It’s been a long time since I have read a book that has not only greatly impacted me, but also has multi-generational appeal.  I know my mom will love it – the themes of love, learning to appreciate and understand your parents and children, long-lasting friendship, dealing with loss, making mistakes, and finding redemption – all will resonate with a mature audience.  At the same time, the coming-of-age themes…finding yourself as a young person, navigating what your parents want for you compared to what you want for yourself, coming to terms with mistakes and bad decisions you’ve made, and becoming a better person for those experiences will strike a chord with young adults as well.  Finding a book that is enjoyable, thought-provoking, emotionally satisfying, and of interest to myself, my children, and my parents is truly a unique treasure.

​

Marilyn T. 

I enjoyed this book. I see a lot of parallels today with the struggles of various immigrant communities. I also identified with the historical time frame as my parents’ lives were greatly touched by WWII. My husband and I lived in Germany in the early ’70s and visited Dachau—the experiences in Dachau in the book really brought me back, and were very powerful. I like how all the characters developed. I would recommend Benesh. It was an easy read and I was drawn in and fascinated to see where Benesh evolved in life. This would even be a great story for Netflix or Prime. Kudos to the author!

​

Michol B.

I really enjoyed this book—truly! It is easy to read, engaging, and the story flows well. I appreciated the character development of Benesh. Since I can't take my “shrink” hat off, the subtle way his apparent PTSD was woven into the story without it becoming the whole story was very well done. I visited Dachau in 2017—a very profound experience. Reading the parts of the book that took place there, or Benesh’s memories or the stories others told him brought back the feeling of being in that space. I think for readers who haven’t been there, the storytelling is captivating in a way that I believe they will better understand what it was like. I’m a sucker for a good self-redemption story and this book contains a lot of that! I love the themes of community, helping others, being true to yourself, and celebrating who you are. There is joy and beauty amongst the horror, light in the darkness, owning mistakes, and forgiving wrongdoings. I also think that the theme of Benesh not wanting to become his parents, fighting against his culture and religion, wanting to blend instead of standing out is pertinent to this story, but also to modern day. So, in short—I think it has broad appeal and would recommend it to others.

​

Christine S.