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Feb 19, 2008

Leanna rated it:

I picked up Sara Young’s My Enemy’s Cradle after reading a review in USA Today a few weeks ago. The book centers around the German Lebensborn, and I was intrigued.

Despite inundating myself with “Third Reich” literature over the last several years, I’d never before heard of the Lebensborn, homes for women impregnated (both willingly and unwillingly) by German soldiers.

Fair-haired Cyrla, the book’s protagonist, has a Dutch mother and a Polish-Jewish father. For five years More...

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Apr 11, 2008

Sue rated it:

This was an interesting book about a part of WWII that I knew little about. The story highlights the Lebensborn, a birthing center for Aryan children. The story is about Cyrla, a half-Jewish young woman who is finding that life in the home of a Dutch relative is getting increasingly more difficult as the Nazi's impose stricter and stricter laws on anyone Jewish. Cyrla is best friends with her beautiful blond cousin, Annika . Not only are they best friends but they look quite alike. Without More...

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Jan 04, 2009

Christina rated it:

I’m quite sure that I say this entirely too much, but I could not put My Enemy’s Cradle down. I was completely riveted, enthralled with the characters, and sucked into a part of Nazi Germany I knew nothing about. It’s a strong book, all the way through. Beginning to end.

My Enemy’s Cradle is love story filled with tragedy, heartbreak, and devastation. Which sounds incredibly contradictory, but it contains so much hope and love that the contrasting feelings pull the reader in one hundr More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Oct 22, 2008

Andrea rated it:

This is an amazing story about a little known Nazi plan to create babies for the Third Reich. A great read!

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jan 20, 2009

Keri rated it:

I picked this up at the library, and based on the reviews, expected it to be along the lines of "Anne Frank". While the subject matter is similar, this is more adult, and I really felt that the "love scenes" took away from the story. I also did not come away from this book with the same feeling as I did - probably because this book, while set around some horrific events, comes across as purely fiction.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 03, 2011

Lisa rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Apr 11, 2011

Scarlett.speaks rated it:

My Enemy's Cradle chronicles the Nazi Lebensborn Project or, at least gives a fictional account of a girl who uses it for protection. Cyrla is half-Jewish and living with her Gentile relatives in Holland during the occupation. When her cousin (who could be her twin) turns up pregnant, she's referred to a facility for girls carrying German babies. Tragedy ensues and Anneke dies, leaving Cyrla with a decision. Things are getting seriously bad in Holland for Jews and it's becoming more and more dan More...

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Mar 31, 2011

Alexis rated it:

When someone slips a note under the door of the home of Cyrla's Dutch relatives, Cyrla realizes she is no longer safe in WWII Europe. Her father thought Cyrla--who is half-Jewish--would be safe with her mother's blond hair. However, Cyrla soon needs a plan C. When cousin Annika, whom Cyrla closely resembles, becomes pregnant by a German soldier, Annika's father enrolls her into Lebensborn, A birthing center for Aryan children. Cyrla assumes her cousin's identity and plans to live in the Ge More...

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Jun 15, 2010

Diana rated it:

This novel has the most irritating protagonist I’ve ever encountered in fiction. Completely self-absorbed, oblivious to what’s happening around her in Nazi-occupied Holland, utterly unconcerned with anyone’s feelings but her own…God, what a useless wench. The only reason I kept on reading was that it concerned the mysterious Lebensborn program during World War II. Little is known about it, and that little is still not talked about very much. It concerns illicit sex and unmarried motherhood, More...

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Mar 13, 2010

Sara rated it:

This is a historical fiction about a young woman who is half Jewish and have German, and is trying to hide her Jew identity. After the death of her pregnant cousin she becomes pregnant and takes her place in the maternity home. In other words, Cyrla, the protagonist, takes on the identity of her cousin Anneka. Reason why she had to do that is because the maternity place is where German girls are so its her only way to hide safely and to survive. The setting of the book takes place during the Hol More...

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Feb 28, 2011

Mary rated it:

This book was lent to me by my mum as she thought my interest in Europe during WWII would be piqued. It tells the tale of a Polish half-Jew who has been sent to the Netherlands to live with her mother's Non-Jewish family. I won't spoil the tale but the main character ends up in the Lebensborn programme.

I found the book to be a little 'Chick lit romantic' for my tastes. The style didn't seem to suit the seriousness of the situation being written about. However I soon realised I co More...

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Aug 21, 2010

thewanderingjew rated it:

This is a very compelling book about World War II, told from an entirely different perspective. It is told not from the point of view of the war and the soldiers or the camps, but rather the innocent citizens caught up in the turmoil and terror.
The main character, Cyrla, is a mischling, which is what Germans called a person of mixed heritage, one not totally Aryan. She is young, barely 19, and often because of her pride she is careless and foolish. Her mistakes endanger others. She might More...

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Nov 04, 2009

Lisa rated it:

A very memorable story of young ladies and how they suffered during WWII. They weren't put in concentration camps, but they were victims of cruelty just the same. The author uses the backdrop of Hitler's maternity homes as she paints the story of one girl's search for safety during the war.

I enjoyed this book because it's a very interesting plot line that keeps you constantly on your toes as you read it. And the author does a wonderful job developing the characters, peeling away More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Oct 03, 2009

Jane rated it:

When I heard that Sara Pennypacker (of Clementine fame) also writes adult fiction (under the name Sara Young) I had to see for myself how her writing translates from kid world to adult world. And for me it's a mixed review. The writing was fine. But it wasn't terrific. It was solid and straight forward but it felt sort of two dimensional.

That said, the story kept my attention though it felt perilously close to being a romance novel to which I am not partial.

Briefl More...

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Jul 27, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

I really wanted to like this book because I am a fan of historical fiction, particularly that dealing with Jews and WWII. Unfortunately, I found the plot predictable, the characters flat, and the tone of the book to be too light for such a serious issue as a half Jewish woman living as a fraud in a Lebensborn (home for women pregnant with children of Nazi fathering to add to the "Master Race.") Although I do not know enough about Lebensborn, I feel as though the author paints too gloss More...

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Jul 14, 2009

Princess rated it:

This book is incredibly powerful. I tend to have a difficult time reading books set during the Holocaust. Both my husband and I have German heritage and it makes the atrocities so much more real to me knowing what I do about family history and conscription.

That being said, I couldn't put this book down. I was hooked from the start. The storyline is intriguing. The Lebensborn is a home for mothers pregnant with German babies. Cyrla's cousin, Anneke, is pregnant and has passed the adm More...

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Jan 17, 2009

Angie rated it:

This is the story of Cyrla, a half-Jew living in Holland during the Nazi regime of WWII. It's a dangerous time for her, especially with her Jewish heritage. It is also the story of the Nazi Lebensborns. I had no idea these maternity houses/orphanages existed, nor that these establishments were basically farms set up to grow a perfect Arayan nation - a future of German soldiers... Girls became pregnant (whether by choice or not), brought forth their children, and adopted them out into Nazi fam More...

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Mar 13, 2010

Kara rated it:

An historical fiction taking place during the Holocaust. It is about a young woman named Cyrla who is half Jewish and half German who is living with her aunt's family, trying to hide her Jewish side in order to survive. Her cousin, Anneke, is one of the most important people in her life. Anneke is pregnant with a baby, whose father just left, and passes an exam for a maternity home for German babies. But before she could go, Anneke commits suicide. With the increase of restrictions on Jews, Cyrl More...

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Apr 03, 2011

Camille rated it:

This was a very interesting and little known subject. The main character, Cyrla is a young Jewish woman who must hide in plain site, in a Lebensborn in order to evade capture by the Germans. I wonder if there was more character development going on in the author's head than what was on the page. Cyrla's behavior was so inexplicable at times, it defied belief. From her point of view I understand that the full horror of the Holocaust was not yet known and she is young. That is why I kept hoping More...

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Mar 14, 2008

Christen rated it:

This book had a very promising subject matter, but I think it became more of a cliched love story. I would have liked to have more historical significance in the book. I think I'll try to find a good non-fiction book about the Nazi Lebensborn program.

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Apr 06, 2009

Kolleen rated it:

I am one of those people that love books on the Holocost, true or not. (Call me morbid if you have to). This was a novel, but focused on Lebensborns, which are an aspect of the Holocost that has never been focused on before, and something that I didn't even realized existed. The characters in this book were so well-defined that I felt like I knew them and could understand all of their thoughts and feelings. I was so touched by this book. I loved the characters, I loved the ending, and I rea More...

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May 28, 2010

Anne rated it:

Set initially in the Netherlands during WWII, My Enemy's Cradle is the story of two cousins: Anneke - the perfect one in love with and pregnant by a German solidier, and Cyrla - the half-Jewish poet hiding her religion in the hopes of avoiding the camps she can't quite believe actually exist. With Cyrla's identity in danger of being discovered, she is given the opportunity to take Anneke's place in a German Lebensborn - or maternity home for women pregnant with the children of the Aryan nation. More...

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Mar 13, 2009

Alisa rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Aug 25, 2009

Ndshill rated it:

Sara Young deserves more than two stars for her writing ability, but because the book's subject matter that dealt with a self-inflicted abortion, rape, and too much sex I can't recommend it. I probably would have not finished reading it after the abortion, but having worked with LDS Family Services, I was fascinated to learn how Hitler dealt with unwed mothers. Like everything else, he had it all wrong. Illegitimacy was encouraged if you had the right bloodlines. Of course, the father's had More...

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Feb 22, 2011

William added it

my enemys cradle by sara young was a pretty interesting book. there were alot of problems and alot of twists in the book. to me the beggining of the book was kinda slow then it started to pick up quick and kept me thinking what might happen next, of course it was hard to guess what was going to happen cause everything was pretty random. through the book a character anneke dies and cyrla has to take her place and she has to change everything about her and she has to even become pregnant and alot More...

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Dec 10, 2009

Gina rated it:

When I initially read about this book I somehow got the idea that it was nonfiction. I was really disappointed to find that it was a novel, but I read it anyway and it was alright. The subject matter was really interesting, but unfortunately the focus of the book seemed to be more on the love story and the writing is decent, but not great. I thought lots of things were really glossed over and you could see the final twist coming from a mile away. The ending also feels horribly rushed, like t More...

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Aug 11, 2010

Leah rated it:

The woman whose kids I babysit lent me this book. Apparently she got it as a gift and couldn't put it down. This one is definitely a page turner. It's kind of like historical chick-lit.

I liked that it dealt with an aspect of Nazi Germany that isn't talked about very often, which is the Lebensborn project. This project was a breeding program designed to propagate the Aryan race. Girls who passed rigorous tests to determine their heritage and who were carrying German babies were allow More...

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Aug 03, 2009

Jill rated it:

I was NOT feeling this book for the first... third or so. It redeemed itself in the end though. This book was about the Lebensborn maternity homes in Germany during World War II. Basically, if a girl from Germany or any German-occupied country was impregnated by a German soldier, they could go to a Lebensborn home where they would be housed and fed until their baby was born. At that point, the Nazi party would adopt it out to a German family. The beginning of this book had very graphic sex scene More...

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Jul 26, 2010

Melissa rated it:

I have read a lot of books on the Holocaust. So far I have enjoyed every one of them. Some more than others. This book is not on that list. I couldn't even finish it and I almost never leave a book unfinished! My complaint was the way it was written. I felt it was very "child-like". The main character, Cyrla, when I started reading this book seemed like she was around 12 years old. Turns out she is nineteen. Yet she had a very childish mind. To be a 19 year old whose mother had died an More...

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Jan 12, 2010

Jeffield rated it:

This has been on my "to read" list for a long time and I am kicked my self for not reading it earlier. Story takes place during WW2 in Holland and Germany. A Jewish girl gets herself pregnant so she can take the place of her dead non-Jewish cousin in a maternity home set up by the Nazis. It is a riveting tale that I read is two sittings. (It would have been one sitting except I had to work early the next day and I'm getting to old to handle the late nights and early mornings.) The More...

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