This is why I continue to read these books – I always find these gems that stand out and this one certainly does. I’ve read a lot of historical fiction that centers on WWII, but this one has such a different feel to it and I cannot tell you how much I appreciated that. I am always looking for new authors to read and love when I find those that just have that knack for crafting such captivating reads. My thoughts: This is the first book I’ve read by Sofia Segovia, but it certainly will not be the last. Hope carries these children caught in the crosshairs of war on an extraordinary pilgrimage in which the gift of an amber teardrop is at once a valuable form of currency and a symbol of resilience, one that draws them together against insurmountable odds. Soon they’ll become pawns caught between two powerful enemies, on a journey with an unknown destination. But their stay in the walled city proves untenable when they find themselves dodging bombs and scavenging in the rubble. Not far away, trying and failing to flee from a vengeful army, Arno and his mother hide in the ruins of a Königsberg mansion, hoping that once the war ends they can reunite their dispersed family. Neither of them realizes his stories will prove crucial and prophetic. He tells her of a besieged kingdom in the Baltic Sea from which spill the amber tears of a heartbroken queen. As they flee from the Soviet army, his enchanting folktales keep her mind off the cold, the hunger, and the horrors unfolding around them. As battle lines are drawn and East Prussia’s borders vanish beneath them, they leave their farm and all they know behind for an uncertain future.īut Ilse also has Janusz, her family’s young Polish laborer, by her side.

In the harshness of winter, her family must join the largest exodus in human history to survive.

With war looming dangerously close, Ilse’s school days soon turn to lessons of survival. Source: Audio via Brilliance Publishing / Print via OTRPRįrom the bestselling author of The Murmur of Bees comes a transportive novel of two families uprooted by war and united by the bonds of love and courage. Published: May 2021, Brilliance Audio / Amazon Crossing

Author: Sofia Segovia, Translated by Simon Bruni

Tears of Amber by Sofía Segovia