Review of 'The Stolen Children of War' by Jina Bacarr
Review of 'The Stolen Children of War' by Jina Bacarr
Release date: November 10, 2025
Pubisher: Boldwood Books
REVIEW
‘...Le Cirque Casini, a place of fantasy and magic filled with heart...'
Jina Bacarr’s newest WW2 novel certainly is a show stopper! Powerful, emotional and at times fast paced! Set in 1943 in Paris when the Nazis occupy the city, danger lurks on every corner and behind the big tents of the circus. The performers continue to display their death defying acts inspiring and amusing viewers, despite having Nazis in the audience and those on the inside spying for them. So there is no safe place and trusting even your fellow circus members could be fatal. There is always a niggling question: who have become the eyes and ears of Hitler?
The novel opens with a dramatic scene in the Prologue that is a cut from a movie made about Lia, a famous trapeze artist, fighting a Gestapo man. In Chapter One we meet Lia, the main character. and she is expressing how 'appalled' she is that 'the director put that scene in the film'. She feels it is over the top as only Hollywood can do and she wants to set the record straight about how she became involved in the Resistance.
So we get to hear her story... from her own lips. And I adored Lia for her circus act skills, boundless courage and fierce determination. She has known heartbreak of the worst kind and as a result it caused her to run away from her own circus family. After a major loss, she ends up in other circuses and becomes known as Queen of the Air. Which means it is difficult for her to hide her identity. Her face is recognised by many.
When a Jewish woman comes to Lia and asks for help to protect her children, Lia accepts the task out of love from her own loss. Her heart is tender, kind and giving. And even though she knows it will put her and her circus mates in the firing line, she decides to take on the task. When a special contact attempts to move the children to a safer location, disaster strikes before he can fulfill his mission. His sacrifice leaves Lia in an awkward position. She must find a way to protect these children whose lives now depend on her. As new secrets add to the pile of her past ones, the strain on her emotions increase. Yet, she soldiers on with her mission.
Then the Nazis turn their gaze toward Lia, tipped off by an informant in the camp. She questions: who is her enemy? This turn of events forces her once again to run for cover. Away from the life she has built for eighteen years. After her departure with the children, she meets up with an unlikely ally on the way to her destination. When a shocking event occurs, she must make a difficult decision to return to hide in the circus of her youth. Here, the present collides with the past and disturbing events and various people reappear in her life to either haunt or free her. There are lots of twists and turns with plenty of hair raising moments and action!
A couple other viewpoints are presented in this novel besides Lia's. But I will only mention one (due to preventing plot spoilers). A frightening character called The Magician. He is a plastic surgeon but also a serial killer. His chapters in the story made me very uncomfortable. Quite honestly, there were times I had great difficulty reading the brutal descriptions of his evil mind and actions. Lia in Chapter One in a statement tries to prepare us for the movie scenes about this monster. She did not witness his acts but become aware of ' his reign of terror during that spring of 1943 after the murder of Henriette de la Blanche.' It seems The Magician's presence in the novel may offer a comparison to the Nazis’ activities. Like them, his deceptive approaches are disturbing. We learn more about this evil plastic surgeon as time progresses and the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. And we understand why Lia says to those in the audience who will watch the movie, to '...please be aware what you're about to see is horrifying, not just the physical depravity this monster perpetrated on this girl. But the mental torture. Her story still makes my thinning hair curl.' This is why Jina’s chapters on this character are so chilling and difficult to read. And after re-reading the first chapter, I understand why they are there.
I must say Jina Bacarr has done an incredible job with sharing the circus life and the part circuses played in World War II. I was mesmerised by the descriptions of their performances and felt as if I was there inside each character’s skin. I could feel every emotion they had preparing for such risky routines. I did not realise Hitler was a lover of the circus but in learning this, it made me realise his reasons were in keeping with his personality. Apparently he loved acts that involved danger. In an article I read by Paula Lee, based on collected documents from the Office of Strategic Services, she says: ‘he took great pleasure in its non-bourgeois appeal, artistic milieu, and the knowledge that performers were risking their lives for his enjoyment.’ He and his second in command attended the circus frequently and would sit in the front row, possibly knowing his presence would make the performers uncomfortable. He would have known that ‘some of the trapeze artists were Jewish.’ His twisted mind took pleasure in the challenges they faced. This makes me think even more about The Magician’s part in this story and how he and Hitler were alike. Serial killers have strange desires and activities and love to taunt their prey.
The abrupt ending was startling and left me on a steep cliff, hanging on every word! It was quite jarring to say the least but it only made me more eager to read the rest of Lia’s story— which hopefully will come in the next instalment. Her heroism and courage shone in The Stolen Children of the War like a beacon (through past and present threads). The movie may have added hype, but the real facts she shared speak for themselves. In returning to a scene that caused her great pain, to save the children in her care, showed amazing bravery. And this led to an unexpected discovery which made my heart flip with joy! I look forward to the next instalment— the continuation of an intriguing story that is touched upon in Chapter One. I am sure there will be more moving scenes and insightful revelations, twists and turns and nail biting action that I have come to know and appreciate in the books of Jina Bacarr!
5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the review copy.
