The Forgotten Names by Mario Escobar is an appalling, yet redemptive story about children during World War II. I have read tons of books on World War II, and every story appears to be a little different. Showing the good and horrors of humanity. As the story is written, there are a number of viewpoints from a good chunk of the rescuers to the children to a priest to a Nazi solder. For a while, it was hard to follow the story. But then I didn’t worry about whose point of view the section was in, I just focused on the time period. Made it so much easier to follow the plot. Again, as someone who reads about these dreadful events, I would hope that if I was put in the same situation that I would stand up for the Jewish people no matter the cost. Escobar does a wonderful job at creating empathy for the characters as he shares their plight with the Nazi’s. Even though the creation of the characters are not really that three-dimensional by learning their backgrounds or what makes them tick, readers can still feel horrified with the terrors that does occur to another human by the hand of another who believes he is superior. There are a number of cuss words. A couple of scenes that allude to horrible situations, so be careful when allowing less mature younger children to read this novel. Overall, The Forgotten Names by Mario Escobar brings to light the saving grace of 108 children who were saved from having to go to the concentration camps even though they had to take on new identities. A wonderful story to read.

I received a complimentary copy of The Forgotten Names by Mario Escobar from Harper Muse Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

I really enjoy stories of strength and hope that came out of the war. I appreciated the topic of this book and found it super interesting! Although it didn’t draw me in as much as some other historical fiction I’ve read, I still really enjoyed this one.

The triumphant story of the French men and women who did everything they could against incredible odds to save the lives of Jewish children from the Nazi Extermination camps.

THE FORGOTTEN NAMES by MARIO ESCOBAR is a brilliantly written description of the horrors perpretrated aganst the Jews in France during the Germao occupation. We learn about the brave men and women who made it their business, often paying a horrible price, to save over one hundred children from the Venissieux prison in August 1942. We see the courage and unconditional love of the parents who signed away their precious children in order to save their lives. I like to see the Jews, Catholics and Protestants working together to save God’s chosen people. I also like the scriprture references…….
In 1992: Valerie Portheret chose to write her university thesis on these forgotten children and made it her life’s work to find the real names of as many of them as possible in order to give them back their identities…….
The book is written in the form of a novel which by no means takes away from the authenticity of the historical content.
I found The Forgotten Names both informative and inspirational.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Harper Muse. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

The topic of the story was extremely interesting! However, I did not enjoy the way the novel was written. The structure of the storyline as well as the plot rather clumsy. The more modern time did not feel real even though the main character really existed! I would never have believed it if the author had not mentioned her at the end of the book. She did not feel convincing at all and I could not relate to her. The older timeline was much more interesting, but then again, the writing style felt clumsy. I do not know whether this is due to the translation or not. To me, this novel seemed more a draft than a finished work. The descriptions of the historical characters reminded me of journalistic reports which did not fit in a novel. I did read the whole book though as I was very interested in what happened to these children.
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I am leaving voluntarily an honest review.