They Went Left

 They Went Left by Monica Hesse

In this WWII historical fiction, you follow Zofia.  She is saved by Russian soldier Dima when the concentration camp she is at is liberated by the Russian Army.  

She was found barely alive and sent to a hospital.  She is part of a group of patients known as the nothing girls.  Zofia is only allowed to leave because she will be with Dima.  He takes her to Poland to her family’s apartment.

Zofia goes to the apartment to meet her brother.  It was where they agreed to go if either survived.  At dinner, Dima and his commander mention Foehrenwald.  It is a camp in Munich, Germany taking in displace individuals as well as survivors of the different concentration camps.

She sets out on a track to Munich to try and find her brother.  While at Foehrenwald, she meets people who would become her friends.  She also starts to have her memory of true events come back and realize some of her memories are made up.  

Zofia does find Abek, her brother.  After he is there for a while, Zofia realizes he is not her brother.  The memory of his brother being sick and not able to swallow on the train to the camp comes back to her.  She also remembers she smothered him with his jacket to prevent him from being killed by the SS Soldiers.  

The young boy admits through a fairy tale story he makes up at her request that he is Lukasz who lost everyone to the war as well.  Zofia allows him to be Abek and they create a new family and are headed to Ottawa, Canada at the end of the book.

This has to be my new favorite WWII historical fiction.  I love reading books from this time period.

Reviewed by Shelly