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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
I’m not sure where to even start with Prisoner of Night and Fog. This is definitely going to be one of those reviews that can’t even come close to doing justice to how amazing the book is. Anne Blankman’s debut novel has me eager to check out anything else she ever plans to write.
First off, this is the most unique historical fiction novel I’ve ever read. Never once did I think about how Hitler’s followers thought of him. Gretchen, the main character, is a family friend of Hitler and she never once thought he was planning to exterminate the Jews. She believed him when he said he wanted them out of Germany but that he was just going to relocate them. One of the points made throughout the book is that Hitler was a gifted public speaker and people wanted to believe in him. They wanted a strong leader and they saw that in him through the persona he showed when public speaking. Nobody saw the bad side of Hitler until it was too late. Throughout Prisoner of Night and Fog, readers get to see both the bad and the good sides of Hitler and it really changes the way you think of him as well as the people that followed him so blindly. Not all of them were evil people, they were just strung along like Gretchen.
Gretchen was a strong girl but she had poor odds of coming out alive. Her father was supposedly a martyr who sacrificed his life for Hitlers. Her mom was incapable of doing anything to protect one child that might hurt another. Her brother was a psychopath who cared nothing at all for Gretchen and really wanted her out of the picture. Like I said, not good odds. Then she meets Daniel Cohen, a Jewish reporter who tells her that there was more to her father’s death than she’d been told. And her odds for surviving only got worse from there. People didn’t get to dig into Hitler’s past and get away with it. Especially not while living under the roof of a psychopath who believed everything Hitler said. Gretchen was beyond brave and sometimes I think her bravery actually crossed the line into stupidity but she was willing to do anything to discover the truth. Her father was a good man who loved her dearly and he deserved to be remembered not just as the martyr who saved Hitler’s life but as the man he was.
Gretchen and Daniel’s relationship was surprisingly realistic. You have to remember that Gretchen was raised believing Jews were not only bad but really a whole different race of people, not even quite human according to Hitler. At first she wanted nothing to do with Daniel and it took her quite some time to even be willing to deal with him. After that it still took a lot for her to see him as a person and not only a person, but a good guy. From there things grew between them and it was a really sweet relationship. It was easy to see why they would be brought together and why they would be attracted to each other. Like I said, Gretchen was brave, smart, and ambitious. Daniel was also supremely brave as well as smart and he and Gretchen had a lot of common goals.
The pacing is a little slow but you have to expect that with a historical fiction novel with such a heavy subject matter. And when I say slow I do not mean boring. The story was never boring. There is just a lot of information to digest and so it does take some time to get through Prisoner of Night and Fog. That’s not a bad thing at all though because this is a book that you will want to savor. The writing, the content, the characters, every last piece comes together to make for one fascinating story that will captivate readers from beginning to end.
Overall, Prisoner of Night and Fog is one of the best historical fiction novels I’ve ever read, right up there with Code Name Verity. I can’t recommend this book enough! Get a copy as soon as possible!
First off, this is the most unique historical fiction novel I’ve ever read. Never once did I think about how Hitler’s followers thought of him. Gretchen, the main character, is a family friend of Hitler and she never once thought he was planning to exterminate the Jews. She believed him when he said he wanted them out of Germany but that he was just going to relocate them. One of the points made throughout the book is that Hitler was a gifted public speaker and people wanted to believe in him. They wanted a strong leader and they saw that in him through the persona he showed when public speaking. Nobody saw the bad side of Hitler until it was too late. Throughout Prisoner of Night and Fog, readers get to see both the bad and the good sides of Hitler and it really changes the way you think of him as well as the people that followed him so blindly. Not all of them were evil people, they were just strung along like Gretchen.
Gretchen was a strong girl but she had poor odds of coming out alive. Her father was supposedly a martyr who sacrificed his life for Hitlers. Her mom was incapable of doing anything to protect one child that might hurt another. Her brother was a psychopath who cared nothing at all for Gretchen and really wanted her out of the picture. Like I said, not good odds. Then she meets Daniel Cohen, a Jewish reporter who tells her that there was more to her father’s death than she’d been told. And her odds for surviving only got worse from there. People didn’t get to dig into Hitler’s past and get away with it. Especially not while living under the roof of a psychopath who believed everything Hitler said. Gretchen was beyond brave and sometimes I think her bravery actually crossed the line into stupidity but she was willing to do anything to discover the truth. Her father was a good man who loved her dearly and he deserved to be remembered not just as the martyr who saved Hitler’s life but as the man he was.
Gretchen and Daniel’s relationship was surprisingly realistic. You have to remember that Gretchen was raised believing Jews were not only bad but really a whole different race of people, not even quite human according to Hitler. At first she wanted nothing to do with Daniel and it took her quite some time to even be willing to deal with him. After that it still took a lot for her to see him as a person and not only a person, but a good guy. From there things grew between them and it was a really sweet relationship. It was easy to see why they would be brought together and why they would be attracted to each other. Like I said, Gretchen was brave, smart, and ambitious. Daniel was also supremely brave as well as smart and he and Gretchen had a lot of common goals.
The pacing is a little slow but you have to expect that with a historical fiction novel with such a heavy subject matter. And when I say slow I do not mean boring. The story was never boring. There is just a lot of information to digest and so it does take some time to get through Prisoner of Night and Fog. That’s not a bad thing at all though because this is a book that you will want to savor. The writing, the content, the characters, every last piece comes together to make for one fascinating story that will captivate readers from beginning to end.
Overall, Prisoner of Night and Fog is one of the best historical fiction novels I’ve ever read, right up there with Code Name Verity. I can’t recommend this book enough! Get a copy as soon as possible!
It has good pace for a YA historical fiction novel. Unlike a lot of books about this era, it is set just prior to WWII and it’s from the perspective of a teen girl who is part of Hitler’s inner circle. Im sure a ton of research was done for this story but the main character’s quick flip from believing everything she’s ever been taught to being sympathetic to the Jewish plight rings a little thin. A must read for lovers of the genre.
Eight years after Klaus Müller sacrificed himself, as a human shield to protect Hitler, all his daughter, Gretchen, knows is the teachings of the National Socialist Party thanks to her Uncle “Dolf”. While he grows power and influence in Munich, Gretchen is his “pet” and one of the poster children for the Aryan race he advocates above all others. If it were not for other circumstances she might have been able to live that life forever. But everything changes when a young Jewish reporter, named Daniel, brings to her attention that it is likely her father was murdered by his own party rather than as a voluntary human sacrifice like all of Germany believes.
After the possibility of a murder has been placed within her mind, Gretchen is unable to push it aside. She launches into preliminary investigations of her own, which in turn allow her to see more than she ever had before. Gretchen begins to think with her own mind rather than function as she had been taught to for so long. The mystery of who killed her father and why engrosses her and Daniel, while taking them closer and closer to the truth and the dangers about the man the Germans call the Führer.
Besides the mystery aspect there was another part of this book I really enjoyed: the psychoanalytical look at Hitler and Gretchen’s older brother, Reinhard. Both men are very similar, and the knowledge Gretchen cultivates about the two of them was incredibly interesting, to say the least. This analytical look was by no means deep and it was based on the author and some other’s opinion of Hitler, yet it created a very clear picture of the characteristics of psychopaths and could do a great deal to persuade readers to do further research on the subject to determine if Hitler truly fits into that category. At first, I was disappointed this book was the first in a series (because lets face it -- it seems as if every YA book has to be part of a series these days) but this book surprised me with how well it placed me within the climate of Germany before Hitler goes on to become Chancellor. I look forward to seeing where the story can go.
After the possibility of a murder has been placed within her mind, Gretchen is unable to push it aside. She launches into preliminary investigations of her own, which in turn allow her to see more than she ever had before. Gretchen begins to think with her own mind rather than function as she had been taught to for so long. The mystery of who killed her father and why engrosses her and Daniel, while taking them closer and closer to the truth and the dangers about the man the Germans call the Führer.
Besides the mystery aspect there was another part of this book I really enjoyed: the psychoanalytical look at Hitler and Gretchen’s older brother, Reinhard. Both men are very similar, and the knowledge Gretchen cultivates about the two of them was incredibly interesting, to say the least. This analytical look was by no means deep and it was based on the author and some other’s opinion of Hitler, yet it created a very clear picture of the characteristics of psychopaths and could do a great deal to persuade readers to do further research on the subject to determine if Hitler truly fits into that category. At first, I was disappointed this book was the first in a series (because lets face it -- it seems as if every YA book has to be part of a series these days) but this book surprised me with how well it placed me within the climate of Germany before Hitler goes on to become Chancellor. I look forward to seeing where the story can go.
As a huge WWII Historical Fiction fan, I truly enjoyed this book. I love how it focuses on the years before Hilter came to power, which is an area I feel is underexplored in the historical fiction genre. It gives such a unique perspective of the tumultuous times in Germany, from the eyes of a young girl who is Hitler's "pet". In all my WWII readings, I've never come across a book that takes this angle, and it was refreshing. There is a sense of foreboding in this novel, and the reader can sense the building turmoil as the world unknowingly races towards WWII. I loved how the author dissects the facts vs. the fiction at the end. It really gives you an understanding of what was historically accurate in the novel, and what characters were her creation. I am looking forward to reading #2 of this series! As an aside, I feel that if you are not fascinated with pre-WWII Germany, along with Hilter and his psyche, you may not be as jazzed about this book as I am.
I feel like rubbish for giving this story less than 4 stars when it's the type of material that I usually can't get enough of. I have read so many things that have to do with this time period in Germany and yet I found myself wanting to put this book down in favor of doing anything else. Maybe I just couldn't connect with Gretchen? And we all know that if I can't connect then my attention span quickly depletes. Maybe I'm in a book slump? Who knows, I just want you all to know that I strongly suggest you give the book a shot in case it is just a weird fluke that I didn't enjoy it like I hoped to.
“You and I are impossible,” she said.
“No.” Gently, he brushed the hair back from her face. “We are what’s real and true."
I don't know why I take so long to read historical books. They are never like "history" books in school. They are always fascinating and I enjoy the book almost as much as the small history lesson at the end from the author.
And this one is no exception. Amazing. Brilliantly plotted and fast paced. It's amazing what I learned and also how much I loved Gretchen and Daniel. How much I feared Hitler and Reinhard. How much I respected every doctor in here. How much I cringed at every dainty lady.
This is not a light read, but it is fascinating and completely un-put-downable!
“No.” Gently, he brushed the hair back from her face. “We are what’s real and true."
I don't know why I take so long to read historical books. They are never like "history" books in school. They are always fascinating and I enjoy the book almost as much as the small history lesson at the end from the author.
And this one is no exception. Amazing. Brilliantly plotted and fast paced. It's amazing what I learned and also how much I loved Gretchen and Daniel. How much I feared Hitler and Reinhard. How much I respected every doctor in here. How much I cringed at every dainty lady.
This is not a light read, but it is fascinating and completely un-put-downable!
2.75
Just wasn't feeling this one. It didn't live up to the synopsis. Not sure I will complete the series.
Just wasn't feeling this one. It didn't live up to the synopsis. Not sure I will complete the series.
3.5 stars
This is the second historical fiction book recently that I struggled with (the first was Sekret), but my struggled with this one didn’t surprise me as much as my struggles with Sekret. Nazis have always been a topic that I struggle with, I find all of the different names and the intricacies of who did what and how the Nazis came to power confusing. Not to mention that the things they did are so completely atrocious that it’s both hard to read about and difficult to wrap my head around it.
With Prisoner of Night and Fog I didn’t necessarily struggle with the things I expected to struggle with. I definitely mixed up names and wished I was more familiar with German history, but I struggled more with the writing, pacing, and actual story at the beginning of the book. Gretchen is, as the description promises, one of Hitler’s pets, someone he uses as propaganda for the Nazi (the book refers to Nazi’s by the full name of National Socialist German Workers’ Party which is what they liked to be called, but I’m just going to call them Nazis) Party. The story takes place in the early 1930s when Hitler’s party has taken control of much of the government, but he has yet to be elected president. Gretchen’s family knows Hitler because he was good friends with Gretchen’s father. The two men met fighting in the Great War and remained friends after and Gretchen’s father was killed when he shielded Hitler from an assassin’s bullet.
Because of that Gretchen’s father is a hero to the Nazis and her family is under the protection of the Nazi leaders. They got her mother a job managing a boarding house and Gretchen’s brother is an SA soldier. At the beginning of the story Gretchen loves her Uncle Dolf and believes everything he says about building a better Germany and Jews being evil, lying people. One night when she’s out with her brother, his friend, and her best friend, Eva Braun, her brother and his friend attack a Hasidic man and Gretchen is horrified by their violence and, for the first time in her life, feels sorry for a Jew. Right after the attack a young Jewish reporter, Daniel Cohen, tells Gretchen that her father’s death might not be how it seems and while at first she doesn’t believe him she slowly begins to think he might be right.
Gretchen’s relationship with Daniel is by far the best part of this book. As they feed each other information about Gretchen’s father’s death Gretchen starts to realize that Jews aren’t the lying, rich, filthy people she’s always been told. She also starts to develop romantic feelings for Daniel. Even though I thought the romantic feelings came on rather quickly, I still very much enjoyed the romance. But more than the romance I enjoyed watching Gretchen have her mind changed about Jewish people. Anne Blankman handled it so organically, it happened over a period of time and Gretchen battled her feelings and waffled back and forth before finally realizing that Jews are people just like her. It was a great example of the most common way people overcome racism: by getting to know a real person from the group that they’ve unfairly judged.
As much as I loved the Gretchen/Daniel relationship I had two big issues with the book. First, and this is just a personal thing, how menacing Gretchen’s brother was. The boy is seriously insane and he literally tortures Gretchen. The tension it created was great for the story, but sometimes it went too far. Second, the pacing often seemed to be slightly off. There were times when something would happen very abruptly, like Gretchen changing her mind about what she wants to be when she grows up, but then other times when there would be a paragraph or two of description thrown in in an awkward place.
In the end I’ve asked myself I find this story to be believable and while I’m not 100% sure of my answer, I would say I’m 90% sure that yes, I do believe it. In the author’s note Anne Blankman calls out how she only created a small handful of the characters. Even knowing the little bit that I do about the Nazis and German history from this period I do believe that the men in this book are capable of the violence and deception that happens in this book.
I’ll also add that in the end this is also a pretty good mystery/thriller. There are many moments of tension and I enjoyed the story that Blankman built around Gretchen’s father’s murder and the way that she slowly revealed the mystery over the course of the book. Towards the end it’s very much a thriller and my heart was racing as I rapidly turned the pages to figure out what was going to happen to Gretchen and Daniel.
Bottom line: If I had to give the first 60-70% of this book a star rating I would give it three stars, but if I had to give the last 30-40% a rating it would be four stars, which is why I’ve gone with 3.5 stars. The book isn’t without its issues, especially with the pacing, but in the end my love of the Gretchen/Daniel storyline really sold me on the story, as well as the mystery aspect. There is another book coming out in this series and I’m very curious what it will be like. As I got closer and closer to the end of Prisoner of Night and Fog I found myself looking forward and thinking how excited I was for the sequel.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss (thank you!). All opinions are my own.
This review first appeared on my blog.
This is the second historical fiction book recently that I struggled with (the first was Sekret), but my struggled with this one didn’t surprise me as much as my struggles with Sekret. Nazis have always been a topic that I struggle with, I find all of the different names and the intricacies of who did what and how the Nazis came to power confusing. Not to mention that the things they did are so completely atrocious that it’s both hard to read about and difficult to wrap my head around it.
With Prisoner of Night and Fog I didn’t necessarily struggle with the things I expected to struggle with. I definitely mixed up names and wished I was more familiar with German history, but I struggled more with the writing, pacing, and actual story at the beginning of the book. Gretchen is, as the description promises, one of Hitler’s pets, someone he uses as propaganda for the Nazi (the book refers to Nazi’s by the full name of National Socialist German Workers’ Party which is what they liked to be called, but I’m just going to call them Nazis) Party. The story takes place in the early 1930s when Hitler’s party has taken control of much of the government, but he has yet to be elected president. Gretchen’s family knows Hitler because he was good friends with Gretchen’s father. The two men met fighting in the Great War and remained friends after and Gretchen’s father was killed when he shielded Hitler from an assassin’s bullet.
Because of that Gretchen’s father is a hero to the Nazis and her family is under the protection of the Nazi leaders. They got her mother a job managing a boarding house and Gretchen’s brother is an SA soldier. At the beginning of the story Gretchen loves her Uncle Dolf and believes everything he says about building a better Germany and Jews being evil, lying people. One night when she’s out with her brother, his friend, and her best friend, Eva Braun, her brother and his friend attack a Hasidic man and Gretchen is horrified by their violence and, for the first time in her life, feels sorry for a Jew. Right after the attack a young Jewish reporter, Daniel Cohen, tells Gretchen that her father’s death might not be how it seems and while at first she doesn’t believe him she slowly begins to think he might be right.
Gretchen’s relationship with Daniel is by far the best part of this book. As they feed each other information about Gretchen’s father’s death Gretchen starts to realize that Jews aren’t the lying, rich, filthy people she’s always been told. She also starts to develop romantic feelings for Daniel. Even though I thought the romantic feelings came on rather quickly, I still very much enjoyed the romance. But more than the romance I enjoyed watching Gretchen have her mind changed about Jewish people. Anne Blankman handled it so organically, it happened over a period of time and Gretchen battled her feelings and waffled back and forth before finally realizing that Jews are people just like her. It was a great example of the most common way people overcome racism: by getting to know a real person from the group that they’ve unfairly judged.
As much as I loved the Gretchen/Daniel relationship I had two big issues with the book. First, and this is just a personal thing, how menacing Gretchen’s brother was. The boy is seriously insane and he literally tortures Gretchen. The tension it created was great for the story, but sometimes it went too far. Second, the pacing often seemed to be slightly off. There were times when something would happen very abruptly, like Gretchen changing her mind about what she wants to be when she grows up, but then other times when there would be a paragraph or two of description thrown in in an awkward place.
In the end I’ve asked myself I find this story to be believable and while I’m not 100% sure of my answer, I would say I’m 90% sure that yes, I do believe it. In the author’s note Anne Blankman calls out how she only created a small handful of the characters. Even knowing the little bit that I do about the Nazis and German history from this period I do believe that the men in this book are capable of the violence and deception that happens in this book.
I’ll also add that in the end this is also a pretty good mystery/thriller. There are many moments of tension and I enjoyed the story that Blankman built around Gretchen’s father’s murder and the way that she slowly revealed the mystery over the course of the book. Towards the end it’s very much a thriller and my heart was racing as I rapidly turned the pages to figure out what was going to happen to Gretchen and Daniel.
Bottom line: If I had to give the first 60-70% of this book a star rating I would give it three stars, but if I had to give the last 30-40% a rating it would be four stars, which is why I’ve gone with 3.5 stars. The book isn’t without its issues, especially with the pacing, but in the end my love of the Gretchen/Daniel storyline really sold me on the story, as well as the mystery aspect. There is another book coming out in this series and I’m very curious what it will be like. As I got closer and closer to the end of Prisoner of Night and Fog I found myself looking forward and thinking how excited I was for the sequel.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss (thank you!). All opinions are my own.
This review first appeared on my blog.
I absolutely loved this book! There's so much excitement and suspense - I was always at the edge of my seat! I've read many books based in the Holocaust but it was always from the perspective of someone who was Jewish. Prisoner of Night and Fog was exceptionally interesting because the main character was close family friends with none other than Hitler himself and was a Nazi supporter! I liked seeing the progression of Gretchen because she questions everything she ever believed in and sacrifices her life to do what she believes is right. I can't wait to read the sequel!