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Carnival Girl: Searching for God in the Aftermath of War
by
Sonja Herbert (Goodreads Author)
The only life little Sonja Francesco has ever known is traveling the carnival circuit and living with her five siblings in a tiny caravan home. The family never stays anywhere long enough for Sonja to make friends or develop roots. The only one in her family, Sonja always believed in God and wants to belong to a church.
At fourteen, Sonja meets the Mormon missionaries and...more
At fourteen, Sonja meets the Mormon missionaries and...more
Paperback, 216 pages
Published
June 12th 2012
by Cedar Fort, Inc.
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Sonja has known nothing but living on the go. Growing up in Germany after World War II is interesting enough, but Sonja's parents run a carnival. This means Sonja is always moving from place to place. This can make it difficult to make friends and get a consistent education, but none of this holds Sonja back. Not even being stuffed in a small caravan with her 3 siblings can hold her down. Sonja tries to make the best of her life, and even manages to find something she didn't know she was looking...more
Carnival Girl by Sonja Herbert A Memoir Published by Cedar Fort
This is a very well-written memoir of the childhood of a young girl born in the aftermath of WWII Germany, raised in a carnival.
I've always been fascinated by WWII history. The author's mother, half Jewish, ran away to the circus to evade the Nazis. She fell in love and married a man who worked in the circus. They left the circus together with the beginnings of their own caravan. They added to it a little at a time as they added to t...more
This is a very well-written memoir of the childhood of a young girl born in the aftermath of WWII Germany, raised in a carnival.
I've always been fascinated by WWII history. The author's mother, half Jewish, ran away to the circus to evade the Nazis. She fell in love and married a man who worked in the circus. They left the circus together with the beginnings of their own caravan. They added to it a little at a time as they added to t...more
How many times have we wished we could be part of a carnival? Sonja, the main character, travels in a caravan home and helps "build" carnivals. Her life may seem exciting, but it is apparent that it may be less than ideal. Margot, Sonja's mother, first started travelling with the carnival to hide during WWII. Margot is not a religious woman, can be a little crass, and rarely fawns over her children. Whether or not Margot knows it, she plays a large part in shaping Sonja's character. Sonja mainly...more
3.5 stars.
This story is told as a series of flashbacks to Sonja’s childhood. Each chapter begins in the present, with Sonja and her mother, Magot, then changes to the past and paints a picture of Sonja’s early life. Sonja’s family lives in a caravan and travels from town to town to put up a merry-go-round and other carnival attractions for local festivals. Like many people in post-war Germany, the family struggles with poverty.
Margot, the mother, joined the circus during WWII to hide from the Na...more
This story is told as a series of flashbacks to Sonja’s childhood. Each chapter begins in the present, with Sonja and her mother, Magot, then changes to the past and paints a picture of Sonja’s early life. Sonja’s family lives in a caravan and travels from town to town to put up a merry-go-round and other carnival attractions for local festivals. Like many people in post-war Germany, the family struggles with poverty.
Margot, the mother, joined the circus during WWII to hide from the Na...more
Carnival Girl tells about Sonja's childhood in post-WWII Germany. Her father ran a carnival, so she and her siblings were raised in a caravan and traveled around the country. They made stops in many of the same towns each year, but weren't in any one place very long. It made schooling and making friends difficult.
Many times during the memoir I was very saddened by Sonja's life, especially the way she was treated by her mother. While Sonja doesn't have resentment toward her Mutti, her memories of...more
Many times during the memoir I was very saddened by Sonja's life, especially the way she was treated by her mother. While Sonja doesn't have resentment toward her Mutti, her memories of...more
Carnival Girl is an enjoyable read because of its tight structure, effective language, and the window that it is into another time, culture, and lifestyle.
Sonja begins each chapter of Carnival Girl in first person, present tense, focusing on a specific visit from her mother who came from Germany to Utah. These segments are very short and serve as both framework and catalyst. The memories instigated by the conversations of Sonja and her mother make up the bulk of the book and come along in chrono...more
Sonja begins each chapter of Carnival Girl in first person, present tense, focusing on a specific visit from her mother who came from Germany to Utah. These segments are very short and serve as both framework and catalyst. The memories instigated by the conversations of Sonja and her mother make up the bulk of the book and come along in chrono...more
What a moving book, to read the memories and real life experience of Sonja! It was a journey for me to take in what it was like for her to grow up in Germany after WWII. Having a Mother who was half Jew and her having to hide out from the Nazi's. How utterly sad! But she made it through strong. Every chapter was usually a different age of Sonja's life and her memories of her Parents and siblings just trying to survive and make ends meat while being part of a moving carnival.
I really enjoyed ha...more
I really enjoyed ha...more
Carnival Girl
Searching for God in the Aftermath of War
By Sonja Herbert
The only life Sonja has ever known was on the road. Now she must choose between the carnival and her convictions, between her family and her faith. This beautifully written memoir of growing up in post-war Germany and meeting the Mormon missionaries will remind you of how much God loves each one of us and how his power can make anything possible.
Sonja Herbert and her five siblings were raised in a caravan, traveling the carniv...more
Searching for God in the Aftermath of War
By Sonja Herbert
The only life Sonja has ever known was on the road. Now she must choose between the carnival and her convictions, between her family and her faith. This beautifully written memoir of growing up in post-war Germany and meeting the Mormon missionaries will remind you of how much God loves each one of us and how his power can make anything possible.
Sonja Herbert and her five siblings were raised in a caravan, traveling the carniv...more
When I agreed to review this book, I didn't know what to expect. I don't read many memoir's. I tend to be attracted to fiction.
I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and interesting story. This book details Sonja's life growing up in a travelling carnival. Every summer her family would move from city to city in post WWII Germany. They lived year round in a Caravan. With six children, this was not a comfortable life for the family. I learned quite a bit about the struggles of families to survive...more
I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and interesting story. This book details Sonja's life growing up in a travelling carnival. Every summer her family would move from city to city in post WWII Germany. They lived year round in a Caravan. With six children, this was not a comfortable life for the family. I learned quite a bit about the struggles of families to survive...more
This was a interesting, easy-to-read, historical novel about a time period and place about which I knew very little. I have read a lot about WWII, but this novel dealt with Germany in the aftermath of WWII. Furthermore, I was introduced to the plight of a half-Jew who hid in the circus to escape Hitler's wrath during the War. I also knew nothing of Mormonism in Europe at this time.
I truly appreciated the style in which Sonja Herbert wrote this book. She began nearly each chapter with a conversat...more
I truly appreciated the style in which Sonja Herbert wrote this book. She began nearly each chapter with a conversat...more
1 like · like · see review
Carnival Girl was a fantastic read. The touching and intriguing memoir chronicles the life of author Sonja Herbert as she is raised in post-World War II Germany with her nomadic large family who works the carnival circuit. Can you imagine living in a camper with five siblings forever? You move on a weekly basis and long for a permanent home like those of the children that you usually only get to know for a week. This was Sonja's upbringing. Sonja vividly portrays throughout her beautiful memoir...more
I thoroughly enjoyed Carnival Girl! Sonja Herbert's beautiful writing style drew me in and kept me reading while her stories transported me to another time and place. Her experiences and the struggles she faced in postwar Germany are fascinating to me. Hers is a story of searching and faith, of finding and believing. Reading Carnival Girl brought me hope! The pictures included are fun and interesting. I love how they show me the story! Although I've never met Ms. Herbert, her writing makes me fe...more
At the end of the book, my overall feeling was admiration for the author. What a strange and stressful upbringing, and yet, she seems so hopeful through-out. Her honesty in relating the personal details of her own and her family's life felt very sincere. This alone bumped my otherwise rating of 3 to a 4.
I liked the idea of beginning each chapter in the present, with an illusion to the past, followed with the details in a flashback. However, the present day interactions sometimes felt forced or...more
I liked the idea of beginning each chapter in the present, with an illusion to the past, followed with the details in a flashback. However, the present day interactions sometimes felt forced or...more
First, let me start of by saying that Carnival Girl is a memoir. I think in knowing this, it made the story a little more personal to me. Carnival Girl takes place on the road, with many different stops in between. Just the sound of being a carnie might sound like a fun and frivolous adventure for some, but that certainly isn't the case for a family life.
Sonja first explains that her mother (Mutti) had to stay hidden and out of the way from the war and all the negative things that unfortunately...more
Sonja first explains that her mother (Mutti) had to stay hidden and out of the way from the war and all the negative things that unfortunately...more
It's a spellbinding story, of a lonely little girl in the glitz and glitter of the carnival, longing to live in a house instead of a caravan, and looking for God from a very early age. Eventually, Sonja accomplishes both. By the end of the book she lives in a real house and she has found the Gospel and a church to go to. And the historical background of a war-torn country trying to re-invent itsef lends color and fascination to the story.
I read this book in a day, and hope to read it out loud with Mike (the husband) later on. I love books that are fiction but read like a memoir, or are a memoir, but read like fiction, and this was exactly that.
This is an amazing story about love and growth and finally believing in something bigger than yourself. A girl who struggles with what her heart's telling her to do amidst the pressures of her family and her life.
This is an amazing story about love and growth and finally believing in something bigger than yourself. A girl who struggles with what her heart's telling her to do amidst the pressures of her family and her life.
i was interested at first in the carnival life. but i soon found out there were other learnings about a small carnival family that stayed together through ww II in germany as they traveled from town to town. interesting and true, but not complete to me - i wanted to know more about how her life changed.
As far as memoirs go, this is hands down one of the best written ones I've ever read. Sonja's hunger for validation captured my heart. Her story is unique yet so relatable. I found myself right with her in post WWII Germany trying to imagine just how humble it would be to raise my family in a little carrivan.
Enjoyed the writing but I was disappointed with the abrupt ending. I wanted to hear more about how everyone/everything ended up.
read this review and others at http://readingforsanity.blogspot.com/...
My review and the blogtour and guest post from Sonja Herbert:http://wrathsqueensbooks.blog...
Good book. Left you wanting to
Know more
I enjoyed this memoir. For me what pushed it from 3 to 4 stars was the expression of her hope & faith. It inspired me and I like books that make me want to be better. I also like the way she recounted memories as she felt at the time, how a child or young teen would see it. Not necessarily as an adult analyzing her past. Some things made me cringe as I thought about how she was parented. Overall, a quick read and a peek into a life I found interesting.
my sweet mom bought this book for me. it was gooood. i really like the memoir genre.
Check out my review below:
Debra's Book Cafe
Debs :-)
Apr 15, 2013
Carly
marked it as to-read
Feb 08, 2013
Barry
marked it as to-read
Jan 29, 2013
Larsen
marked it as spiritual
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Sonja Herbert and her five siblings were raised in a caravan, traveling the carnival circuit from town to town in post-World War II Germany.
Sonja converted to the LDS Church, later married and immigrated to the United States, where she received a bachelor of arts degree at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah, and a master of arts degree from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She al...more
More about Sonja Herbert...
Sonja converted to the LDS Church, later married and immigrated to the United States, where she received a bachelor of arts degree at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah, and a master of arts degree from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She al...more
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Jul 11, 2012 09:40am