The World That We Knew

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL On the brink of World War II,with the Nazis tightening their grip on Berlina mother’s act of courage and love offers her daughter a chance of survival. “[A] hymn to the power of resistanceperseveranceand enduring love in dark times…gravely beautiful…Hoffman the storyteller continues to dazzle.” —THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW At the time when the world changedHanni Kohn knows she must send her twelve-year-old daughter away to save her from the Nazi regime. Her desperation leads her to Ettiethe daughter of a rabbi whose years spent eavesdropping on her father enables her to create a mystical Jewish creaturea rare and unusual golemwho is sworn to protect Hanni’s daughterLea. Once Ava is brought to lifeshe and Lea and Ettie become eternally entwinedtheir paths fated to crosstheir fortunes linked. What does it mean to lose your mother? How much can one person sacrifice for love? In a world where evil can be found at every turnwe meet remarkable characters that take us on a stunning journey of loss and resistancethe fantastical and the mortalin a place where all roads lead past the Angel of Death and love is never-ending.