March 19, 2019 
Reviewed by: G. Connor Salter, Professional Writing student at Taylor University, Upland, IN
Introduction
Title: When the Heart Sings (Music of Hope Series #2)
Author: Liz Tolsma
Publisher: Gilead Publishing
Publication Date: 2018
Format: Print book
Length: 319 pages
OVERVIEW
The year is 1943, and Polish couple Teador and Natia have just had their third stillborn child. To make matters worse, the Nazis are forcing anyone who hasn’t sworn allegiance to Germany to leave for labor camps. Shortly after they arrive at their camp, Natia gets taken in by Elfriede Fromm, the wife of the camp’s commanding officer. This keeps her safe from the forced labor but vulnerable to new kinds of attacks that may hurt Teador. And when Natia finds an orphaned Jewish boy in an alley, things can only get more complicated.
As whole, this book is neither amazing nor terrible. It’s a solid story that Tolsma uses to examine fascinating questions about where God is in the presence of infertility and stillbirths. By choosing to dig into the pain the characters feel as they examine these issues, Tolsma shows how difficult those questions are. Like many Christian fiction books, the story wraps up a little too neatly at the end, which means the answers to these questions end up being less compelling than they could have been. Still, readers of this genre will find the book compelling and enjoyable.
ASSESSMENT
Rating (1 to 5)
3 stars
Suggested Audience
Fans of World War II fiction.
Christian Impact
The characters’ struggles lead to many discussions about faith, divine providence, hope and healing.
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[…] There are moments where the book feels creaky. Barr occasionally adds fictional characters who feel like stock historical romance characters—the villainous German prison officer who has a caddish interest in the woman, etc. Bonhoeffer historians may raise an eyebrow at the fact Barr praises Eric Metaxas’ Bonhoeffer biography in her acknowledgments. Scholars have criticized Metaxas for his research and for presenting an Americanized Bonhoeffer where he seems to be a proto-evangelical. Given that this book was nominated for a Christy Award in 2020 (the Christy Awards primarily recognize fiction books released by evangelical publishers like Baker Books), it’s hard to escape the sense this novel fits broadly into the same camp as Metaxas’ book. It’s an American take on a 1930s German theologian, and that means it will emphasize his heroism over his flaws. Still, it does a good job of showing Bonhoeffer wrestled with what to do in these dark times. The book may not have the nuance and density of Erik Larson’s book about 1930s Berlin (In the Garden of Beasts). However, Barr does make it clear that, as Larson wrote, “these were complicated people moving through a complicated time…” Barr also does a far better job of avoiding WWII fiction stereotypes than many Christian WWII novels (for example, the cliché-laiden When the Heart Sings). […]