Historical

They Went Left

They Went Left

  • Downloads：3711
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-18 11:55:46
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Monica Hesse
  • ISBN：0316490571
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Germany， 1945。 The soldiers who liberated the Gross-Rosen concentration camp said the war was over， but nothing feels over to eighteen-year-old Zofia Lederman。 Her body has barely begun to heal; her mind feels broken。 And her life is completely shattered: Three years ago， she and her younger brother， Abek， were the only members of their family to be sent to the right， away from the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau。 Everyone else--her parents， her grandmother， radiant Aunt Maja--they went left。

Zofia's last words to her brother were a promise: Abek to Zofia， A to Z。 When I find you again， we will fill our alphabet。 Now her journey to fulfill that vow takes her through Poland and Germany， and into a displaced persons camp where everyone she meets is trying to piece together a future from a painful past: Miriam， desperately searching for the twin she was separated from after they survived medical experimentation。 Breine， a former heiress， who now longs only for a simple wedding with her new fiancé。 And Josef， who guards his past behind a wall of secrets， and is beautiful and strange and magnetic all at once。

But the deeper Zofia digs， the more impossible her search seems。 How can she find one boy in a sea of the missing？ In the rubble of a broken continent， Zofia must delve into a mystery whose answers could break her--or help her rebuild her world。

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Reviews

Paula Stock ，

I could not put this book down！ What I loved most about it is that it takes place in the year AFTER the end of WWII。 I have read many Holocaust stories， but this is the first that deals with displaced people searching for families and a new life。

Craig ，

The title and dust jacket do not do this book justice。 I went in thinking this would be yet another sober depiction of the horrors of the Holocaust， through a constellation of carefully selected characters， each life story illuminating another facet of the atrocity。This book is not like that at all。First， and to its great credit， it's much more focused。 The book has only one point of view， the main character Zofia。 It takes place only in the present， which is immediate-post-WWII Europe; while Zo The title and dust jacket do not do this book justice。 I went in thinking this would be yet another sober depiction of the horrors of the Holocaust， through a constellation of carefully selected characters， each life story illuminating another facet of the atrocity。This book is not like that at all。First， and to its great credit， it's much more focused。 The book has only one point of view， the main character Zofia。 It takes place only in the present， which is immediate-post-WWII Europe; while Zofia has frequent flashbacks， we experience them as she does: nightmares or half-suppressed memories。 It takes place primarily in one location， a refugee camp where Zofia goes looking for her brother， who she was separated from during the war。 Zofia is exposed to the larger social forces that define that time -- the lingering anti-semitism， the widespread property destruction， the partitioning of Germany -- but they inform her story rather than determining it。 This book is only trying to be one thing。And that's enough; this one story， told with lyricism and grace， has sadness and hope to spare。 Zofia did not come out of the concentration camps whole， and you can see how others find her a bit scary。 Her search for her brother is inseparable from her search for a reason to keep living， giving it an intensity not everyone around her can understand。 They have their own ways of dealing with the past and -- the overall theme of this book -- finding a way to move forward。Books about what happened after the holocaust are relatively rare。 Books with this amount of pyschological focus and insight are rarer still。 This may be the best holocaust story I've ever read。 。。。more

Melody ，

Historical fiction。Different view of holocaust。What did survivors do AFTER the war。

Lynn Dickerson ，

I was all set to give this book only 2 stars。 I found Zofia such an unlikeable character。 That sounds horrible since she was traumatized from the atrocities of WWII but I found her whiny and kind of ridiculous at times。 You later learn she is dealing with some legit mental illness But the ending of the book redeemed it for me。 Unexpected and heartwarming ending。

Jennifer ，

I really liked this story and she talks about a time and a population that a lot of WWII literature completely ignores。 She loses a point for repeatedly having modern idiomatic English phrases coming out of the mouth of someone who grew up in Europe in the '30s。 Jerked me out of the book repeatedly。 Two examples: "manage my expectations" and "Not my problem。" There were others。 I say this in all kindness: Monica， your books are so well-researched and well-written that for them to suffer from ana I really liked this story and she talks about a time and a population that a lot of WWII literature completely ignores。 She loses a point for repeatedly having modern idiomatic English phrases coming out of the mouth of someone who grew up in Europe in the '30s。 Jerked me out of the book repeatedly。 Two examples: "manage my expectations" and "Not my problem。" There were others。 I say this in all kindness: Monica， your books are so well-researched and well-written that for them to suffer from anachronistic speech is a shame。 Your editor let you down this time！ 。。。more

Alli Becker ，

Ending was a bit anticlimactic and strange

Kaitlyn Newsom ，

4。5 😭😭😭

Cassie ，

I LOVED IT！！ Monica Hesse did it again！ I previously read Girl In The Blue Coat， which I loved and had trouble putting down。 Now， They Went Left， which I loved even more and had even more trouble putting down。 Absolutely in my top 10 books I’ve read。 And I think this is the only World War II book I’ve read which centers around the realities of picking up the pieces of life after the war and finding a way to rebuild。 I loved the characters and couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen。 I I LOVED IT！！ Monica Hesse did it again！ I previously read Girl In The Blue Coat， which I loved and had trouble putting down。 Now， They Went Left， which I loved even more and had even more trouble putting down。 Absolutely in my top 10 books I’ve read。 And I think this is the only World War II book I’ve read which centers around the realities of picking up the pieces of life after the war and finding a way to rebuild。 I loved the characters and couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen。 It was great！ I can’t wait to read my next book by Monica Hesse。 I absolutely recommend！ 。。。more

Janice ，

This was a good story， but I can't help but compare it to all the other WWII books that I've read。 This was a good story， but I can't help but compare it to all the other WWII books that I've read。 。。。more

Michelle ，

Many WWII books focus on the time period during the war and end with liberation; I appreciate that his story starts with liberation and looks into the challenges that come after surviving the war。

Jen Jones ，

Amazing！

Shanna Klutts ，

Tissue alert！ You WILL need tissues for this book。 I loved this as much as I loved The Girl in the Blue Coat。 This was a moving， devastating， and heart-wrenching novel。 I love that her focus is what happened AFTER WW2。 So many of the books I have read of the time period overlooks this important history。 “I think we must find miracles where we can。 We must love the people in front of us。 We must forgive ourselves for the things we did to survive: the things we broke， the things that broke us。”

Nicole ，

So heartbreaking。 So chilling。 So good。

Sharese Stribling ，

This has， without a doubt， become one of my favorite books of all time。 Just finished it and already want to reread it， but it also kind of broke my heart so if I never reread it again， that’ll also be okay。

Emily ，

This was fascinating and a different view of life after the Holocaust。 It was beautifully written and researched。

Rachel ，

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book。 At first I was not sure。。。but I was definitely rewarded once I made it to the second half。 I also enjoyed the twists and ending。 I will say no more。

Cookie ，

21-22 FL TEENS READ So。。。the entire time I was reading this， I felt like I had read a parallel story。 It was a good story， but。。。have I read it before？ How would I not know？

Katie ，

probably the fastest I have ever burned through an audiobook。 I couldn't stop listening to this story about what happened after the liberation of the Nazi death camps。 Though fiction， the author obviously did her research and much of the events were mind-boggling to me in this internet era。 Highly recommend。 probably the fastest I have ever burned through an audiobook。 I couldn't stop listening to this story about what happened after the liberation of the Nazi death camps。 Though fiction， the author obviously did her research and much of the events were mind-boggling to me in this internet era。 Highly recommend。 。。。more

Tracy Shouse ，

One of the best historical fiction books I have read in such a long time！ Thoroughly researched and well-written。 A heartbreaking story of betrayal and survival in the aftermath of WWII。

Tricia ，

Extreme Book Nerd Challenge 2021: A book from the 2020 NPR Book Concierge list。

Clari-Jane Newman ，

This book was SO beautiful and tragic。 I’ve read many books about the Holocaust but this is the only one I have read that has talked about what happened if you survived the camp。 From the melancholy beginning to the heartwarming end， Zofia goes on a journey of healing after enduring waves of trauma。 Her character development was spot on！ I read Girl in the Blue Coat the summer following my freshman year of high school and knew I had to have this book when I saw the advertisement！ This story exce This book was SO beautiful and tragic。 I’ve read many books about the Holocaust but this is the only one I have read that has talked about what happened if you survived the camp。 From the melancholy beginning to the heartwarming end， Zofia goes on a journey of healing after enduring waves of trauma。 Her character development was spot on！ I read Girl in the Blue Coat the summer following my freshman year of high school and knew I had to have this book when I saw the advertisement！ This story exceeded my expectations immensely and I loved every second reading it！💛 。。。more

Evie ，

Important book。 Educates on the Holocaust’s effects almost immediately post-war and on the anti-semitism that still existed and currently exists today。 A key message of the book comes near the end where a non-Jewish person is griping to Zophia about how “the war was hard on them too。” Zophia responds to the effect of， “No it was not！ Your family and people were not beaten， tortured， and murdered right in front of you for years and years。” Claiming something is “as bad as the Holocaust” is an ant Important book。 Educates on the Holocaust’s effects almost immediately post-war and on the anti-semitism that still existed and currently exists today。 A key message of the book comes near the end where a non-Jewish person is griping to Zophia about how “the war was hard on them too。” Zophia responds to the effect of， “No it was not！ Your family and people were not beaten， tortured， and murdered right in front of you for years and years。” Claiming something is “as bad as the Holocaust” is an anti-Semitic belief that is still believed and even published to this day。 It is not “validating” likening a horrible situation to the Holocaust because the true horror of the Holocaust will never be adequately perceived by the masses and it’s supremely disrespectful to reduce such a horrific event to hyperbole。 Yes， horrific things do happen in this world—murders， genocide—but the point is that the Holocaust is still one of， if not the one， most brutal， horrific event in human history。This book would be a great resource for those seeking to educate on modern-day anti-semitism as well as how Jewish people tried to carry on after the war。I will amend however that the author is a non-Jewish journalist; I would hope that important works about Jewish culture would be “Own Voices” in the sense that they are Jewish themselves， but I understand that the Holocaust will always be grossly traumatic and therefore much harder to write about for those that are Jewish or of Jewish descent。 That being said， I still think this is a good novel， but rather I would recommend this book as a supplement to Jewish-written materials。 。。。more

Jude ，

They Went Left is about a girl named Zofia that has just survived Birkenau concentration camp and is looking for remaining family members that had survived， mainly her younger brother Abek。 The plot is very well and different from normal world war two period books and was very enjoyable。 This book included many unexpected twists and turns in all sections of it and kept me wondering what would happen next。 The characters are memorable， and are very different and unique from each other and make th They Went Left is about a girl named Zofia that has just survived Birkenau concentration camp and is looking for remaining family members that had survived， mainly her younger brother Abek。 The plot is very well and different from normal world war two period books and was very enjoyable。 This book included many unexpected twists and turns in all sections of it and kept me wondering what would happen next。 The characters are memorable， and are very different and unique from each other and make the book spark happiness in times of sadness and grievance 。。。more

Amanda Diesing ，

4。5 ⭐️

Ashley ，

4。25 ⭐❤️🎧

Tonya Adams ，

This book was phenomenal！ The writing， the details， the twists and turns， all of it had me sucked in。 I absolutely loved it！

Madeline Mudd Gash ，

Most WWII era novels that I’ve read focus on what happened during the war itself。 This novel is different as it focuses on what Europe looks like after the war， a completely different lens through which I haven’t read before。 It’s a tragic story with some typical Young Adult tropes， but I’m glad I read it nonetheless。

Amber ，

"Choose to love" These three words stayed with me after a story that was so heart-wrenchingly sad at times。 This book deals with the story of what happened after the Holocaust as countries， families， and people tried to stitch themselves back together。 It's pandemonium。 Not quite unlike today's world。 After all the suffering and pain， somehow we must still find hope and choose happiness and love。 That's also at the heart of this novel。 As Zofia desperately searches for her brother， Abek， after t "Choose to love" These three words stayed with me after a story that was so heart-wrenchingly sad at times。 This book deals with the story of what happened after the Holocaust as countries， families， and people tried to stitch themselves back together。 It's pandemonium。 Not quite unlike today's world。 After all the suffering and pain， somehow we must still find hope and choose happiness and love。 That's also at the heart of this novel。 As Zofia desperately searches for her brother， Abek， after the war。 She must also learn to heal， physically， mentally， and emotionally from the war。 One of my favorite characters was Breine， a former heiress， who longs only for a simple wedding with her new fiancé。 Almost every scene， she's in was filled with hope。 She was a beacon to both Zofia and myself that in the darkest times remember to choose love and happiness。 Unsettlingly， it was easy to see similarities in today's world of liberty， patriotism， xenophobia， and mental health struggles。 While I can never match the amount of suffering Zofia went through， I still was able to relate to her struggles and I believe other readers will too。 I also recommend taking a look at the author's note at the end to show how thoroughly researched this book is and qs a reminder that while Zofia may not be fiction much of story is not。 A heart-wrenchingly yet hopeful novel that will grip you AND stay with you long after you've finished。 。。。more

Nuria ，

*4。5

Lindsay Burns ，

It was fine but not one of the best WW2 books。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=They Went Left

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=They Went Left&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,They Went Left&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0