Cilka's Journey is a book by Heather Morris and a sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz which was the first book I reviewed on my blog and my favorite one as well. That's why I was so excited when I found out a sequel was coming out. This book is a historical fiction inspired by the real story of Cecilia Kovachova. Cilka (as the book refers to her) is a friend of Gita's and Lale's and her story is as sad or maybe even sadder than theirs. Her story in this book starts after she is released from the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp after going through awful stuff talked about in The Tattooist of Auschwitz and when she's liberated she's charged as being a collaborator for sleeping with the enemy by the Russians and sent to a Siberian prison camp. In this new camp she has to face new challenges and horribly familiar challenges she thought she would never experience again. We get to see this new Cilka form. In this book, she has to turn into a strong, resilient woman and leave behind the scared little girl she was when she was first sent to the concentration camp at the age of 16. It's a sad story to read because you get to feel and understand more what people had to go through internally and externally and how this traumatic experience changed their entire lives. It also teaches a lot of resilience and never losing hope no matter the circumstances. It is truly an inspiring story and definitely worth a read. I would give this book a 9.5/10 just because it could be monotonous at times.
"It is this fire, then, that keeps her going. But it is also a curse. It makes her stand out, be singled out. She must contain it, control it, direct it. To survive."
"I was sixteen! I did not choose any of it, any of this. I simply stayed alive."
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