Jacob & Ethan are two young Jewish friends living in Berlin at the break of of WWII. Anxious to avoid being caught and sent to a prison camp, they along with family travel to The Netherlands. While in The Netherlands, they do their best to stay under the radar and end up in Westerbork, a Dutch refugee camp. Before long, the Nazis take over the camp and it becomes a transit camp where thousands of Jewish families will arrive and think they are safe before being sent off to the death camps.

Jacob and several other campers become part of the workforce at the camp and what he learns from his time at the camp will be invaluable later. Ultimately, Jacob and Ethan are put on one of the trains to Auschwitz. The conditions in the train car are abhorrent so after Jacob suffers yet another loss he decides to make a break for it. What happens next on Polish soil and in his quest to find his friend, Ethan are truly inspiring.

This book is a work of fiction but some of the characters and events are based on true accounts. I found this book and narrative extremely informative as it tells another side of the Holocaust literally from Beyond the Tracks and how the transit operate.

3.5 stars I was fluctuating between 3 and 4 the whole story at the beginning I was having a hard time with the narrator as his voice was very theatrical like and I wasn't really feeling the story but I gave the story a chance and I started to get more in tune with the narrator so it was a good thing as I started to like more and more the story.

Beyond the tracks was a very heartbreaking story, it was difficult for me at times to listen to what the Nazis did especially to children, this was too much but I kept going. this is the story of two good friends that spend the war together and got separated for a while, Jacob did everything he could to find his friend again. even doe if that meant doing things he really wants capable of and had to sacrifice a lot.

the main character is Jacob and we get to travel and live every single thing he went through in order to survive the war and the atrocities of the SS. like I said during Jacobs's journey we get to meet many scenarios he went through in order to survive but the hardest one was at the end when he had to do the impossible to save his best friend.

this wasn't an easy read for me, even though I like it a lot WWll books this was at times very hard to digest.

the narrations by Mike Paul were good but it took me a while to like his voice, like I said before his voice was very theatrical at times and it kind of made me feel off.

overall it was a good book.

A solid foray into the oft visited Nazi work camp oeuvre . The concern I always have is that the need for the author to express the horror of that time, detracts from the flow of the plot. This walked quite a happy middle ground. Not much I did not know but perhaps a good starting point for readers less familiar with the realities of the time.

The Narration was a little strange, enthusiasm abounded but at times it affected the emphasis of the sentences. Some of the voices seemed a little incongruous in this set up but these are minor niggles as diction was easy to understand and was not affected by changing the speed of delivery ...

I liked this but did not get as swept away by the tale I expected to be.

This was an audio book for me, and the narrator was excellent.
There are author notes at the end of this book, and the story is fictional but based on fact, and we know the facts.
We put faces to this insanity, and follow the Kagan family from Berlin to Holland, and away from the danger, until we aren’t far enough.
This book will have your heart in your throat, and I was holding my breath, such a horrible disregard for human life, and should never be repeated, which is why books like this need to be written.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks, and was not required to give a positive review.

WW2, Jewish, Europe, historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, history-and-culture, resistance-efforts*****

The SS was the arm of German law that took businesses, homes, valuables, and even identity from the Jews living in Berlin. Then comes the deadly escape from Berlin to The Netherlands where the people are housed in self governing camps. Until they weren't. The SS came in and had the people build barracks and the watchtowers very quickly to house new prisoners from elsewhere. The pervading threat was being sent to the camps in The East. Then comes escape from the trains and joining the resistance. All this is seen through the perspective of one young man and his efforts to survive the unthinkable. All of the characters are believable and engaging with the happenings very well done. A very moving rendition of one person's reality. Well done!
Mike Paul provides an interesting interpretation as narrator.
I requested and received a free temporary audiobook from Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks via NetGalley. Thank you!

Another fantastic historical fiction book! Beyond the Tracks is one of my favorites so far. A very emotional, but highly researched and a new, realistic take on a familiar topic. A very touching story about friendship and family. I will definitely read more by this author in the future.

4.25⭐️
🎧audio version. I generally liked the narrator Mike Paul the accent is neutral although sometimes it feels a bit East end with the young men and Hilter Youth confrontations in the early section.

The story starts in 1938 Jacob Kagan is in Berlin and can see that trouble lies ahead and flees the country to the Netherlands which then falls to German occupation.
Most of the story centres around the transient camp at Westerbork.

What I liked
- I like the cover and title
-I am fascinated by the stories that I’ve read surrounding the Holocaust The ones I’ve read have been based in Auschwitz, so I was interested to read of this location that I hadn’t heard of.
- it included the action of the resistance.
- Its well written.Jacob is a terrific character who is very endearing, caring and compassionate, and a hero.
It’s both moving and compassionate.

What I wasn’t so keen on
- This is a work of fiction based on true events, however the main characters are fictional with the other books I’ve read the main characters have been real and it’s their story which gives it more impact for me.
- The outcome of both friends parents is unrealistic

Overall I found it a good read but it doesn’t have the same impact of some of the other books on this subject that I’ve read.

I've read a lot of WW2 fiction. There are so many different paths and perspectives an author can take to tell stories from this time. Here, the focus was on Jacob, a German Jew. Starting right before "the night of the broken glass" (with school online, I was much more involved in history, so this was fresh in my memory).

The book is divided into four parts and an epilogue. Part 1 is in Germany, and as the family leaves. Part 2 takes place in the Netherlands - which was of interest to me, as my father's side comes from there (although they had immigrated earlier and were in the US during WW2). I had not heard of Westerbork (my maiden name is Westra - small similarity) and it was interesting to read how it was originally set up more as a refugee camp, then a stop along the way to worse places. Part 3 is the train ride to one of these, and Part 4 follows Jacob as he works with the resistance.

The shifts between the sections were pretty abrupt! Especially between Part 2 and Part 3. I had to stop and think "did I miss something?" but then there were some recollections to explain how the characters had gotten to this new point.

As for the AUDIO ... I didn't love it. I realize authors/producers are in a bit of a catch-22 situation for something like this. I'm not sure if the main audience is England or the US. The narrator ... had a very strong British accent. 90% of the characters spoke with a British accent, ranging from mild, to cockney, to ... have you seen "The IT Crowd" ... the goth guy in the closet, Richmond. A voice that reminded me so much of him! These characters are German/Dutch/Polish ... so the British accent just felt so wrong. I think it it had been a traditional "American" accent, it wouldn't have stood out so much for me (but then maybe those in the UK would have the same feelings I had). I guess attempting a German accent for the entire book would have been too much (there were a few characters that got the stereotypical German accent).

One thing in the audio that really bugged me were extra sounds the narrator threw in, especially laughing. Several times, the characters would "laugh" and the narrator would stop to "ha ha ha, ho ho, ha, ha" and NO. Just no. Again with a sigh, or a clap. Just go with the words. There were a couple of times there seemed to be a synthesized/echoing voice - again, NO.

One thing I really liked, was during the author's note at the end ... it was the author speaking! I've listened to author's notes before, and when the same narrator reads them, it's just so impersonal. I loved the change in voice, and hearing from the author himself. It was very interesting as he pointed out what parts of the story, were based on actual events. Which people actually existed.

My first book by this author and it was nicely done. The book is a different perspective on WW2. Reflections of the courage of the resistance as well as Jewish people. An emotional book as many reflecting on the Holocaust are but this one showed a bit of hope. Although this was a biographical-fiction based on true events it felt very authentic and intimate. This was an account of a German-Jewish man and his friend trying to survive the Holocaust during WWII from Berlin to the Netherlands, then onto other camps in Central Europe like Auschwitz in Poland. The descriptions of the events that took place and of the people’s character are fascinating, yet often disturbing and heartbreaking, and despite the suffering described, some of the tales in the book were uplifting and inspiring too. It is the small acts of compassion and of doing what one can to resist and survive in the overwhelming face of evil. The author did an excellent job unraveling the story in a good pace engaging the interest of the reader.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

*I received an audiobook copy of this book for my honest review from netgalley.com.

What a great book! I wasn't sure about this story when I first started it, as I have read so many different holocaust books over the years. Yet this book did something different. Not only did it give some context to what it must have been like when the Jews first tried to leave or deal with Nazis when they first started taking over Germany, it also gave a picture of what it was like for these refuges when they had to deal with the Germans moving over the European continent and the fear that must have existed after feeling relief from the freedom they had obtained. I also thought it was interesting to have included the parts about the camp in the Netherlands, which is not a camp that I have really read about. While many books deal with Auschwitz, and this book does a bit as well, I have never really read a book dealing with Jews who were in the "designer" transport camp in the Netherlands. I also enjoyed the story of rescue in Poland. I do wish that there had been a bit more of character development towards the end, but overall, I really enjoyed the book, and especially enjoyed the conclusion, and the hope that we were left with.

#BeyondtheTracks #NetGalley

This is a beautiful book which stands above many of the other books about the Holocaust and is well researched and starts with businesses being taken from people by the state
You feel the emotions and you will be holding your breath
This book is powerful and a recommended read
Thank you for netgalley for a review copy and this book for an honest review

A WWll novel that follows a young man that must leave Berlin to start over since everything his family owns has been taken from them. As I listened to this I had to keep reminding myself that they didn’t know their fate. That trying to take anything with them was futile. This story was a slow fade because it all happened gradually. They were only refugees in the Netherlands. What could possibly go wrong.
This wasn’t one of the more emotional stories, if you’re wondering. Sometimes I finish a WWII book and feel emotionally exhausted afterwards. This is based on true accounts so of course it’s heartbreaking. Everything about this war is heartbreaking. The narrator was good. The only problem I had was with the second half of the book. I felt like it didn’t transition as smoothly as it could have.
Thanks IBPA via Netgalley.