Book review: My Enemy's Cradle by Sara Young

My, oh my, do I love OverDrive and my library! I checked this book out through my public library's OverDrive app and read it on in my internet browser. I wouldn't say that this book is a departure from what I usually read, but it is a book I hadn't heard of prior to checking it out. This novel is set during World War II, in the Netherlands and Germany, and follows the story of Cyrla. Cyrla is a Jewish girl who is sent to live with her Dutch aunt, uncle and cousin by her father who rightly thinks the lives of Jews will be increasingly tested. Her cousin, Anneke, falls in love with a German solider and she becomes pregnant. Anneke's father plans to send her to a Lebensborn, but she takes her own life while trying to abort her baby. At the same time, sanctions on Jews are increasing and Cyrla suddenly finds herself in danger. To save her, Cyrla's aunt decides to make it seem as though Cyrla was the one who died, therefore giving her the ability to take on her cousin's identity and escape. This was a very quick read, but good. I think the author did her research, and really let readers into a world that I knew very little about. Stories of Dutch Jews are interesting to me - and I've read a lot about Anne Frank and Miep Gies (the woman who helped hide the Frank family) The Lebensborn were a portion of WWII/German history that I didn't know much about though. I would recommend this novel for a quick read, but still well-researched and well-written.