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The Girl They Left Behind: a Novel
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

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Published:
Atria Books 2018
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Checked Out
Description
A sweeping historical romance that is "gripping, tragic, yet filled with passion and hope" (Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author), offering a vivid and unique portrayal of life in war-torn 1941 Bucharest during World War II and its aftermath—perfect for fans of Lilac Girls and Sarah's Key.
On a freezing night in January 1941, a little Jewish girl is found on the steps of an apartment building in Bucharest. With Romania recently allied with the Nazis, the Jewish population is in grave danger so the girl is placed in an orphanage and eventually adopted by a wealthy childless couple who name her Natalia. As she assimilates into her new life, she all but forgets the parents who were forced to leave her behind.

As a young woman in Soviet Romania, Natalia crosses paths with Victor—an important official in the Communist regime that she used to know as an impoverished young student. Now they are fatefully drawn into a passionate affair despite the obstacles swirling around them and Victor's dark secrets.

When Natalia is suddenly offered a one-time chance at freedom, Victor is determined to help her escape, even if it means losing her. Natalia must make an agonizing decision: remain in Bucharest with her beloved adoptive parents and the man she has come to love, or seize the chance to finally live life on her own terms, and to confront the painful enigma of her past.

The Girl They Left Behind "is a vividly told, beautifully written, impossible-but-true story" (Helen Bryan, internationally bestselling author of War Brides) that you won't soon forget.
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Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
10/09/2018
Language:
English
ISBN:
9781501187704
ASIN:
B07CKZZPWX
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Roxanne Veletzos. (2018). The Girl They Left Behind: a Novel. Atria Books.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Roxanne Veletzos. 2018. The Girl They Left Behind: A Novel. Atria Books.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Roxanne Veletzos, The Girl They Left Behind: A Novel. Atria Books, 2018.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Roxanne Veletzos. The Girl They Left Behind: A Novel. Atria Books, 2018.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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Date Added:
Oct 05, 2018 16:35:38
Date Updated:
Mar 07, 2023 11:44:20
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Mar 24, 2024 12:05:33
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Feb 02, 2024 20:16:15
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      • bioText: Roxanne Veletzos was born in Bucharest, Romania, and moved to California with her family as a young teen. Already fluent in English and French, she began writing short stories about growing up in her native Eastern Europe, at first as a cathartic experience as she transitioned to a new culture. With a bachelor's degree in journalism, she has worked as an editor, content writer, and marketing manager for a number of Fortune 500 companies. Her debut novel, published in multiple languages, is an international bestseller. Roxanne lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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A sweeping historical romance that is "gripping, tragic, yet filled with passion and hope" (Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author), offering a vivid and unique portrayal of life in war-torn 1941 Bucharest during World War II and its aftermath—perfect for fans of Lilac Girls and Sarah's Key.
On a freezing night in January 1941, a little Jewish girl is found on the steps of an apartment building in Bucharest. With Romania recently allied with the Nazis, the Jewish population is in grave danger so the girl is placed in an orphanage and eventually adopted by a wealthy childless couple who name her Natalia. As she assimilates into her new life, she all but forgets the parents who were forced to leave her behind.

As a young woman in Soviet Romania, Natalia crosses paths with Victor—an important official in the Communist regime that she used to know as an impoverished young student. Now they are fatefully drawn into a passionate...
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fullDescription
A sweeping historical romance that is "gripping, tragic, yet filled with passion and hope" (Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author), offering a vivid and unique portrayal of life in war-torn 1941 Bucharest during World War II and its aftermath—perfect for fans of Lilac Girls and Sarah's Key.
On a freezing night in January 1941, a little Jewish girl is found on the steps of an apartment building in Bucharest. With Romania recently allied with the Nazis, the Jewish population is in grave danger so the girl is placed in an orphanage and eventually adopted by a wealthy childless couple who name her Natalia. As she assimilates into her new life, she all but forgets the parents who were forced to leave her behind.

As a young woman in Soviet Romania, Natalia crosses paths with Victor—an important official in the Communist regime that she used to know as an impoverished young student. Now they are fatefully drawn into a passionate affair despite the obstacles swirling around them and Victor's dark secrets.

When Natalia is suddenly offered a one-time chance at freedom, Victor is determined to help her escape, even if it means losing her. Natalia must make an agonizing decision: remain in Bucharest with her beloved adoptive parents and the man she has come to love, or seize the chance to finally live life on her own terms, and to confront the painful enigma of her past.

The Girl They Left Behind "is a vividly told, beautifully written, impossible-but-true story" (Helen Bryan, internationally bestselling author of War Brides) that you won't soon forget.
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reviews
      • premium: True
      • source: Kirkus
      • content:

        September 1, 2018
        In January 1941, as a pogrom descends upon the Jews of Bucharest, Romania, a fleeing Jewish couple must make a horrifying decision: leave their 3-year-old daughter behind or risk all of their lives at the hands of the Iron Guard. Their daughter survives, and her life arcs through some of the most devastating events of Eastern Europe.Soon adopted into a wealthy Christian family, the child is renamed Natalia and raised by loving parents, Despina and Anton Goza. After four heart-wrenching miscarriages, Despina is eager to shower Natalia with love, drawing the traumatized girl out of her shell. Anton, the owner of several successful stationery stores, dotes on Despina and Natalia, even buying Natalia a piano and engaging a teacher for the talented pupil. Although politically opposed to fascism, the Gozas' wealth shelters them from the atrocities visited daily upon their city's Jewish population. Meanwhile, Natalia's birthparents have been hiding in the attic of Despina's cousin, who helps them escape the country, yet from afar, they try to help their daughter. From the pogroms and bombings to the Soviet occupation and the fall of the Iron Curtain, debut novelist Veletzos deftly threads historical events through Natalia's life story as she survives the fracturing of her biological family, the destruction of her country, the stifling of her education, and cultural isolation from the rest of the world. As Natalia navigates a swiftly changing landscape, her adoptive father befriends Victor, a political revolutionary, who rises in the ranks of the Communist regime. In their times of need, it will be Victor to whom the Gozas turn again and again. But can he be trusted to rescue the fallen bourgeois family? Above all, can he be trusted with Natalia's heart? And will Natalia ever find her parents again?Never flinching from the bleak, this sweeping historical romance pieces together hope from the ruins.

        COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        October 8, 2018
        Inspired by the story of her grandparents, debut author Veletzos’s excellent novel centers on the devastation of Romania by Germany during WWII, and the country’s subsequent struggles under Soviet rule. During a pogrom in 1941 Bucharest, a young Jewish couple flees their home. Fearing their capture, they leave their three-year-old daughter behind in an apartment building, hoping that someone will take her in and care for her. Their daughter, Natalia, is brought to an orphanage and is later adopted by Anton and Despina Goza, an affluent childless couple. Despite the bombings and the food shortages, Anton, Despina, and Natalia survive the war with their family intact. When the Soviets invade Romania, the government takes over every aspect of their lives, including Anton’s store, and the Gozas are forced out of their home and must live in communal housing. Through all of their trials, Anton maintains his friendship with Victor, a younger man who once lived above his shop and is now a powerful government official. Natalia, no longer the impressionable girl Victor once knew, is now a beautiful, spirited young woman, and Natalia and Victor’s passionate romance becomes complicated by his allegiance to the Communist Party. Veletzos expertly weaves historical detail into a rich story about the endurance of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

      • premium: True
      • source: Booklist
      • content:

        October 1, 2018
        In 1941, a desperate Jewish couple leaves their three-year-old daughter on a doorstep in Bucharest in the hope that someone will take her in until they can return for her. The little girl ends up in an orphanage and is adopted by Anton and Despina Goza, who name her Natalia. She grows up in cultured and comfortable circumstances, despite wartime deprivations, and not even her accidental discovery that her real parents are still alive diminishes the love she feels for the Gozas. Life hardly returns to normal after the Communist takeover following the war; in fact, the Gozas undergo severe hardships as members of the bourgeoisie and therefore "class enemies." Aid comes from Victor, a young student Anton once took under his wing and who has since risen high in the ranks of the new regime. Despite some clunky dialogue and exposition, the novel, which Veletzos based on her mother's life, is worth reading for its Romanian setting, and questions regarding Natalia's real parents and whether she will ever be reunited with them add an element of suspense.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        October 1, 2018

        Romania-born Veletzos, who immigrated here as a teenager, bitingly portrays Bucharest during World War II and the subsequent Communist era in this story of the Jewish Natalia, abandoned as a little girl in 1941 and adopted by loving parents. As a grown-up, she has an opportunity to escape oppression, but can she leave lover Victor and her adoptive parents behind?

        Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

popularity
1352
publisher
Atria Books
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      • description: FICTION / Historical / General
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      • description: FICTION / Historical / 20th Century / World War II & Holocaust