Children of the Stars

Mario Escobar

Feb 2020 · Sold by Thomas Nelson

About this ebook

From international bestselling author Mario Escobar comes a story of escape, sacrifice, and hope amid the perils of the Second World War.

August 1942. Jacob and Moses Stein, two young Jewish brothers, are staying with their aunt in Paris amid the Nazi occupation. The boys’ parents, well-known German playwrights, have left the brothers in their aunt’s care until they can find safe harbor for their family. But before the Steins can reunite, a great and terrifying roundup occurs. The French gendarmes, under Nazi order, arrest the boys and take them to the Vélodrome d’Hiver—a massive, bleak structure in Paris where thousands of France’s Jews are being forcibly detained.

Jacob and Moses know they must flee in order to survive, but they only have a set of letters sent from the South of France to guide them to their parents. Danger lurks around every corner as the boys, with nothing but each other, trek across the occupied country. Along their remarkable journey, they meet strangers and brave souls who put themselves at risk to protect the children—some of whom pay the ultimate price for helping these young refugees of war.

This inspiring novel, now available for the first time in English, demonstrates the power of family and the endurance of the human spirit—even through the darkest moments of human history.

• World War II historical fiction inspired by true events
• Book length: 94,000 words
• Includes discussion questions for reading groups, a historical timeline, and notes from the author

“A poignant telling of the tragedies of war and the sacrificing kindness of others seen through the innocent eyes of children.” —J’nell Ciesielski, bestselling author of The Socialite and Beauty Among Ruins

Ratings and reviews

Civil resistance may often be the only way to hold out against tyranny and oppression. Every generation nurses the hope that the world will begin anew - Moses’ father, at the train station. The author has written the most incredible story of survival during times when going with the flow would have been so much easier. It’s 1941 and young Jacob Stein and little brother Moses are left with a relative as the parents seek a way to escape war-torn Paris and hopefully the continent. Unexpectedly their world turns upside down, and the boys are left to survive on their own. What follows is the almost unbelievable story of perseverance against all odds. I must admit, it was impossible to set this novel aside until I knew what the end result would be. Even though it is a fictional story, this testament to those who held out against tyranny and oppression is one not t0 be missed. Hope, courage and sacrifice were found in the least likely places and in the most unassuming people. It renewed my faith in mankind to read of such bold resistance to the evil around them. This digital copy was received through NetGalley with no expectation of a positive review. However, it certainly made me consider my reaction, if tyranny was on my doorstep...

I received a free electronic copy of the ARC of this historical novel from Netgalley, Mario Escobar, and Thomas Nelson Publisher. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am adding Mario Escobar to my favorite authors. He writes a brisk, compelling tale with factual historical backgrounds and sympathetic protagonists. And Children of the Stars is an excellent WWII historical. We begin with a prolog dating back to May 23, 1941, when Jewish German immigrant parents Eleazar and Jana Stein, actors by profession, take a train from Paris to seek a safe new home for their family further south. Paris has become dangerous and non-French Jews are being returned to German workhouses. Their children, brothers Jacob and Moses are left in Paris with their Aunt Judith, the older widowed sister of Eleazar and a long-time resident of Paris who took in her brother and family six years ago when they had to flee from Germany. Judith is not registered as Jewish and the boys should be safe with her in Paris until Eleazar and Jana can establish a safer home and send for them. Their ultimate destination would eventually be in South America. Paris, in the spring of 1942, basic supplies and foods are exhausted, scooped up by German soldiers, and even those French residents with ration cards and ready cash can find little to eat. By the summer of 1942, Paris was under direct German rule and on July 6, 1942, French police officers began a mass arrest of 13,152 Jews, whom they held at the Winter Velodrome before deportation to Auschwitz. Thousands of Jewish families, including native French Jews, were imprisoned there for days without food, water, medical assistance, or hope. Many were ill from the unrelieved heat and dehydration. All were enveloped in fear. The Stein boys were turned into the police by the doorwoman of Aunt Judith's apartment on day one while Judith was at work. They did not know if Judith was entrapped as well but were not able to find her in the Velodrome. Jacob, twelve years old, Moses, eight, team up with a youngster about Jacob's age named Joseph, also looking for family members in the crowded Velodrome. They managed to find their way into the basement area, and eventually, following the sound of water flowing in the sewer pipes, they were small enough to escape back under the streets of Paris and eventually to the apartment house of their Aunt. Finding no sign of Judith, the boys go with Joseph to his home. Joseph discovers that his family is interred at Drancy, and he chooses to join them there. First, they return to Judith's apartment, gathering necessities that will fit in their backpacks along with letters from their parents and their own passports. And find out from Margot, their downstairs neighbor, and friend, that their Aunt Judith had committed suicide, jumping from the roof of the apartment complex. Judith knew what happened to her father, taken to Dachau in 1937. She couldn't live knowing the German's had captured her nephews. On their own, Jacob and Moses accompany Joseph as close as they can safely get to the gates of the internment camp and watch as he is reunited with his parents behind the gates of Drancy before making their way to the Gare de Lyon train station, and slipping onto the train without being stopped. In Versailles, they will be met by Margot's friend Raoul Leduc, an art restorer who is allowed to travel freely, who will help them get to their parent's last letter's address. Their next reunion destination will be a tiny town, Place de la Liberte, Valence, France, south of Lyon in unoccupied France. Or so they hope.