weaving these generations of women.  Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Fox’s writing style is spare and yet still presents a clear full narrative with well written character development. Spanning four generations of women from pre-Nazi Germany through the great granddaughter, this is a story of leaving and also staying and what that means. Each woman haunted by the souls of the others.

This is a poignant story about a daughter who escapes and parents who didn't. It's told through letters Annelise writes to her daughter Ruth. Clare the granddaughter finds these letters and is stunned by their significance. Beautifully written and good character development.

I love WWII novels & read so many. I really liked that this one was about the terror of being forced to leave, being lonely in a new place, missing your parents and not so much about the horrors of the war. Makes me think that this shouldn't be lumped in with other WWII novels because it's more about those other things. However - I thought the format (reading it online) with so many pages with only one sentence/letter excerpt...I thought the distinction between then and now was a little fuzzy. I LOVED the then.

This book went entirely too fast. I loved it so much. The character development was perfect. We didn't get too much information that you were overwhelmed but you got what you needed without feeling like you didn't get enough. The writing is easy to read and flowed beautifully. This would be an awesome book for people who want to get into historical fiction because it reads like contemporary fiction. This book had me in my feels the whole time. I will definitely read more from Lauren Fox.

Heart wrenching story of family separations.  It is also speaks of motherhood and the lose of that needed support and connection.  The writing is fluid and emotional.  Highly recommend for historical fiction readers.

I had the privilege of reading an advanced copy of SEND FOR ME, and am still reeling from its brilliance and emotional resonance. A powerful intergenerational story that deftly explores the trauma of leaving family behind during the insidious rise of Nazi Germany, SEND FOR ME follows the life of Annelise, who grows up working at her Jewish parents' bakery. Soon after she marries and has a daughter, the dangers in Germany begin to reveal themselves. The three of them have the chance to emigrate to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and they take it, promising that once they're settled, they will send for Annelise's parents to join them in America.

The author gives us a finely attuned view into the life of Annelise and her daughter, Ruthie, and what it means to be a recent first-generation Jewish immigrant in America amid seemingly fruitless attempts to reunite your family. One of the most breathtaking aspects of the story is the present-day scenes told through the eyes of Annelise's granddaughter, Clare, who stumbles upon a trove of letters written by her great-grandmother to her grandmother, Annelise. The storyline seamlessly moves us through its different eras, spinning a complex tapestry of a family managing generational trauma, longing, and guilt amid the everyday joys of family and romantic love. The ending is profound: moving, simple, and pitch-perfect.

Lauren Fox's oeuvre is luminous; her other novels to date are gorgeously written stories of love, loss, humor and the beauty in our fallibility. This work of fiction is all of that but dives deeper and feels ever more personal, revealing the author's staggering range. I cannot recommend this book enough; its loveable characters brim with humanity, and their story will leave its indelible mark on your soul. Five stars.

I can't help but compare "Send for Me" to Sarah Wildman's "Paper Love." Both are based on a cache of letters found by grandchildren that connect a beloved grandparent from someone left behind in Germany who they could not save from the Nazis. These are heartbreaking stories, the guilt burden carried by the survivor and their inability to keep their promise, but how the grandparents responded is quite different. Wildman's grandfather stopped responding to his fiancee when he realized there was nothing he could do. He saved every letter, but did not reply. Lauren Fox's grandmother Annaliese replied to every letter sent by her parents, sends every document, resends them when she makes a mistake (or maybe she didn't), prays and barely holds herself together.

As Annaliese's daughter Ruth tells her own daughter, the finder of the letters, "I know what happened." She doesn't need to read them. I wanted to know what happened, how she lost them in the tightening of the Nazi noose and how it affected Annalise, Ruth, and finally, Claire. 

There's so much in this story, and thanks to Lauren Fox for sharing and keeping these memories alive.

Thanks, too, to Knopf and Netgalley for access to this title.

~Candace SIegle, Greedy Reader