Historical Fiction Annotation: The Woman with the Blue Star by Pam Jenoff

Title: The Woman with the Blue Star
Author: Pam Jenoff
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Date: 2021
Number of Pages: 336
Geographical Setting: Kraków, Poland
Time Period: March 1942 - April 1943 (main story) & June 2016 (prologue and epilogue)
Series: N/A

Plot Summary: In the middle of World War II and the Holocaust, Sadie, her family (including her father and pregnant mother), and other Jews hide from the Germans in the sewers under Kraków, Poland, to avoid arrest. Meanwhile, Ella, whose stepmother Ana Lucia is cordial with German officials, finds Sadie while in the market one day. As things get more dangerous for Jews in Kraków, Ella works with her former fiancé Krys to help Sadie and the others reach freedom and escape their home under the sewer. The book's two points of view also alternate between Sadie and Ella.

Subject Headings:   World War II - Fiction

                                   Holocaust - Fiction

                                   Poland - Fiction

                                   Female friendships - Fiction

Historical Fiction Appeals:
Accurate Historical Details: Details "relating to setting...as well as characters and events" are accurate (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 170).
Focus on a Particular Historical Event/Time Period: This book is World War II through and through, and it specifically looks at the Holocaust. There are also "difficult social or moral issues through the plot" in reference to the Holocaust as well (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 170).
Characters: With Sadie being Jewish and Ella trying to help her survive in the sewer, "the historical setting shapes their lives and actions," in the words of Wyatt and Saricks (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 170).

Density: Wyatt and Saricks mention that "shorter Historical novels are usually so densely written that they must be read slowly," and The Woman with the Blue Star is no exception (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 170)! Pam Jenoff definitely packed in A LOT of content and detail, and in my opinion, she did a great job of utilizing less pages.

Three terms that best describe this book: Emotional, immersive, informative

Three Relevant Non-Fiction Works
1. In the Sewers of Lvov: A Heroic Story of Survival from the Holocaust by Robert Marshall

Marshall, R. (1991). In the sewers of Lvov: A heroic story of survival from the Holocaust. Scribner.

Pam Jenoff recommends this book in her author's note for The Woman with the Blue Star as a non-fiction option that actually helped inspire the book, so it could be of interest to readers.

2. Polish Rescuers of Jews: Selected Stories of Amazing Acts of Goodness by Mordecai Paldiel

Paldiel, M. (2023). Polish rescuers of Jews: Selected stories of amazing acts of goodness. Amazon Publishing Pros.

Since Ella and Sadie ultimately hatch a plan to help Sadie escape the sewers, Polish Rescuers of Jews could be a nonfiction book of note for readers who want to know more about the truth in that aspect of the story.

3. Jewish Childhood in Kraków: A Microhistory of the Holocaust by Joanna Sliwa

Sliwa, J. (2021). Jewish childhood in Kraków: A microhistory of the Holocaust. Rutgers University Press.

The Woman with the Blue Star takes place in Kraków, so this selection could provide readers a bigger picture for what it would have been like to be in Sadie's position throughout the book.

Three Relevant Fiction Works
1. My Mother's Secret: A Novel Based on a True Holocaust Story by J. L. Witterick

Witterick, J. L. (2013). My mother's secret: A novel based on a true Holocaust story. G. P. Putnam's Sons.

For anyone who wants more historical fiction that takes place in Poland during the Holocaust, My Mother's Secret: A Novel Based on a True Holocaust Story would be a great next book.

2. 22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson

Hodgkinson, A. (2011). 22 britannia road. Pamela Dorman Books.

22 Britannia Road is a historical fiction novel that focuses on escaping Poland during World War II, which could be yet another angle of interest to readers of The Woman with the Blue Star.

3. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Doerr, A. (2014). All the light we cannot see. Scribner.

Throughout The Woman with the Blue Star, Ella communicates with her brother who lives in Paris. All the Light We Cannot See is fiction that partially takes place in Paris during World War II, so it could give more insight to a location that helps fully form Ella as a character in Pam Jenoff's novel.

References
Jenoff, P. (2021). The woman with the blue star. Park Row Books.

Wyatt, N. & Saricks, J. G. (2019). The readers’ advisory guide to genre fiction (3rd edition). ALA Editions.