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The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff 

A fresh, new and exciting tale of espionage,  The Lost Girls of Paris (Park Row Books) by Pam Jenoff is engaging historical fiction that follows three women all at different stages in their lives but brought together in crazy twists of fate.

For Grace, World War II is over (it’s 1946) but the repercussions are all around her. A recent widow, she is trying to find herself in NYC and by chance finds a forgotten suitcase with old photos. In a moment of weakness, she takes the photos, only to guiltily attempt to return them later in the day, when the suitcase has disappeared.

Now, attached to the photographs that she has no claim to, she struggles to discover who owned them, who the women featured in the photos are and why they were so important to save. Throughout the novel, Grace understands herself more and more while finding friendship, acceptance and her own path. She moves out from under her parent’s wing, to her husband’s to independence and the photos help her reach a fully actualized self.

In 1943, Eleanor is a deeply unique character whose citizenship status in Britain has plagued her, along with sexism in the government job she holds. Nevertheless, she has been able to rise in the ranks to running and maintaining an entire unit of female spies who will be dropped into occupied France. But when one of her girls’ radio operations shows signs of compromise, no one listens to her warnings to the detriment of her girls. But she refuses to give up on finding out what happened to her spies, even when she is fired and told to let it go.

Marie, one of Eleanor’s radio operator recruits, is dropped into France after weeks of training. A single mother with a young girl back in Britain, she has a lot to lose but takes on various dangerous pursuits in order to help the Allied forces. But her radio is compromised, and she has no idea.

Her location was betrayed, but by who? Marie experiences loyal friendship, intense love, and recovery from a broken childhood. She also learns how to fight for herself with the confidence her father never afforded her in his abusive home. The lone survivor of Elenor’s female spies, she continues to grow and prosper years after escaping a concentration camp.

Who betrayed the girls’ locations? Who owned the photographs that fell into Grace’s hands? How do they all come together? A wonderfully feminist historical tale of one of the major unknown aspects of World War II, The Lost Girls of Paris is a story of sabotage, betrayal, sexism, love and so much more.

The Lost Girls of Paris is available for purchase.


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Check out what Jennifer Blankfein thought of this book on her blog, Book Nation by Jen

 

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff 
Genre: Book Club Network, Fiction, Historical
Author: Pam Jenoff 
Publisher: Park Row Books
ISBN: 9780778330270
Meagan Foy

Meagan Foy calls Newtown, CT her home. She is a James Madison University graduate with a degree in English, so you can always find her with a book. She also enjoys sitting on the beach and drinking coffee. She is the Senior Life Editor at The Tempest. You can learn more about her at meaganfoy.com.

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