A Mother’s Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region by Alina Adams

This book is about a topic and place that I had no idea even existed, before reading this book. This book partially takes place in Birobidzhan, a region between Russia and China, promised to the Jews of Russia as the first Jewish State.

The story begins with Lena, a young woman stuck in a marriage that she thought was ok, until it wasn’t. Hr father is dying, and cryptically says something on his death bed that makes no sense to Lena at the time — until she finds research and documentation her father was working on while alive. This knowledge makes Lena question everything she knew about her mother and even herself.

Most of the rest of the story follows Regina (Lena’s mother) as she flees Moscow for Birobidzhan alone, then as she made her way west with the start of World War II. A good part of the book takes place in the promised Jewish a state, and I was able to learn so much about it then.

This book was an education in history that I had no idea existed. The backdrop of Birobidzhan made the characters more relatable and seemed more real. I loved the strong female characters, both of whom didn’t always realize just how strong they really were. The lessons of strength, love and loyalty run throughout this book, and definitely made me love the heart of this book even more.

Overall , I didn’t see many flaws in this book, and it was super engaging, keeping me hooked for the entire book. Overall, this book was a four or five starts for me. I would recommend this book for lovers of historical fiction, that may want a different perspective of a World War II story. There are so many stories of Europe out there during this time frame, but this is just different enough that it really catches and holds your interest.