I loved this dual timeline novel set during WWII and two decades later. As the Nazis invade France, Claudette finds herself in the employ of a chateau as a seamstress. Unable to get many jobs due to her disability, Claudette is glad for a job and refuge. She doesn't quite understand the hatred toward Jews and befriends many of them and one of them becomes the father of her child. Claudette is forced to leave her baby behind with a wet nurse as they flee France but prays she will be reunited with him someday. Several decades later, Sharon gets the opportunity to go to France for a clandestine operation and hopes that she is able to find out more about her deceased mother. Raised by her grandparents, Sharon knows very little about her mom outside of the fact that she was originally from France and smuggled into Israel. This book perfectly blends two stories together of resilience, survival, and determination. I enjoyed this book and recommend it for lovers of historical fiction.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was exactly the book I was in the mood for! After a series of boring historical fictions I was happy to come across one that grabbed my attention! Would recommend!

The Boy with the Star Tattoo

by Talia Carner

I was unable to put this book down, different yes, fast, if you like stories about history you will love this book. It takes you back to post World War 2 as well as the late 1960’s when Israel was building its naval fleet. It brings to light the Youth Aliyah movement to bring Jewish orphans to Israel to have a new life. It catches the life, before, during and after. I absolutely loved this book and will be looking for other books by Talia Carner.

I am not a huge fan of historical fiction, especially holocaust stories, just based on the fact that sometimes themes in those books hit too close to home. But I felt it important to read this one, especially after seeing some of the hate it was getting online just for being written by a Jewish author focusing on Jewish stories.

The good - I really enjoyed the multiple timelines and perspectives. I loved the story that Talia created with this book.

The not so good - it was really hard for me to get through this read purely based on the fact that these kinds of books are just hard for me in general.

Highly recommend reading it if you are a fan of historical fiction. Its an important book that is written very well. Talia did a fantastic job handling the strong themes in this book with care.

I enjoyed this book but there were some things I was less enthusiastic about. I wasn’t a huge fan of Talia’s writing style and felt it was difficult to get into this book.

I really enjoyed this story. With the multiple time lines, it took me to events that I had not heard of before.

I used to read a lot of WWII historical fiction when I was younger and have since moved away from the genre, but I really enjoyed this book. The triple timeline was executed well and I loved the history of how Israel was established. The story Talia Carner created was truly full of hope, heartbreak, and resilience. Wonderfully written and a powerful story.

I love historical fiction inspired by true stories and about Jewish history so I enjoyed this book which weaves together stories about orphaned Jewish children in post WW2 France as well as the bravery of of Israeli naval officers in the 1960s.

The story is told from three perspectives and timelines. In the "present day", we follow a young Israeli woman named Sharon who grew up with her grandparents after her parents were killed in Israel's War of Independence. Although she knows all about her father's family, all she knows about her mother is that she came to Israel from France as a teenager after she lost her whole family in the Holocaust. When she has an opportunity to work for the Israeli navy in France she uses it as an opportunity to learn more about her mother and her ancestors.

The second timeline takes place during WW2 in the Loire Valley. It follows the story of a young, disabled, Christian woman named Claudette who falls in love with a young Jewish man hiding from the Nazis. Their brief time together has a massive impact on her life.

The third perspective/timeline takes place in 1946 when a young Jewish man named Uzi searches the French countryside for orphaned Jewish children to bring them to Eretz Israel as part of the Youth Aliyah initiative that rescued thousands of Jewish children from the Nazis and from post-WW2.

I was most interested in Claudette and Uri's plots and kept wanting to get back to their chapters. Although I found Sharon's story interesting, I wasn't that invested in the intrigue and details of the secret naval operation in Cherbourg, France.

This is a sad story about families torn apart but a hopeful one as well. It's also a powerful reminder of why Israel is so important to the Jewish people. As the author states: "Her arc of belonging....comes from [her] national spirit, one defined not by the Holocaust but by the common destiny of connecting with the past, present, and future of the Jewish people. Belonging to Israel is central to their identity".

At a time where people are questioning Israel's right to exist and/or telling Israelis and Jews to "go back to where they came from", this type of book is an important read.

Several stories, one in WWII, one in 1969 France and Israel, one in 1946 France, all intertwined to tell the stories of two people who fall in love, the story of France during WWII, the story of the experiences and rescue of Jewish orphans, and the story of the founding of Israel. I learned some interesting history, about how the British blockaded entry to Israel and an organization, Youth Aliyah, had to sneak orphaned children in at night; about the Six Day War in 1967 in response to pogroms; and the 1969 sneaking of boats out of Cherbourg.

I would have liked the epilogue to finish up the personal stories of the characters rather than being merged with the author's note; the book feels a little incomplete.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.

Wow, what a book! I’ve been saying that there are things I’m STILL learning to this day about historical events surrounding the Holocaust/WWII. I never knew about the Cherbourg Project AND Youth Aliyah. There are three stories intertwined in this book. An Israeli woman who is on a secret mission with the Cherbourg Project. A Youth Aliyah agent is looking for orphaned Jewish kids in France. A French mother who helped to hide a Jewish father & son from the Nazis only to get pregnant with a half-Jewish baby. Carner did a great amount of researching and transform these events into a beautifully written historical fiction read. The Boy with the Star Tattoo is a must read.

I received an ARC from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I tend to avoid “Holocaust Books”, but I am so glad I didn’t skip this one. (So, thanks to all you who objected to the existence of a book of historical fiction reflecting actual historic events, I guess.)

Three stories in three times intertwine: Sharon, an Israeli woman in 1968, mourning the (assumed) death of her fiancé, asked to go to France to take part in a secret mission; Claudette, a French woman in 1940, a seamstress with a disability trying to support herself even as Nazis invade France; and Uzi, a Youth Aliyah agent in 1946, searching for orphaned Jewish children in the French countryside.

Everyone is carrying secrets. Everyone is coping with grief and pain. Everyone is trying to find their way forward in a world full of tragedy and the weight of history. Questions about identity weave throughout the novel: What is a family? What is a community? If you don’t know where you come from, do you know who you are? Does it matter?

As tragic as events are, though, I was struck by the threads of hope and determination woven throughout. People facing terrible events, who have lost so much, keep moving forward, keep finding the strength within themselves that they need to help others and survive together.

This book was beautiful, and painful, and it made me cry, and it made me smile, and it broke my heart, and it put it back together again. It is the Jewish story that I, at least, needed right now.

I first heard about a daring naval operation, the Cherbourg Project, last year while vacationing in Normandy with my sister and brother-in-law. My brother-in-law told us about the project when we saw the signs for Cherbourg. The story immediately sparked my interest. When I discovered that a historical fiction book was being published about it, I immediately added it to my TBR.

The Boy with the Star Tattoo tells three intertwined stories inspired by Jewish and French history. In 1942-1945 occupied France, we follow a French woman, Claudette, who helps Jewish father and son hide from the Nazis. In 1946, we follow Uzi, a young Jewish man from Eretz Israel, who arrives in France to help rescue hidden and displaced Jewish orphans to bring them to Israel/British-mandated Palestine. This rescue program is known as Youth Alliya. And in 1969, we follow Sharon, a young Israeli woman recruited to assist in the Cherbourg Project in Normandy. While working on the project, she meets a naval officer, Danny, an orphan who came to Israel from France with the Youth Alliya program.

The Boy with the Star Tattoo is an incredibly well-written and well-researched book about lesser-known post-WW2 historical events. I enjoyed reading about the Cherbourg Project because it is what drew me in first. But I was moved by other themes in the book. One of the themes is the collective trauma that Jewish people experienced during and after the Holocaust. I understood it in the abstract but hadn't thought about it deeply before. The Boy with the Star Tattoo changed that. It hammered it into my psyche. In Uzi, Sharon, and Danny, Talia Carner embodies the Jewish nation and how the collective trauma drove Jewish people to build a country where Jews would be safe.

Currently, we are seeing an unprecedented rise in antisemitism that echoes 1930-1940. It's important, now more than ever, to read Jewish stories and listen to Jewish voices. The Boy with the Star Tattoo is a must-read for readers who want to learn more about post-WW2 history and the history of Israel.

A huge thanks to Wiliam Morrow for an advanced copy of The Boy with the Star Tattoo which comes out today - January 30th!

I learned so much from this book. This historical fiction spans World War II and postwar France to 1968 in Israel and France. A lot is happening and while a little confusing at first trying to keep up with the 3 storylines, they all converge beautifully in the end. I read a lot of WWII Historical Fiction and I want to see more stories like this about the children of the Holocaust and what happened post-war or more post-war historical fiction in general.

I read historical fiction to learn more which is why I enjoyed this book.
I want to learn more about the Youth Aliyah and what they did to bring orphaned Jewish children to what would become Israel. I'm still learning about many of the conflicts in the Middle East and found the secret Israeli naval operations in Cherbourg, France really interesting.

The research and and care the author put into this book was incredible. I am so glad I read this book and hope more people read it.

The Boy with the Star Tattoo by Talia Carner is a timely historical fiction novel, which switches between three separate timelines--during World War 2, immediately after the war, and twenty years later, shortly after the Six-Day War. I don't read a ton of historical fiction, but I requested the book after dozens of people review-bombed it on Goodreads, even though they'd obviously not even read the book.

The simple fact that this book delves into Israeli history was enough to brand it Zionist propaganda. Which it isn't. Any more than a novel about colonial America is "settler-colonial propaganda."

Is this my favorite book? No. But is it a bad book? Absolutely not. It took a period of history I know a lot about (1942-1945) and looked at it from a different angle. Instead of focusing just on the Jews in concentration camps or just on the French resistance, or just "one thing"--the author tried to make it personal--the story of a young unmarried Christian girl who births a Jewish baby, but has to give him up to protect him. To honor his Jewishness, she has a star of David tattooed on his heel. I liked learning more about the Jews who literally had to sneak into the British-ruled Palestinian territories because of the restrictions placed on Jewish immigrants. It was also interesting to read about young people who had served in the IDF in and around the Six-Days War.

I DNF-ed at 54% just because I'm not in the right headspace for a historical fiction that is this involved. I just came off an epic fantasy novel, and I'm in a totally different gear at the moment. But I may come back and finish it when I'm in a different head space.

Overall, a good plot with enchanting characters, but the pace was unstable and remarkably slow throughout. I would only recommend if you enjoy reading about this period in history.

I am giving this book 5 stars because it’s something that I feel needs to be read by everyone, especially during this time when Israel is yet again fighting for her right to exist. It’s long. There are some parts that are drawn out and some might find some bits boring or unnecessary, but it is one of the only books of its kind. This is not a Holocaust book; it’s the true stories of what happened after WW2, when the Jewish survivors were wandering around looking for lost family members and wondering just how they would survive the aftermath after having survived the horrors of the years before.
Told in 3 different timelines (1942-1946, 1946, and 1968-1969) and by 3 different third person viewpoints (Claudette, Uzi, and Sharon respectively), this weaves together 3 turning points in Jewish history (the Holocaust, the Youth Aliyah, and the Boats of Cherbourg, also respectively). All three timelines are woven together so while it jumps from 1942 to 1967 and back to 1942 and so on, it works and isn’t at all confusing- though when Claudette’s and Uzi’s time starts intersecting I had to really pay attention at the start of each chapter to see in what part of 1946 they were taking place.
Claudette is a young French woman working as a seamstress for the Duchess of Valençay when she meets Raphael, a young Jewish man the Duchess is hiding. They fall in love, but Raphael is running for his life and after 6 months, he has to flee. Claudette finds herself pregnant, gives birth at a house in the village and must leave her baby there to continue working at the castle. When the Nazis invade she and the Duchess escape to Spain, but Claudette never forgets the baby she left behind. Uzi is a young man in his twenties working for Youth Aliyah, an organization that sent people into Europe after the war to find orphaned Jewish children. They gathered the children and took them to Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel) where they had to sneak in under the cover of night since Jews weren’t allowed to live there. Sharon is a young woman in 1968 who is mourning the loss of her fiancé since the submarine on which he was stationed was lost at sea. While she’s already served her time in the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) she’s asked to come to France to work on a secret mission as a civilian. As she sees what the Israeli Navy is doing, she realizes her work is of upmost importance.
3 different times, 3 different stories, and yet Talia Carner puts them together in a way in which they meld beautifully. If you ever thought the British willingly gave Israel to the Jews; if you never heard of Youth Aliyah; if you didn’t know how Israel formed her Navy this book is for you. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy of this. The Boy With the Star Tattoo hits the shelves on January 30th.

I truly did not expect to like this book as much as I did--I thought it was going to be another half-baked Holocaust novel. In reality, it's far more about Israel and the challenges of its early statehood. The Holocaust is certainly woven through it, but where it really shines is in the depiction of Israelis in the 1960s. There are relatively few good books (in English, at least) about this time period and so the entire experience was something interesting and novel. While I thought the parts that took place during the occupation of France were not quite as good as the rest, there is still much here to enjoy. Recommend for any historical fiction reader.

“The Boy with the Star Tattoo" by Talia Carner is an epic historical novel that weaves together tales of ingenuity, courage, love, and loss against the backdrop of postwar France and the daring escape of Israeli boats from Cherbourg in 1969. The narrative spans three timelines – 1942, 1946, and 1969 – creating a complex and compelling story that demands concentration from the reader.

The story begins in 1942, as the Vichy government intensifies its hunt for Jews in France. Claudette Pelletier, a talented seamstress, falls in love with a Jewish man who seeks refuge in the château where she works. Their whirlwind romance leaves her pregnant and facing a heartbreaking choice when the Nazis invade. Forced to flee to Spain, Claudette leaves her baby in the care of a nursemaid, only to find him missing upon her return.

In 1968, Israeli naval officer Daniel Yarden recruits Sharon Bloomenthal for a secret operation in Cherbourg. Sharon, grieving her fiancé's recent loss in a submarine accident, becomes curious about Danny's past and embarks on a journey to unravel the mysteries surrounding her boss.

The novel explores Claudette's struggle to find her missing child, the post-war efforts of Youth Aliyah to rescue Jewish orphans, and the complex operation in Cherbourg.

The triple timeline adds intricacy to the narrative, requiring readers to piece together the threads of the story. While Sharon is determined to uncover Danny's origins, he remains focused on his mission, creating tension between the characters. The novel touches upon real historical subjects, including Youth Aliyah, the disappearance of the submarine INS Dakar in 1968, and Israel's plans to acquire boats from France.

Talia Carner's meticulous research is evident, shedding light on lesser-known aspects of history. The book delves into the challenges faced by Jewish children in post-war France and the difficulties in reuniting families. The story captures the resilience and heartache of those affected, making it a poignant and thought-provoking read.

Overall, "The Boy with the Star Tattoo" receives five stars for its intricate storytelling, well-researched historical context, and the exploration of post-war challenges faced by Jewish families. Fans of complex historical fiction will find this novel to be a compelling and informative read.

I received an advance copy of the book. All opinions expressed here are my own.

The Boy with the Star Tattoo follows three story lines: a disable young Frenchwoman who finds unlikely love during WWII and is then desperate to keep her baby safe, an Israeli operative searching for Jewish war orphans in post France and a young Israeli woman, grieving her lost love, who is recruited for a clandestine mission on which her country’s future depends on

What I enjoyed about the Boy with the Star Tattoo was how well researched it was and how the way that it depicted the struggles of grief and cultural identity. Grief and identity are at the center of the struggles of the main characters and a major question that Boy with the Star Tattoo answers is how do we continuing living when we have lost so much

What I didn’t enjoy was how dry the book could be. The reader is told the stakes are high but we don’t feel it, which took away from my enjoyment of the book. I also felt that the author didn’t always do a thorough job of making the characters 3 dimensional and their connections to one another, in particular the romantic ones, weren’t well fleshed out

I hate to give this such a low rating, especially since this book seems to be getting review bombed by people who haven't even read it, but the writing here simply didn't draw me in. I wanted more historical context; I was lost for quite a large portion of this book. The jumps back and forth in time didn't help with that, either. The writing style felt incredibly distant and impersonal; I struggled to differentiate the characters because I didn't really get much of a sense of who they were. Some events, especially those surrounding Claudette (who was the most interesting character for me), were told so brusquely and impersonally that I felt almost a sense of whiplash. I think the bones of the story were great. There was so much potential here. I just really struggled with the writing style. I sincerely hope other readers find much here to enjoy.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for my ARC. All opinions are my own.