Review of “Until the Stars Align” by Carolyn Summer Quinn

Score: 94/100 (9.4 out of 10)

Until the Stars Align is a heartfelt and riveting WWII-era novel that follows multiple European-Jewish girls who are taken in by host/foster families in England in an attempt to protect them from the war and the persecution of Nazi Germany.

This was done as part of the “Kindertransport” rescue operation, which was actually a new thing we got to learn about in this book! Kindertransport was a rescue operation that took place during the months leading up to the outbreak of World War II. It involved the evacuation of nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Nazi-controlled territories, including Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland, to safety in the United Kingdom. This effort was prompted by the increasing persecution of Jews following events such as Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass," which took place in November 1938 and saw the destruction of Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues.

The Kindertransport was organized by British and Jewish aid organizations in response to the escalating danger faced by Jewish children under Nazi rule. The British government agreed to waive immigration restrictions for these children, allowing them to enter the UK without the usual paperwork, provided they had a guarantee of financial support and accommodation. The children were placed with foster families, in hostels, schools, or on farms, and were often the only members of their families to survive the Holocaust.

We actually get terrifying descriptions of the “Night of Broken Glass” and similar atrocities committed by Hitler, the Nazis, and their supporters. We're told that thousands of businesses, some with years and decades of history, were destroyed for no other reason than hate and ignorance.

What's more? Our characters/protagonists are directly affected by these events, giving us a real perspective of the true human cost. And that's not even mentioning the Holocaust.

In the midst of this chaos and a fearful socio-political climate, we're introduced to three Jewish girls:

Rosi Beyersdorf- A young Jewish girl from Berlin who, along with her sister and cousin, is sent to England via the Kindertransport during World War II. She is resilient and protective, particularly of her younger sister, Anni.

Anni Beyersdorf- Rosi's younger sister, who also escapes to England. She is initially frightened and dependent on her sister but grows more confident over time.

Emilie Keppler- Rosi and Anni's cousin, who accompanies them on the Kindertransport. She is high-spirited and brave, adjusting to her new life in England.

Although these three girls command a lot of the attention of the novel, the narrative also gives us the perspectives of others in the Beyersdorf family who are affected by the war and Nazism. The two that immediately come to mind are Charlotte/Aunt Charlotte, who stays behind, refusing to flee the country as she desperately tries to get her husband, Gustav Keppler, released from a Nazi concentration camp, the infamous Dachau. While her unwavering commitment and loyalty to her husband are admirable and commendable, readers (who can view these events from a distance and in hindsight) realize that her hopes are mostly in vain. If anything, that just adds to the tension, frustration, and tragedy of it all.

Then there's Lieselotte Beyersdorf (often called “Mutti”--similar to “Mommy”), the mother of Rosi and Annie as well as an aunt of Emilie. She also discovers that she's pregnant smack-dab in the middle of the war, at the worst possible time.

Due to the ironic and unfortunate conditions of the Kindertransport, only children are allowed to take advantage of it, meaning that they're forced to leave their parents behind. This includes Lieselotte and her husband, Alec, whose lives are constantly in danger. They constantly explore options for escape including via Hamburg and through procuring passports to either Brazil or Bolivia, which we are told are some of the very few countries who were open to immigrants due to the immigrants being viewed as cheap, readily-available labor there.

Lieselotte gives us the best quote/passage in the entire novel, one that reverberates throughout it and gives the book its name. Before Rosi boards the train, her mother tells her:

“We’ll see you again, my darling girl. Whenever the stars align, and the world turns right-side up again.”

And, boy, is that full of ironies! Chief of which is that the world seems like it has turned upside down and there's no recovering from this. However, as we know from history, the Allies did win. Adolf Hitler did die. Europe was liberated. Germany did recover.

But what about the families? What about this family?

Who will survive? Who will die? And how will they heal?

There's so much we could say in praise of this book. Where do we start?

Well, first, there's the continuation/loss of innocence and the loss of/restoration of hope seen primarily in the stories of the three girls. Rosi, in particular, is constantly optimistic. She has both a childlike innocence yet the staunch courage you'd expect from a much older person. Rosi is cared for by the Chester family, Sally and Bertie. She eventually becomes a Pearlie, a member of a East End London entertainment group.

Anni, the younger sister, is cared for by a separate family, the Wentworths (Pamela and Paul). Of these people, Pamela stands out as the most interesting. Pamela doesn't necessarily become a part of the rescue/fostering program purely out of the goodness of her heart. She's actually quite snobbish, proud, and arrogant, seeing fostering a kid as being good for appearances and her reputation. She doesn't do it necessarily to help the Jews. In fact, she chooses Anni because of her light hair and the fact that she doesn't look Jewish, so will “fit in” easier. However, Pamela gradually softens and actually undergoes an arc because of Anni's childlike charm.

Emilie is cared for by the Rowlands (John and Marjorie). The one theme that keeps popping up when it comes to Emilie is her desire and motivation to be accepted as mature, grown up, and “whole.” She is constantly babied and talked down to in the beginning. Part of that is simply that she doesn't understand English. For that reason, she is moved to the “class of nine-year-old babies” rather than being in an eleven-year-old class with the other eleven-year-olds. This substantially affects her sense of self.

It also needs to be noted that, despite the family's best efforts to remove the girls from danger, the war inevitably comes to the UK. The Germans launch a blitz of constant air-raids for “fiftyseven consecutive nights.” This is crucial part of the girls' experiences, as well as those of the foster parents, as their lives are constantly in danger. Familiar buildings are destroyed and people die. Air raid shelters are in constant use. Sirens blare. There is a constant threat and fear in the air (figuratively and literally).

They dream of the day when there will be “no more bombs, rockets, doodlebugs, air raids, or any of that rot.”

As tense as all of this are, there are effective moments of brief reprieve and relief. There are moments when the characters sit down to write to each other, though many of their correspondences never arrive to their destination. There are times when the characters can appreciate the water and the nature. There are times when the Germans are unsuccessful and when the Allies are successful.


Adding to the irony is when characters who are still trapped in Germany hear about “our bombs” or “our attacks” as if they're on the side of the enemy (or those persecuting them).

Along with the characters, we long for the day of “No more blackout curtains. No more bombs.”

And a singular hope hangs in the air:
​Will this family ever be together again?

Check it out on Amazon!