The Hiding Place is a 1971 book on the life of Corrie ten Boom, written by herself and John and Elizabeth Sherrill.

Give thanks in ALL circumstances,'" she quoted. "It doesn't say, 'in pleasant circumstances.' Fleas are part of this place where God has put us." And so we stood between piers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas." -pg. 181 Just one of many examples of how this book turns a story about World War II into a platform for evangelical tripe."

She risked everything for the sake of others

Most people have started 2018 with parties and fireworks. I've started it by finishing a five star book!

The book is as much a horror story as a mystery. There are some particularly gruesome scenes. There are ghosts. There are creepy, crawly things that sent shivers up my spine. The story kept me engaged and I kept wanting to read just one more chapter. The ending had a few nice twists, even if it was a tad contrived. Okay so the book starts off with the police discovering a corpse of a woman whose head is blown off and its chunks scattered all over the room (hey, I said spoiler free, didn't say it won't be gory) and her son dead/murdered in a really brutal way and the people think that the mama killed her son. A personal favorite trait is that Tudor is the queen of showing vs. telling - everything is implied rather than “told” - a true gift for a writer. And please pay attention, dear reader, because nothing here is a throw away comment or an oversight, every single detail is wrapped into the story one way or another.I thought this book was more darker and more supernatural than The Chalk Man. I loved this one a little bit more. In the beginning, I did not know what was going on and so many times I read the phrase, "It is happening again" which kept me intrigued. I just had so many questions and was happy that they were all answered in the end. I loved the twists, and I found it to be a fast paced book and hard to put down. I can't wait for my next C.J. Tudor book.

Cornelia “Corrie” ten Boom, born in 1892, grew up as part of a tight-knit, devoutly Christian family that held regular Bible study sessions and taught their children to live according to Christian principles. The family patriarch, Casper ten Boom, was a master watchmaker whose skill was recognized all over Holland and even other countries in Western Europe. His watch shop was on the ground floor of the family’s home, known as the Beje. This book can teach you so much … about history, about people, and most of all, about God. It’s really an incredible work - and the fact that it’s a true story makes it even more impressive. These acts of heroism and sacrifice became the foundation for Corrie ten Boom's global writing and speaking career which began after she was released. Father held the baby close, his white beard brushed its cheek, looking into the little face with eyes as blue and innocent as the baby's own. At last he looked up at the pastor. 'You say we could lose our lives for this child. I would consider that the greatest honor that could come to my family.'" According to the sources I read, this version has had some of the most disturbing details and scenes removed, some of the sentences shortened for easier reading, and some illustrations added. Since I never read the original, I can’t analyze the differences between the two versions. However, I can say that I loved the book, I enjoyed the illustrations, and I didn’t find the writing to be clumsy or particularly “dumbed down.” As far as the serious content goes, I found it very powerful and sobering, but not overly disturbing. A sensitive child might still find it disturbing, since it does describe the suffering at the concentration camps, etc. I think this book is appropriate for kids age 10-12, but with particularly sensitive kids, it might be better to wait until they are teenagers.

Customer reviews

The Hiding Place is clean: there is no swearing or blasphemy, there is no sexual content, there are some graphic scenes relating to the treatment of prisoners and the suffering in the concentration camp. These are relayed factually without embellishment or sensationalism.

Ten Boom returned to the Netherlands after the war and set up a rehabilitation center for concentration camp survivors. In the Christian spirit to which she was so devoted, she also took in those who had cooperated with the Germans during the occupation. In 1946, she began a worldwide ministry that took her to more than 60 countries. his [Brother Andrew's] fascinating stories about her in Vietnam, where she had earned that most honorable title "Double-old Grandmother" - and in a dozen other Communist countries - came to mind so often that we finally had to hold up her hands to stop his flow of reminiscence. "We could never fit her into the book," we said. "She sounds like a book in herself." It's the sort of thing you say, not meaning anything. The breakthrough comes when Corrie, following the example of her never wavering sister who even praises God for the fleas, realises that all is not in vain and life has a purpose again: The story starts with a recount of important moments throughout Corrie’s childhood and young adulthood. It gives a history of her family’s business which is a watch repair shop. It gives a good viewpoint of where Corrie’s thought processes, opinions, and beliefs come from. Parts of it didn’t seem important at the time, but I became convinced later that it was important - because it all turned Corrie into the woman she grew into, the woman who lived through what she did.Perhaps only when human effort had done its best and failed, would God's power alone be free to work." -pg. 116 The ten Boom family lived in the Beje house in Haarlem (short for Barteljorisstraat, the street where the house was located) in rooms above Casper’s watch shop. Family members were strict Calvinists in the Dutch Reformed Church. Faith inspired them to serve society, offering shelter, food, and money to those in need. In this tradition, the family held a deep respect for the Jewish community in Amsterdam, considering them “God’s ancient people.” Watchmaking Career Every time I read Corrie's story, I discover something new. This most recent time it was that God convicts people differently about different things (Nollie and Corrie's disagreement reminded me of 1 Cor 8).