Review for The Seven Year Dress by Paulette Mahurin

The Seven Year Dress by Paulette Mahurin

Blurb:

One of the darkest times in human history was the insane design and execution to rid the world of Jews and “undesirables.” At the hands of the powerful evil madman Adolf Hitler, families were ripped apart and millions were slaughtered. Persecution, torture, devastation, and enduring the unthinkable remained for those who lived. This is the story of one woman who lived to tell her story. This is a narrative of how a young beautiful teenager, Helen Stein, and her family were torn asunder, ultimately bringing her to Auschwitz. It was there she suffered heinous indignity at the hands of the SS. It was also there, in that death camp, she encountered compassion, selfless acts of kindness, and friendship. Written by the award-winning, best-selling author of His Name Was Ben, comes a story of the resilience of the human spirit that will leave you thinking about Helen Stein and The Seven Year Dress for years to come after the last page is shut.

Review:

As we all know I'm not a big fan of Historical Fiction, but this year I have read/listened to two books in this genre now. I think that's pretty damn good in itself. 

I avoid reading Historical Fiction because I for some reason don't want to read a story based in the times of hardship. Reading The Seven Year Dress was quite difficult. 

When you read about the World Wars or the cruel actions in Germany during that time, its all just in our textbooks. It doesn't feel personal or doesn't hit home that it was real and it was that difficult. And when you connect to a character and you read a book like this one, based amidst one of the most difficult times, it just makes it that much harder to look for the positives in this world that we live in. If people were capable of this, and history repeats itself, won't this happen again?

Anyway, back to the book. The Seven Year Dress was a really touching read. The little moments of kindness interspersed between the horrors and cruel actions kept me going. (It gave me a little hope)

The book beautifully depicts an amazing story of courage and kindness amidst the most excruciating circumstances. It was beautifully written and rang painfully true. The characters and writing style were so engaging that it kept me hooked.

Overall, another amazing read from Paulette Mahurin.