The Girl from the Train

A stunning story ! Excellant from start to finish.Great descriptions of places, events, and all the Characters that make this story so good. It is has plenty of danger, sacrifices, in the name of love, and love for family, and romance, in the unexpected .You can feel the struggles, and danger and every emotion the characters are going through. It is Emotional, and heartful, and tender, that takes you on a young girls journey, from escaping the train that is taking her and her family to Auschwitz..to ..over time ending up in South Africia. It begins with Gretl, being thrown off the train, that has her mother, and grandmother, and older sister Elza, en route to the concentration camp in Auchuchwitz. As she rolls down the stony embankment and lays in a ravine, she thinks in her young six year old mind, that her mother, and grandmother are somewhere along the tracks and that they will find her, and be together and walk back to the forest and grandmother's little cottage. After sometime, she realizes that she is alone, and she needs to hide ...after many hours alone, and into the next morning, her older sister Elza and her finally find each other, though they are over joyed to see each other has lived, Gretl realizes that Elza is not right...all she does is cry, and not really talk to her, but one word answers. In a state of shock and despair, Together, they walk and hide in the woods looking for water, and something to eat. The sister Elza crys constantly, and Gretl thinks it's because she is afraid. As time goes on Elza becomes very weak and on the very edge of becoming delirious, and won't move or get up. Gretl not knowing what to do..other than keep low and safe from the Germans..walks the woods and fields looking for help for her sister. She finds a road, and sees an older man walking by himself, and as he rests and takes his water and scarce food from his knapsack, though she thinks she's hiding, he spots her and talks to her to find out why she is alone in the woods. such a young child.She brings him to Elza, and seeing how sick she is, he carrys her to the only farm he knows in this area, who can help the children. It is from this point Gretl's life completely changes beyond her imagination. From the people she meets, to her sister never getting better from a high fever, to dying after a day or two later.The women who has helped the girls, can't really take them, as she has children of her own she can barely keep fed, or a roof over their heads, as everyone, everywhere is trying to survive the war and no food. Here she meets Jakob, who takes her in, to live with his very poor family, who also live on a farm, with his parents, and newly married brother and sister in law. Jacob can't help but form a strong protective bond with Gretl as time goes on, and he learns her background story and how she truly is an orphan. Though Jakob takes care of Gretl and treats her very well, he is haunted by the fact, that as a young man with the Polish Resistance, at exactly the same time she was thrown off the train out love by her grandma Oma, he and his Resistance Fighters were out planting a bomb for a train that was SUPPOSE to be a German troop transport, but the train Gretl's grandma and mother were on, gets to the bridge first, and it explodes killing everyone.He is filled with tremendous guilt and sorrow, and can not find it in his heart to explain to such a young child, that he is one of the men responsible for her familys accidental death, as it wasen't a scheduled train, and they won't be coming back for her.As the story goes on, years pass, Gretl grows and events happen, that changes the whole dynamic between Gretl, Jakob, and his family. Of course there is so much more to this wonderful story, That take Gretl away, But over years, bring Gretl and Jakob back together again, full circle.They have survived and over come the horrors of war, and form a bond of love, that war and Circumstances did not destroy. EXCELLENT!!

This book is amazing. It takes place over a 15 year time frame and the ending is very unexpected but really satisfying