October 3, 2019
The Medallion by Cathy Gohlke
“When all seems lost, God can make a way forward.”
Genre/Categories/Setting: Historical Fiction, WW11, Jewish, Christian, Warsaw
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
My Summary:
1939 Warsaw is the setting for this harrowing, heartfelt, and inspirational WW11 tale of survival, courage, loss, hope, risk, and faith. Sophie works in the city library, and her husband, Janek, is deployed with the Polish Air Force. When the Germans invade Warsaw in 1939 and streets become a dangerous war zone, Sophie feels compelled to help friends and strangers. Rosa and Itzhak are pregnant with their first child when they seek shelter in the Jewish ghetto. When Itzhak leaves her to check on the safety of his family, Rosa faces the horrific possibility of sending their small child into hiding to save her life, but first Rosa cuts a medallion (the Jewish Tree of Life) in half and places half around her young daughter’s neck. She prays that this will be enough to reunite them after the war.
We follow the lives of these two memorable couples whose worlds are torn apart and, in post-war years, connected by a shared love for a young daughter.
Amazon Rating: 4.8 Stars
My Thoughts:
Characters: The Medallion is an engaging, heartfelt, and well-told story with memorable characters. I was right there with them in their prayers, their fear, and their every loss. Through them, I felt the uncertainty and pain, the anger and the sadness. Some of the characters represent the real Catholic social workers who worked to develop a network to rescue children during the war.
Themes: Courage, sacrifice, hope, determination, risk, and survival are prevalent themes in WW11 historical fiction. In addition, two of the outstanding themes in this story are the risks taken to care for children during the worst of war and how faith (Jewish and Christian) is a practical and important part of their every day lives. We see again and again in the story how they prayed and God made a way. Forgiveness and reconciliation show up in the end.
Plot and Pace: The Medallion is a page-turner and filled with suspenseful moments. The sacrifice of one woman who gives up her child to save her life and the story of another woman who risks everything to take care of the child are powerfully conveyed. I felt the circumstances that brought the characters together at the story’s end were a bit too coincidental and contrived, but the emotional storyline helped me overlook that. The end of the story has similar vibes to The Light Between Oceans but has a more hopeful, heartwarming, and satisfactory ending.
Author’s Note: Don’t miss the author’s note where she explains which historical facts are the foundation for this story.
Recommended: I highly recommend The Medallion for WW11 histfic fans, for readers who appreciate a compelling story told from a spiritual point of view, for those who love inspirational characters, and for book clubs. In light of the driving forces of hate and evil during WW11, it’s important to remember the inspirational stories, hope, and love.
Content warnings: the expected WW11 atrocities and grief, families separated
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
Meet the Author, Cathy Gohlke
Cathy Gohlke is the three-time Christy Award-winning author of the critically acclaimed novels The Medallion, Until We Find Home, Secrets She Kept (winner of the 2016 Carol and INSPY Awards), Saving Amelie (winner of the 2015 INSPY Award), Band of Sisters, Promise Me This (listed by Library Journal as one of the best books of 2012), William Henry Is a Fine Name, and I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires (listed by Library Journal as one of the best books of 2008), which also won the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Award.
Cathy writes novels steeped with inspirational lessons from history. Her stories reveal how people break the chains that bind them and triumph over adversity through faith.
When not traveling to historic sites for research, she, her husband, and their dog, Reilly, divide their time between Northern Virginia and the Jersey Shore, enjoying time with their grown children and grandchildren. Visit her website at http://www.cathygohlke.com and on Facebook at CathyGohlkeBooks
QOTD!
Will you add The Medallion to your TBR or have you already read it?
Happy Reading Book Buddies!
“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke
“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes
“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text
Looking Ahead:
Next week, I’ll have a review of
The Women of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell
Let’s Get Social!
Thank you for visiting and reading today! I’d be honored and thrilled if you choose to enjoy and follow along (see subscribe or follow option), promote, and/or share my blog. Every share helps us grow.
Find me at:
Twitter
Instagram
Goodreads
Pinterest
***Blogs posts may contain affiliate links. This means that at no extra cost to you, I can earn a small percentage of your purchase price.
Unless explicitly stated that they are free, all books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library.
Book Cover and author photo are credited to Amazon or an author’s (or publisher’s) website.
I’m so glad you got to read this one!
Finally! It’s a memorable read! Thanks for the rec! 👍
You give it 4+ stars and that’s enough to convince me to add it to my tbr!! 😍😍 AND I AM SUCH A SUCKER FOR WAR NOVELS THESE DAYSS!! 😍😍❤️❤️❤️ AMAZING REVIEW, Carol! I am so glad you liked this one! And the cover is soo cute too…❤️
I hope you enjoy it! 👍
[…] 6. The Medallion by Cathy Gohlke […]
[…] Full Review Here […]
[…] Related: The theme of giving up your child in hopes of saving his/her life is also a theme found in this poignant WW11 book, The Medallion by Cathy Gohlke. […]
[…] Full Review Here […]
[…] Clayton that shares the story of a real-life hero rescuing children from the grip of the Nazis, and The Medallion by Cathy Gohlke that recounts one mother’s sacrifice to secure the safety of her young child from the […]
[…] The Medallion by Cathy Gohlke […]
[…] In 2020, I decided to systematically revisit my older review posts and update them. On Thursdays, I’ll be re-sharing a few of these great reads. Today, I’m re-sharing a compelling and page-turning story of WW11, The Medallion by Cathy Gohlke. […]
I’m not a huge WW2 reader but might have to try this one!
It’s memorable!
[…] Recommended: When I noticed that Cathy Gohlke was the author, having loved The Medallion, I knew I wanted to read A Hundred Crickets Singing. Although it’s a follow up to Night Bird […]
[…] Historical FictionAuthor of The Medallion and A Hundred Crickets Singing.(Pub Date: 7/11/2023 ….. but I’ll be reading it in […]
[…] first book I read by Cathy Gohlke was The Medallian. I soon followed that up with A Hundred Crickets Singing, and I knew then that I would read her […]