"The Warsaw Sisters" by Amanda Barratt

 

When twin sisters Antonina and Helena said goodbye to their father as he left to fight the oncoming Nazi army, they had no idea how their lives were about to change. Under German occupation, they see Jewish friends removed to the ghetto and their own lives dictated by the war. Where they work, what hours they can be on the streets, even where they themselves live as bombing changes the face of the city.

That was only the beginning.

This book spans the entirety of the German occupation of Warsaw, from 1939 until 1945. Along the way, Antonina and Helena both join the resistance in their own ways, one by helping smuggle Jewish children out of the city and the other by becoming a courier for the underground Polish army as they plan an uprising against their captors.

I had expected this book would be intense and grueling, and the last 30% definitely was. You could tell the author had done much research to bring to life the horrifying stages of Warsaw's occupation. Some passages were absolutely heartbreaking.

I was disappointed that this story was not the sisters facing the war together, but rather how the war took them apart. The double first person narrative is not my favorite, and it sometimes felt like we went too long without checking in on the other sister. Part of that was the actual war timeline, with such a long span of time covered in one novel.

Overall, I would recommend this book for those who enjoy historical novels with much detail given to real life history, but do be aware that the tragedies of war are very realistically spelled out on the page.

I received my copy of the book from the publisher. All thoughts in this review are my own.