The Orphan Girl
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- Create Date：2022-07-31 10:51:41
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Kurt Palka
- ISBN：0771072538
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
For fans of Kristin Harmel and Martha Hall Kelly's Lilac Girls -- the bestselling author of The Piano Maker returns with a vivid， atmospheric， and deeply moving novel set during the final months of WWII。
London， 1944/45
Kate Henderson is an energetic and spirited young woman。 As a trained paramedic and ambulance driver she does her work courageously and with determination， even though underneath she is still wrestling with grief after witnessing the shooting death of her diplomat father seven years earlier。 Her father's murder was never properly investigated and it remains unsolved。
Kate's life is drastically interrupted once more when she wakes up one night to the sound of the air raid alarm and the terror whistles of a bomb's stabilizers screaming toward the roof of her house。 In the explosion， her mother and her aunt die; Kate survives， but she is injured。
Her house is gone as well， and after her time in the hospital， Claire Giroux， a kind doctor and family friend， invites Kate to live with her as she recuperates。 This arrangement works well for them until a few months later when Claire's husband comes home from the war。 Within days the lives of both women are drastically changed， and events are set in motion， both in England and in Canada， that challenge Kate and Claire to their limits。
The Orphan Girl is a moving and powerful story about friendship and courage， and about promises made and kept。
London， 1944/45
Kate Henderson is an energetic and spirited young woman。 As a trained paramedic and ambulance driver she does her work courageously and with determination， even though underneath she is still wrestling with grief after witnessing the shooting death of her diplomat father seven years earlier。 Her father's murder was never properly investigated and it remains unsolved。
Kate's life is drastically interrupted once more when she wakes up one night to the sound of the air raid alarm and the terror whistles of a bomb's stabilizers screaming toward the roof of her house。 In the explosion， her mother and her aunt die; Kate survives， but she is injured。
Her house is gone as well， and after her time in the hospital， Claire Giroux， a kind doctor and family friend， invites Kate to live with her as she recuperates。 This arrangement works well for them until a few months later when Claire's husband comes home from the war。 Within days the lives of both women are drastically changed， and events are set in motion， both in England and in Canada， that challenge Kate and Claire to their limits。
The Orphan Girl is a moving and powerful story about friendship and courage， and about promises made and kept。
Reviews
Miriam
，
Set during and after WWII in London， this tale waffles between mystery and historical fiction。 As I read it， I kept wondering what genre and reading audience the author was writing for。 The tale wanders a little following the life of Kate Henderson as she ekes out a living in WWII England， training for various positions， working in factories and as a paramedic / ambulance driver。 In the aftermath of the war， she flounders a little， especially as she deals with PTSD。 The secondary theme is about Set during and after WWII in London， this tale waffles between mystery and historical fiction。 As I read it， I kept wondering what genre and reading audience the author was writing for。 The tale wanders a little following the life of Kate Henderson as she ekes out a living in WWII England， training for various positions， working in factories and as a paramedic / ambulance driver。 In the aftermath of the war， she flounders a little， especially as she deals with PTSD。 The secondary theme is about relationships and physical abuse which was difficult to read。 In the end， I'm still not certain what type of book the author intended。 Would I read another by him？ Maybe but I have lots on my TBR。Thanks to the BookLoft of German Village （Columbus， OH） http://www。bookloft。com for an ARC to read and review。 。。。more
Judy Odom
，
3。5 rounded up to 4 as I am still thinking about the book。 The Orphan Girl slowly pulls you in to the story of Kate and Claire。 The place is London and it is nearing the end of Word War II。Kate still recovering from the shooting of her father ， a diplomat， now has to contend with the drastic results of her home being bombed。Luckily Claire takes her in but things change and not for the better when Claire's husband returns。You see how difficult it is to return to life after War。 This is a story of 3。5 rounded up to 4 as I am still thinking about the book。 The Orphan Girl slowly pulls you in to the story of Kate and Claire。 The place is London and it is nearing the end of Word War II。Kate still recovering from the shooting of her father ， a diplomat， now has to contend with the drastic results of her home being bombed。Luckily Claire takes her in but things change and not for the better when Claire's husband returns。You see how difficult it is to return to life after War。 This is a story of not only survival but one of courage and friendship。The Orphan Girl is well worth the read and historical fiction fans will love it。Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins， Penguin Random House Canada， McClelland & Stewart for an interesting and informative read。 。。。more
Laura
，
Kate is a paramedic serving in London at the end of the Second World War when her house is hit by a bomb。 She survives， but her mother does not。 Kate moves in with a friend， Claire， and together they become a family。 When Claire’s husband， Thomas， returns from serving in the war， their happiness dissolves。 As Kate tries to find her way in the post-war world， she attempts to unravel a mystery surrounding her father and two of his friends; find a job; and solidify her love life。While I went into t Kate is a paramedic serving in London at the end of the Second World War when her house is hit by a bomb。 She survives， but her mother does not。 Kate moves in with a friend， Claire， and together they become a family。 When Claire’s husband， Thomas， returns from serving in the war， their happiness dissolves。 As Kate tries to find her way in the post-war world， she attempts to unravel a mystery surrounding her father and two of his friends; find a job; and solidify her love life。While I went into this book excited about the premise， it ended up not resonating with me。 I think this book was about too much and at the same time， about nothing at all。 It was historical fiction about the Second World War， a Cold War spy novel， the story of an abusive relationship， and the story of a woman trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life。 It even included a trip to Canada—which added nothing to the plot at all。 If you completely deleted that part of the story， the narrative doesn’t change one bit。 Because this novel was trying to do so much， it was too difficult to connect to the characters， and the writing felt wooden and emotionless。 This is not a novel I would recommend to someone looking for a WWII historical fiction novel， or even a spy novel （especially since that part of the plot seemed to go nowhere at all）。 It also left many questions unanswered—is there supposed to be a second novel in this series to answer some of these questions， or are they just plot holes？ Of that I am not certain。 I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for review。 。。。more
Trudy Dowling
，
I am addicted to WW2 historical fiction， especially those that take place in England。 I use the stories as away to discuss with my mom what she went through during those dreadful times。 This story opened up so many new conversations。 This story shared issues that I didn't think about happening back then。 It just wasn't talked about。 We frequently hear about PTSD today。 Yet， I don't recall studying about soldiers suffering mental issues after fighting in WW2 in my history classes。 The men came ho I am addicted to WW2 historical fiction， especially those that take place in England。 I use the stories as away to discuss with my mom what she went through during those dreadful times。 This story opened up so many new conversations。 This story shared issues that I didn't think about happening back then。 It just wasn't talked about。 We frequently hear about PTSD today。 Yet， I don't recall studying about soldiers suffering mental issues after fighting in WW2 in my history classes。 The men came home from war， and women had to go back to the home has been a common theme。 Yet， I don't recall hearing how many that returned could not hold down the job and women had to go back into the workforce。 The Orphan Girl goes into detail of some of those struggles。 When I think of Orphans， I always think of young children。 The Orphan Girl reminded me that age doesn't matter。 The loss of one's parents makes you an orphan at any age。 Kate become an orphan the minute the bomb landed on her home。 She was lucky enough to find someone to give her a home。 Through Kate and Claire， the woman that takes her in， the author tells a story of life in WW2 England。 As a work of fiction; I don't expect everything to be true。 I don't expect to believe everything as fact。 There were many things that helped me become captivated with the story。 I knew many issues were exaggerated， extreme。 That being said， I am grateful to the author for adding to my knowledge of WW2。 I now understand why my great uncle always worked the nightshift and said the sun needed to shine for him to sleep。 Thanks to the author， my mom and I had some amazing conversations about things we had never talked about before。 。。。more
Heather Moll
，
During WWII Kate Henderson is still struggling with the murder of her diplomat father in the months before the war began。 Witnessing his death and being unable to save him drove her to join the ambulance corps after she graduated high school。Now in 1945， she’s been instructed by a family friend that if he dies or disappears she’s to burn his notes and manuscripts in his hidden room。 And in the next pages he’s forcible hauled off in front of Kate。 Abruptly the action also starts to follow Claire， During WWII Kate Henderson is still struggling with the murder of her diplomat father in the months before the war began。 Witnessing his death and being unable to save him drove her to join the ambulance corps after she graduated high school。Now in 1945， she’s been instructed by a family friend that if he dies or disappears she’s to burn his notes and manuscripts in his hidden room。 And in the next pages he’s forcible hauled off in front of Kate。 Abruptly the action also starts to follow Claire， a doctor who was an acquaintance of Kate’s mother， and we’re told about her difficult marriage and losses。 Kate goes to live with her during the war after her home is bombed。 Lot of exposition in the beginning and choppy character introductions made it hard to jump in and get to know Kate and her circumstances。 We’re told she’s adept at reading people and that she’s smart and special and other things about her， but we experience none of her thoughts ourselves。 Even when a bomb is dropped on her house and her mother dies， there are no feelings evoked or inward reflections。There were an unbelievable amount of phone calls， even transatlantic ones， at a time when few British individuals were on the phone。 There seemed to be an odd intent to shift the action unnecessarily to Canada that slowed an already dull story。 The dialogue was rambling and every character sounded exactly the same。 The writing is simplistic and the pacing slow。 Everything is told to us rather than shown。 This was a recitation of events with no character development and it often felt there was no point。 I only kept reading because I felt obligated to finish in order to review it。I received an arc from NetGalley 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Orphan Girl
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Orphan Girl&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Orphan Girl&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0