The German Girl

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Before everything changed, young Hannah Rosenthal lived a charmed life. But in 1939, the streets of Berlin are filled with red, white, and black flags; her family's possessions are taken away, and they are no longer welcome in familiar places. Hannah and her best friend, Leo Martin, make a pact to face the future together. Hope arrives with the SS St. Louis, a transatlantic liner offering Jews safe passage out of Germany. After a frantic search for visas, the Rosenthals and Martins board the luxurious ship bound for Havana. Life on the St. Louis feels surreal, with masquerade balls and exquisite meals, but soon ominous rumors from Cuba shatter their fragile sense of safety. Impossible choices arise, unthinkable sacrifices are made, and the ship that was once their salvation threatens to become their doom. Seven decades later, in New York City, on her twelfth birthday, Anna Rosen receives a mysterious package from her great-aunt Hannah in Cuba. Its contents inspire Anna and her mother to travel to Havana to uncover their family's tragic past, helping Anna understand her place and purpose in the world. The narrative sweeps from pre-war Berlin to revolutionary Cuba and post-September 11 New York, culminating in a deeply moving conclusion in present-day Havana.