The German Girl is a historical fiction novel written by Armando Lucas Correa. Correa is a Cuban author and journalist, and this novel was first published on October, 2016.
In terms of narrative, The German Girl takes place in two distinct yet parallel times: World War II and in 2014. The story is written in the points of views of two girls: Hannah and Anna. Hannah is a Jewish girl who used to live in Berlin in very good condition with a wonderful life and a best friend called Leo. As the war enters, Hannah and Leo have to escape with their families in a ship to the United States. Hannah's mother is widowed, so Hannah never gets the chance to fully know her father. Hannah and her mother obtain - through hardship - visas to enter the United States. The ship was their dream, with all the fun and entertainment they can imagine, only to be shocked with a denied entry to the U.S, Canada, and other countries.
On the other side, Anna, an American girl whose mother is affected by September 11 attacks, because her husband was one of the victims whose bodies were never found. Anna discovers that her history is more than she thought when she receives a letter from Hannah, where they meet and Anna gets to know the history of the war, her father, and her grandparents.
The novel earned many reviews from several sites. It earned a 4 out of a 5-star rating on Goodreads. The Goodreads synopsis describes it as "a stunningly ambitious and beautiful debut novel". The Millions website writes in its book review: "Correa writes to remind us of the deadly consequences of closed borders, neglected refugees, and maligned and forgotten immigrants". Finally, Historical Novel Society writes: " Hannah and Anna are strong protagonists. Both are forced to grow up too quickly, to become the parent to their mothers".
