1. Saving Amelie
    Cathy Gohlke
    Tyndale House / 2014 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$11.49 Retail Price$15.99 Save 28% ($4.50)
    4.9 out of 5 stars for Saving Amelie. View reviews of this product. 51 Reviews
    Availability: In Stock
    Stock No: WW383224
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Displaying items 36-40 of 51
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  1. Karen Lange
    Kentucky
    Age: 45-54
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Compelling and Entertaining
    June 22, 2014
    Karen Lange
    Kentucky
    Age: 45-54
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    Saving Amelie offers an interesting perspective on the events prior to and during World War 2. The story illustrates inner workings of not just the Nazi regime, but of the resistance. It was this inside view of the resistance that I found most interesting. It's easy to view the German citizens as the enemy, but many who were swept into the fray did not embrace the beliefs and atrocities that unfolded in their homeland. This book offers insight into the hearts and actions of the people who risked their lives to help others.

    Through her wonderful, signature style, Cathy Gohlke shares how Rachel, Jason and their friends and family stretch beyond their comfort zone through this terrible war. I enjoyed getting to know each one as they faced unimaginable danger on their heart-changing adventure. The thing I found particularly interesting was Jason's spiritual awakening, the journey he took after meeting Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

    Once again, Cathy has written an entertaining and compelling story that shares thought provoking and timeless lessons. Saving Amelie's intricate plot offers the whole package: great characters, redemption, adventure, and suspense. Two thumbs up — definitely.
  2. countrybear52
    Auburn, IN
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Well written novel of worn torn Germany during WWI
    June 22, 2014
    countrybear52
    Auburn, IN
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    I am a fan of historical novels written against the backdrop of WWII. Saving Amelie by Cathy Gohlke brings the world, as it was during that time, alive for the reader. She makes the reader feel as if they were there witnessing all the atrocities that were going on.

    Ms. Gohlke has created believable characters and dropped them into a period of time where horrific things happened at the hand of Hitler's Third Reich in Germany. She did submit some historical characters into her story lending a feeling of authenticity to her novel.

    Hitler wanted a pur Aryan race for his Germany and if a person or child didn't show the possiblity of being part of his perfect race he had them eliminated.

    Amelie is a young girl who is deaf. Her father is a German officer who can't handle the fact Amelie is less than perfect and want to get rid of her. Amelie's mother, Kristine, wants to save her daughter even if it means she will never see her again. She asks her best friend, Rachel, to take charge of Amelie and asks that she take her out of Germany.

    I loved the character of Jason, an American reporter, because he didn't give up on Rachel. I enjoyed how their relationship grew during this time.

    There is so much packed into the 429 pages of this book. The reader is given a glimpse of how awful life was for the the people in Germany who didn't measure up to Hitler's plan for the perfect race.

    I would highly recommend this historical novel to anyone who enjoys reading historical fiction. the characters appear to be real and will invite the reader to step into their world. Be prepared for a page turner that will keep you intrigued to the very last page.

    On a 5-Star Scale = 5 Stars!!!!!

    I would like to thank Tyndale House Publishers for my copy of Saving Amelie. I received my copy for free in order to read it and give my honest review, which I have done.
  3. Kris
    Fairfax, VA
    Age: 45-54
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Intrigue, romance and history in a riveting novel
    June 15, 2014
    Kris
    Fairfax, VA
    Age: 45-54
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    Cathy Gohlke is such a wonderful writer of historical fiction and this book is no exception! She masterfully weaves the story of two identical twins separated at birth — one to grow up in a privileged American family and the other in a common German family in Oberammergau. They are being studied by the Dr.'s Verschuer and Mengele (later known for his atrocious experiments on human subjects in concentration camps) as part of a study on eugenics.

    Thus the author writes an intriguing story with romance, suspense and history. I loved how she even included Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the book and how the characters change as they realize the sacrifices others are making for them — and the ultimate one made for them by Christ. Ms. Gohlke also made a dig into today's society by having a character say, "I suppose nothing like this could happen in America." To which another replied, "Banning prayer from schools? Stripping crucifixes from walls? That would be like taking down the Ten Commandments in the United States. I've never been a churchgoer, but I can't imagine such a thing happening. The churches, even the people who aren't church goers, would never stand for having their rights stripped away like that."

    I also enjoyed how this book was about Nazi Germany, but did not show the concentration camps but rather the ordinary Germans living with Nazi bullies all around them. How easy it was for ordinary, nice people to turn on others. I highly recommend this book — it was great and I found it hard to put down. I received this book from TBCN in return for my honest opinion.
  4. KGD history teacher
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Deserving of Six Stars
    June 12, 2014
    KGD history teacher
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Saving Amelie is a superb book. Rachel Kramer, a recent college graduate, is about to embark on her theatrical career. Unfortunately, her father wants her to make a quick trip to Germany for her biannual physical that she has been having since she was a baby. Although Rachel hates to postpone her new job, she agrees to go along with her recently widowed father for what is supposed to be a two week visit. Her father, Dr. Kramer, is a researcher in eugenics in the United States. Rachel has been brought up to believe that she is superior to most of those around her.

    Upon arriving in Germany, Rachel makes connection with an old friend, Kristine, whose deaf daughter , Amelie, is in danger because she is not a perfect example of Aryan bloodline. Kristine wants Rachel to help get Amalie out of the country. Never having to think about anyone but herself, Rachel reluctantly agrees. Little does Rachel know that she will soon be running for her own life as she discovers secrets about her past.

    The novel gives us a good look at one of Hitler's goals, that of building a super race with only perfect specimens. The author's research is commendable, especially when you include the author's notes in the back. But this is not just a wonderful piece of historical fiction. Through the introduction of the life and teachings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the reader is challenged to the "Cost of Discipleship" the price one pays to really be a follower of Christ. Many want a "cheap grace" without realizing what our salvation really cost Jesus.

    I have read all of Cathy Gohlke's books and have enjoyed discussing them with my book club. I am sure this will be another one to share.

    I received this book from The Book Club Network in exchange for my honest review.
  5. msharry
    Georgia
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    facing evil
    June 12, 2014
    msharry
    Georgia
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    SAVING AMELIE is a well written but truly terrifying story of being caught in the evil and insanity that was Nazi Germany in 1939. Rachel is a young woman with dual American and German citizenship who was raised in the U.S. by her adoptive parents. The terms of this adoption are cloaked in mystery, but they require she be taken to Germany every two years for an extensive physical examination by Doctors Mengele and Verschuler at the Institute for Hereditary Biology and Racial Hygiene. Her father's eugenics work in America has him held in high esteem worldwide by those who advocate eliminating "life that is unworthy of life", and he is called to Germany to receive honors bestowed by the Nazis, accompanied by reluctant Rachel.

    We meet Rachel as a young woman chafing under the control of her iron–willed father and anxious to become independent and pursue a career in radio theater --a goal her father firmly denounces. However, three weeks in Germany opens her eyes to the sick racial propaganda and programs to systematically eliminate inferior bloodlines from existence. The horror she feels intellectually quickly becomes personal when a childhood friend begs Rachel to get her deaf, four-year-old daughter, Amelie, out of Germany before her SS husband, Gerhardt- repulsed by this "genetic flaw"- has both mother and daughter killed. With the aid of an American reporter, Jason, and the German resistance, Rachel is relieved to learn that Amelie has, for the time being, been safely hidden. However, her friend is soon murdered so that Gerhardt would be free to marry a pure-blooded woman to create perfect Aryan babies, and it appears that Rachel is his intended new wife. Rachel's father is actively aiding and abetting this scheme, and it seems that she will have no choice but to fulfill her good Aryan responsibilities. Amelie's future is still uncertain also. The intrigue and danger has just begun.

    The claustrophobic sense of being trapped in a situation one is helpless to prevent or escape keeps the gut-wrenching tension and rapidly-escalating action driving the storyline. The characters of Jason and Rachel continue to change and grow throughout this frighteningly-realistic tale. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his teachings about the cost of discipleship obviously influenced the author; and, in the book, Jason too is radically changed by the concept of costly grace. It was comforting to find those individuals who stepped up to do what they could for the sake of others in spite of personal risk. Other storylines are woven into the book to provide depth and further add to the picture of life in Germany at that time. This reader was quickly caught up in the plight of the innocent characters and was compulsively reading through the night to find out how the whole nightmare would be resolved. I highly recommend this historical, medical and political thriller. I received the book through The Book Club Network, but the opinions are my own.
Displaying items 36-40 of 51
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