This is the true story of nine incredible women who escaped together from Nazi Germany after time spent in prisoner camps and a final death march as the Allies approached. The story being told is amazing, and I feel so privileged to have read it and learned what the nine women and their descendants shared about their experiences as prisoners and their escape. Each woman was an amazing person who worked with the resistance during the war.
My favorite parts of the book were those that documented the history and used the women's own words. The book was well researched drawing from interviews and a variety of documents. However, much of the weaving in of how and when interviews were done felt distracting from the potential power of this book. The author's great aunt was one of the nine women, and the author regularly spoke about herself and her process of research. Additionally, although the books was largely chronological, most chapters had one of the nine women's name attached, but that didn't consistently match to the contents of the chapter. I would have preferred a more consistent chronology over the organizational pattern chosen.
The underlying story of these nine women deserves a large audience and powerful retelling. I learned more about the death marches than I had from previous nonfiction I have read. I also found the discussion of the hierarchies amongst the prisoners quite insightful.
Thank you to the publisher and BookishFirst for this advanced copy to read. All opinions are my own.
My favorite parts of the book were those that documented the history and used the women's own words. The book was well researched drawing from interviews and a variety of documents. However, much of the weaving in of how and when interviews were done felt distracting from the potential power of this book. The author's great aunt was one of the nine women, and the author regularly spoke about herself and her process of research. Additionally, although the books was largely chronological, most chapters had one of the nine women's name attached, but that didn't consistently match to the contents of the chapter. I would have preferred a more consistent chronology over the organizational pattern chosen.
The underlying story of these nine women deserves a large audience and powerful retelling. I learned more about the death marches than I had from previous nonfiction I have read. I also found the discussion of the hierarchies amongst the prisoners quite insightful.
Thank you to the publisher and BookishFirst for this advanced copy to read. All opinions are my own.