Cilka's Journey

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**MY REVIEW IS BASED ON AN ARC COPY**

Synopsis

In 1942 Cilka Klein is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. The Commandant at Birkenau, Schwarzhuber, notices her long beautiful hair, and forces her separation from the other women prisoners. Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly given, equals survival.

After liberation, Cilka is charged as a collaborator by the Russians and sent to a desolate, brutal prison camp in Siberia known as Vorkuta, inside the Arctic Circle. 

Innocent, imprisoned once again, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, each day a battle for survival. Cilka befriends a woman doctor, and learns to nurse the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under unimaginable conditions. And when she tends to a man called Alexandr, Cilka finds that despite everything, there is room in her heart for love.

Heartfelt and Captivating

I genuinely fell in love with all the characters in this book. Seeing Cilka’s frozen heart slowly being thawed was truly touching. We see a side of the holocaust that we don’t often see. The dynamics here were refreshing and enlightening though still heartbreaking. 

Cilka is offered a job which provides an escape from the daily horrors at this camp. Though this camp seemed to be somewhat more lenient, it is still made known as a prison in the regard that they are forced to work in certain conditions, to lie with men and kept away from their loved ones. 

I love that this book has hope laced within each chapter. We don't too much see that in other holocaust books. But I know it existed. There had to be people in these camps with hope. Who knew they would make it through. We see Cilka go through a whole awakening. We even see the people close to her like Josie and the one other mean woman at the beginning (can’t remember her name) go through a metamorphosis. 

Cilka is the perfect example of all that women can accomplish and are capable of. Even in the face of adversity and under extreme pressure, she still prevails. Her tolerance, strength and endurance are remarkable and something to be truly admired.