Noa was thrown out of her parents' home because she had become pregnant to a German soldier but needed to leave after the Germans took her baby. As Noa made her way out of town, she came upon a train of Jewish infants left to die (talk about heartbreaking.)

Noa took one of the babies, couldn't continue because they both were almost frozen, and then collapsed near the circus. The circus members rescued Noa and the baby, but Noa had to perform on the flying trapeze with Astrid to earn her keep.

Even though Noa and Astrid worked together as a team on the flying trapeze, there was tension between them because Noa was terrified of flying especially since she almost fell to her death during practice one day. The tension subsided as Noa tried harder to please Astrid and when Noa found out the reason Astrid hid from the Nazi soldiers.

The first time Astrid immediately and very quickly disappeared when the Nazi soldiers burst into the circus building, Noa knew something was going on.

How did they know she was Jewish? Did someone tell on her? The circus owner kept up a good front and steered the Nazi soldiers from the Jewish performers he was hiding, but it was stressful for all.

THE ORPHAN'S TALE is another beautifully written book by Ms. Jenoff revealing another not well-known fact about WWII. The circus theme was quite interesting. I wasn't aware of traveling circuses during that time, but it seems like the perfect way to help keep? ?some of the Jewish community safe and hidden during the Holocaust.

?THE ORPHAN'S TALE smoothly flows from Noa's story to Astrid's as we learn about their lives and their secrets that they both are afraid to tell.? Despite secrets, their friendship strengthens even though there is a thin line that may destroy it.

I truly enjoyed THE ORPHAN'S TALE as I have enjoyed all of Ms. Jenoff's books. Ms. Jenoff has a marvelous way of writing a story based on the unpleasant facts of WWII.

THE ORPHAN'S TALE had a different theme, and I always learn new things about the Holocaust when I read Ms. Jenoff's books.

Ms. Jenoff always does exquisite research. You would think all has been known and written about WWII, but the circus assisting the Jewish people was interesting, enlightening, and wonderful to know how another group helped the Jewish people.

Don't miss reading another heartbreaking but heartwarming book by Ms. Jenoff. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review for TLC.

The Orphan’s Tale, Pam Jenoff, author, Jennifer Wydra, Kyla Garcia, narrators
The familiar theme of the Holocaust is placed into an unfamiliar venue, that of a traveling circus. The novel is loosely based on a true story about a German circus that sheltered a family of Jews during the war. Because the attributes of the characters were reassigned to alternate characters, in order to create the story, it really serves only to illustrate the little known part that the circus played during a tragic time in our world history. The novel takes its name from the mode of transportation used by the circus and from a child, one of many, who was left to die in a German transport rail car. Learning of another unspeakable, diabolical act of the Nazis surprised me. No matter how much I think I know, it seems that there is always something new to discover about the heinous evil of the Nazi regime and the awful capacity of human beings to harm one another.
When the novel begins, the reader meets an elderly woman. This woman seems to have given the slip to her caretakers and has escaped from her fairly independent nursing facility in order to travel to a Neuhoff Circus exhibit. The book then moves to a time period decades earlier, during World War II, and focuses on two main characters, both of whom are in trouble. One of the women is an adult, and one is a mere teenager. Both of these women are performing and traveling with the Neuhoff Circus. Both of these women have secrets. Although the Neuhoff circus is a fictitious traveling circus, it is similar to those that once existed in Germany.
Astrid Soller is a Jew whose real name was Ingrid Klemt. Her name was changed in an effort to hide her Jewish identity. Although she was Jewish, she had been married to Erich, a German officer. However, he had summarily divorced her and thrown her out when the Reich gave him orders to do so. When she returned to her family home, she found it occupied by Germans. She sought help from her neighbor, Mr. Neuhoff, who ran a circus. Astrid had come from a circus family like the Neuhoffs, and she was an aerialist. He engaged her to work for his circus, although their families had been rivals.
Noa, was a mere teenager who was thrown out of her home because she had become pregnant after a brief encounter with a German soldier. Her child was taken from her by the Germans, but was refused entrance into the German Lebensborn Progam because of his dark hair and complexion. She worried about his fate and mourned his loss. While on her own, working at a train station, she heard a strange sound. It was the sound of moaning and crying infants. Although she could not rescue her own child, she managed to rescue one child from a railcar that was filled with many infants, all of whom were being systematically murdered, left naked and uncared for, left to die. However, as she tried to escape with the baby, hungry and exhausted, she soon passed out. Both she and the child were discovered by a circus performer, Peter, a clown, who brought them both back to Mr. Neuhoff. Now two more were being hidden and sheltered by the circus owner. Noa was to be trained as an aerialist. From this point on, the story seemed to evolve into a story of a troubled friendship between the two women that was also coupled with their romantic relationships with their respective beaus. This seemed to trivialize the background story of the Holocaust.
Noa was always complaining that she did what she did because she had no choice; she was always sorry for essentially making the same mistake, over and over, and she was always placing them all in danger. She also seemed promiscuous for that time period, although some might interpret her behavior as precocious, as well. Astrid always seemed hurt and angry, never really getting over the pain of her lost family and her lost Nazi husband, even though it was a love that was obviously forbidden and his behavior was reprehensible. She carried a chip on her shoulder and often made cruel remarks to Noa. I expected her, as a Jew being sheltered by a righteous gentile, to be more forgiving of the behavior of anyone she encountered. Astrid developed a close relationship with the clown, Peter. He did not seem fully aware of the dangerous times in which they were living either, or else he simply insisted on tempting fate. With the random inspections and arrests, and the public circus performances, his behavior placed them all in danger as well, when he goose-stepped and mocked the German soldiers in his clown routine.
I did find parts of the story interesting as it presented new information, but the characters never seemed to grow; their dialogue was often pedestrian and their behavior seemed repetitive. I found that I could not get really close to the characters and identify with them. I did not find them or their dialogue very credible or engaging. I thought that the novel’s themes seemed to waffle between idealistic and realistic and seemed far too melodramatic and contrived at times.

Sixteen-year-old Noa has been cast out in disgrace after becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her baby. She lives above a small rail station, which she cleans in order to earn her keep… When Noa discovers a boxcar containing dozens of Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp, she is reminded of the child that was taken from her. And in a moment that will change the course of her life, she snatches one of the babies and flees into the snowy night.

Noa finds refuge with a German circus, but she must learn the flying trapeze act so she can blend in undetected, spurning the resentment of the lead aerialist, Astrid. At first rivals, Noa and Astrid soon forge a powerful bond. But as the facade that protects them proves increasingly tenuous, Noa and Astrid must decide whether their friendship is enough to save one another—or if the secrets that burn between them will destroy everything.

while i do see where the criticisms come from on those reviews that ranked it low, I still think it was a good read and a little different setting than the other WWII books that seem to be out there so much. WOrht the read.

This is a fascinating story of love, loss, friendships & resilience during WWII. Jenoff develops this heart wrenching story by centering it around a German circus that hides Jewish performers and workers during the war. This story gives another view into little known stories during wartime.

Our book club enjoyed this book about a traveling circus in Europe during WWII and two women whose lives will become irrevocably intertwined. There are some parts of the book that will haunt me forever. Yet another book about Nazis, but one with a unique focus.