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Feb 07, 2012

Jenn rated it:

I absolutely loved this book. I loved the parallel stories although I enjoyed Elsie's a bit more. The writing was great, really grabs you and emerge you into the story line right away. I could hardly put it down. The book made me gasp out loud and cry at parts. Definitely a great read, highly recommend it. It's a book that you can't stop thinking about even after it's over. Loved it.

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 04, 2012

Sunny rated it:

A novel worth reading. My review is now online at www.bookinwithsunny.com/posts/the-baker'...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 15, 2012

Alex rated it:

There seems to be a lot of anticipation about to soon to be released novelThe Baker’s Daughter and I can understand why. Split between past and present, Nazi Germany in the last year of World War II and present day El Paso, Texas, it is the story of two very different women and how they each find themselves.
Elsie Schmidt,16, is the second daughter of bakers in Garmisch, Germany. Her older sister, Hazel, has been in the Lebensborn Program to produce strong, racially pure babies for the Fat More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 11, 2012

Amanda rated it:

It's 2007, and Reba is a journalist living in El Paso, Texas, with her fiance, border patrol guard, Riki. She hasn't been able to bring herself to be fully honest with him about her dark childhood overshadowed by her Vietnam Vet father's struggle with depression and PTSD. Christmas is coming up, and she is interviewing Elsie, the owner of the local German bakery. Elsie has some intense secrets of her own that show it's not always easy to know what's right when your country and family go wrong More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 09, 2012

Denise rated it:

This novel takes place in both Garmisch, Germany, and El Paso, Texas, from 1944 to the late 2000's. I am a huge fan of historical fiction that takes place in Nazi Germany, and I think that part of this novel was the strongest. The story moves back and forth between Germany and El Paso, and I think the author managed the transitions very well. I would also mention that the historical facts appeared very well-researched and accurate which is important to me. I loved that the German language was More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 24, 2012

Christina (A Reader of Fictions) rated it:

The Baker's Daughter was not what I expected it to be, not really at all. For one thing, I thought the story would focus on Elsie, which, if you consider the main character the person who most of the pages are focused on, she would be. Really, though, the tale seems to be more about Elsie's affect on others, as viewed through the lens of Reba.

This device works incredibly powerfully. Elsie had a great impact on many lives, but, by using Reba as the frame story, McCoy is able to bring More...

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Feb 19, 2012

Wendy rated it:

The plot of this novel is told in alternating parallel stories -- one set in the 1940s in Germany, and the other in 2007-2008 in El Paso, Texas. The German plotline focuses on a teenager named Elsie who lives and works in her family's bakery. She becomes engaged to an SS officer and struggles to understand how to survive in this world where what is expected of her is so opposite of how she believes the world should be. When her path crosses that of a young Jewish boy fleeing for his life, she is More...

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Feb 16, 2012

Laura (booksnob) rated it:

The Baker's Daughter is a novel that will warm your heart and tease your palate. Germany is a country of people with mountains of pride and a somewhat painful past. It is a country of beer, bratwurst, bread and war. Elsie, the baker's daughter lives in Garmisch, Germany during the second world war. Elsie is young and naive and becomes a witness to shocking horrors that she didn't believe Germans capable of.

Fast forward to El Paso, Texas in 2007 where we meet Elsie and her daughte More...

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Feb 08, 2012

Jaime rated it:

The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy (Random House; 304 pages; $23).
The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley (Simon and Schuster; 464 pages; $15).

Over the past few years, the book world has witnessed a rising trend in which a present-day protagonist, grappling with her own problems, stumbles upon an intriguing past mystery. Only when she solves the puzzle can she then tackle what is wrong in her own life. Curiously, many of said novels have ties to World War II. Recent notable books i More...

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Feb 20, 2012

Lynne rated it:

Families and dual storylines are getting to be rather common in popular and literary fiction these days. Both are important factors of an uncommonly good novel -- Sarah M. McCoy's The Baker's Daughter.

The novel is more than one story and, indeed, it's even possible to make the case that more than one character is the baker's daughter. There is the obvious one -- Elsie is the daughter of a baker in a small German town where everyone struggles to survive as the Nazis gain power and as th More...

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Feb 07, 2012

Sue rated it:

I just finished this novel, and all I can say is....Wow! At first I expected it to be another in a long list of Holocaust fiction that I have been reading my whole life, but I was attracted to it by the recommendation from either Goodreads or Facebook, which stated that if you liked Sarah's Key, then you would enjoy this novel. This was the hook that reeled me in, and was it ever accurate! The story spans several historical time periods, most importantly, the final year of World War II later, 20 More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 17, 2012

Sam rated it:

It's 1945 in Germany and teenager Elsie Schmidt is keeping out of trouble by helping out at her family's bakery and dating SS officer Josef Hub. But her first experience of a Nazi party is not all that she thought it would be and it's only the presence of a captive Jewish boy that saves her from a horrific experience. When that same boy turns up on her doorstep later, she feels she has no choice but to help him in any way that she can. Sixty years later, Elsie is running a German bakery in El More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 14, 2012

Staci rated it:

First thoughts after finishing: "What an emotional powerhouse!"

I love books that make me weep with sadness and feel such empathy to the characters...this book does that and so much more. I cracked the spine of The Baker's Daughter late in the morning on Saturday and finished it as the sun peeked over the horizon announcing the arrival of Sunday. I was so thankful that I was the only one awake during those first early hours because I was able to be alone with my though More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 08, 2012

Natalia rated it:

I enjoyed the suspense of this novel which examined the lives of two young women - one German teenager in Nazi Germany and a love-confused reporter in El Paso, Texas. The life described in Nazi Germany was much more captivating than the less consequential life of a girl who must decide whether she really wants to marry her fiance. The auther tries to make comparisons between the struggle of illegal aliens in modern day Texas and the horrors inflicted to millions in Nazi Germany. I didn't feel More...

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Jan 21, 2012

Charlotte rated it:

http://charlotteswebofbooks.blogspot.com...

The Baker's Daughter has the potential of being one of the most talked about book at book clubs all over the country. But I will warn you that Reba's story line is not nearly as compelling as Elsie's. There were even times where I wondered if the author was trying to make a comparison between Hitler's Gestapo and the present day Border Patrol, but I talked myself out of that theory. It is just not a comparison that I am comfortable with, s More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 15, 2012

Beth rated it:

Complex and moving, The Baker's Daughter is a story (and a journey) centered around Elsie and Reba, two women of different ages and vastly different eras - modern day Texas and 1940s Nazi Germany. In a narrative that moves effortlessly between the past and the present, McCoy never leaves the reader feeling confused as she weaves a tale that is inspiring, heartbreaking and thought-provoking. Lessons of past history and themes of family, friendship, tremendous hardship and forgiveness make this lo More...

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Feb 19, 2012

Melissa rated it:

Initially I was afraid I would be disappointed by this book: too many parallel stories, a main character named Reba (I know, my northern bias is showing) and at first, what seemed like trivial chick-lit issues holding Reba back. But the author holds the multiple stories together and then uses them to develop the characters and move the narrative along.

As a bonus the WWII narrative is accurately researched, morally complex, and human. It's neither apologetic, or overly sentimental, More...

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Jan 31, 2012

Alison rated it:

Four stars for the Garmisch, Germany story, 2 for the El Paso story, averages out to 3. The book is worth reading for the WWII story alone, but the secondary story of Reba and Riki and the border patrol and Reba's feelings about her late father all felt forced and predictable to me. I hated when I had to leave Germany and wade through a Texas chapter. It was like two completely different novels in one--all attempts to the link the two stories fell flat for me. But again, the story of Elsie a More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 02, 2012

Brian rated it:

Absolutely fantastic read that preys on your visceral senses as much as your intellectual curiosity. TBD takes a artfully, nuanced look at personal identify and the struggles in following your moral compass through adversity. With a dual plot line between the modern day Southwest and World War II Bavaria, these rich illustrative settings stand as awesome backdrop to the reader's introspective evaluation of the worth of a human life, leaving you with lingering question of "What if...?" More...

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Jan 12, 2012

Susan rated it:

I know this is early for 2012, but this has to be the best book I have read in a long while. I want to shout it out to the rooftops.

First off the story line is creative. Her words are very poetic. After reading a book before, this very dull and dry, and not creative. This was such a nice change.

The story grabbed me right from the start. I was so involved with the story and the characters. I could not stand being interupted for one second. Leave me alone!!! Son. In a minu More...

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Feb 17, 2012

Cathy rated it:

I really enjoyed the whole story about Elsie and her family in Germany; basically skimmed over the Reba & Riki story- I think the book would've been fine without that whole storyline and going back and forth in time (which is something I dislike when reading a book). I also would've enjoyed it more if I didn't have to use a magnifying glass to read all of the parts written in letter format- why in the world did they use such an itty-bitty font? I know it sounds picky, but I really could not see More...

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Feb 10, 2012

Audra (Unabridged Chick) rated it:

I started this book and felt a bit stony about the story: the writing felt kind of casually journalistic, like an A&E piece in a local paper, and rather snobbily I thought this might be a topical, fluffy read. After picking up the book yesterday morning in bed, I had my nose in it on my walk to the subway, and I settled in once seated on the train. When my commute ended, I was irritated at having to put my book away -- and stunned to see I had raced through more than half the book. What I ini More...

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Feb 10, 2012

melanie (lit*chick) rated it:

This was one of those parallel stories in two parts - one in the present, one the past - in this case one far exceeds the other and seemed strong enough to stand alone. Elsie's story, as the titled baker's daughter, the correspondence with her sister in the Lebensborn program and experience as a German national with a heart of compassion are what make this book worth reading.

"Were you a Nazi?"

"I was a German," replied Elsie.

"So you More...

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Jan 21, 2012

Vivian rated it:

It is perhaps human nature to believe that everyone that "supported" the Nazis were bad people. The truth is that many people were simply trapped in an environment where speaking out meant imprisonment, torture or death. Elsie's family operated a bakery in Germany during the war and they were simply trying to survive along with others in their community. Elsie's older sister had been taken into a "breeding" program and her sole purpose was to produce kids for the great Aryan More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 09, 2011

Diane rated it:

I fell in love with the character Elise from the very beginning. From the past, in her homeland of Nazi Germany to her current life in El Paso, Texas, the connecting thread a bakery and the baked goods that sustain her and her families souls. The present story is also interesting with a woman unsure of the future and her fiance, who works for the border patrol and like Elise in the past begins questioning if what he and his country is doing is right. The cruelty of Nazi Germany, the saving of on More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 10, 2012

Jennifer rated it:

Sarah McCoy's THE BAKER'S DAUGHTER is a powerful story, and a delightful read. The story unfolds in two contrasting time periods, told by two very different women: young and reckless Reba, a journalist in modern-day Texas, and 1940's Elsie, navigating the complex world of WWII Germany. McCoy's writing is real. I could taste the baked goods from the bakeries in both worlds, and I felt strongly for each of the character's journeys. A powerful story, and a delightful read. Highly recommended, espec More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Lora rated it:

“The Baker’s Daughter” is beautifully written and has an addictive quality in that if you are able to finally put the book down, you can’t help but think about Elsie and her family until you can lose yourself in the story once again. McCoy has woven Elsie’s and Reba’s tales together seamlessly to create a tale of love, pain, heartbreak, courage and forgiveness.

Read my full review at www.crazybookreviews.com!

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 24, 2012

Rebecca added it

It's a story about a teenage German girl during World War II and a contemporary story about a commitment-phobic journalist in El Paso, TX. The historical parts are stronger than the contemporary parts, but it's a good read with a very weepy ending.

I posted a longer review on my blog: http://mswordopolis.blogspot.com/2012/01...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 26, 2012

Nichole rated it:

Such a vivid and compelling read: I could taste the German pastries, I could feel the Texas heat and the tension of the border patrol work, which was a subtle juxtaposition of civil rights and xenophobia in WW2 Gamisch, Germany. I love books that transport me to an unfamiliar place, and in The Baker's Daughter, I had two. Highly recommend!

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Feb 02, 2012

Kira rated it:

This was an absolutely amazing story, I wish it didn't have to end. I feel in love with Elsie, Reba, and Jane's characters right away. The story takes place in present day El Paso, TX, and in Germany in the 1940s. The back and forth was so well done and tied together to make a beautiful story. The end gave me chills and put tears in my eyes.

2 comments like (2 people liked it)