Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Deeply intense and at times, terrifying. Highly recommended for those interested in WWII and enjoyed "Code Name Verity." File under: Rebels, Rabble-rousers & Whistle blowers!
I would have rated this higher, but it was a little too intense at moments for me. I do like historical fiction, and any story involving Hitler is not going to be very pleasant. The story was good, but parts were a little too tactical for me. If you liked Code Name Verity you should try this. The main characters come from different places and they are at different levels in their lives, but the story as a whole has some similarities.
Fantastic! This book is beautifully written, the characters are believable, and it sucked me into the history without screaming "LOOK HOW MUCH RESEARCH I DID!!!" The historical information pulled you into the story, rather than taking you out of it, which is very hard to do.
One of the complaints I've seen was that the characters were flat - I disagree. I found them to be quite believable, and yes, I cared very much what happened to Gretchen and her friends and family. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
One of the complaints I've seen was that the characters were flat - I disagree. I found them to be quite believable, and yes, I cared very much what happened to Gretchen and her friends and family. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
I tried again. After inadvertently returning the book because I thought I was done, I'd forgotten I was only about 20% done, I checked it out again. I read another 15% and I am bored. BORED. Shelving again.
It's fine. Maybe middling. I like that she's placed it in pre-wwII Germany, that's a twist (and I've done enough checking re accents and history to not nitpick her choices), her backstory (the historical dumps) do not offend me because it's a YA book and most teens are not intimately familiar with Hitler's rise to power and because neither are most adults. Also, there are some reviewers who take issue with what she is doing at her age, but the character (whose name is??) is 17. She should be somewhat naive.
However. I find her writing to lean heavily on formulaic plot developments and tropes. The mysterious stranger, the angry male lurking just behind. It's not much different than Harlequin historical romances I read as a teen. I'm surprised at the overwhelming huzzahs because it's just not very good. I'll finish it, but it could be twilight or divergent. Wish washy girl who seems strong, but really isn't written that way.
It's fine. Maybe middling. I like that she's placed it in pre-wwII Germany, that's a twist (and I've done enough checking re accents and history to not nitpick her choices), her backstory (the historical dumps) do not offend me because it's a YA book and most teens are not intimately familiar with Hitler's rise to power and because neither are most adults. Also, there are some reviewers who take issue with what she is doing at her age, but the character (whose name is??) is 17. She should be somewhat naive.
However. I find her writing to lean heavily on formulaic plot developments and tropes. The mysterious stranger, the angry male lurking just behind. It's not much different than Harlequin historical romances I read as a teen. I'm surprised at the overwhelming huzzahs because it's just not very good. I'll finish it, but it could be twilight or divergent. Wish washy girl who seems strong, but really isn't written that way.
Prisoner Of Night And Fog is a book I've wanted to read for a while, and I'm glad I finally read it! I really liked it.
One of the things that I loved about this book, and what I think sets it apart from a lot of 1930's/WW2 historical fiction, is that it's about a girl who's super close to Hitler. I feel like that's pretty unique, because it seems like so many books set during this time aren't from the perspective of a girl who see Hitler as an uncle-type person, and who grew up so close to the Nazi Party. I really liked seeing his rise to power through Gretchen's eyes, and how she saw him and what he stood for change so much over the course of the book. Especially as she learned what really happened the day her father died and how she couldn't turn to him for help after things went horribly wrong with her brother. I liked that her beliefs changed by the end of the book, and while it seemed like they changed awfully fast, it also made sense for this story.
I also liked how her life and Daniel's life intersected with history. It made the history seem so much more real because you felt for these characters and saw what things were like for them.
I didn't quite feel their romance- we know so much about Gretchen, and it her story we see in this book, but I also felt like I didn't really get to know Daniel enough to be fully invested. Still, I liked that he played a role in helping Gretchen challenge her beliefs about the world around her. I especially like it because it's set during a time when things were changing so fast in Germany, and things got to what we see in World War 2.
The fact that there's something very inner circle about this book...it makes it stand out to me, because I feel like it's not something we see. It's a very different perspective, and I really liked that. Which I think is obvious by now, because I feel like that's all I can talk about.
I'm actually glad that this is the first in a series, because I want to know what is in store for Gretchen and Daniel, with everything that happened.
I also loved the author's note and the end, and that Blackman even included a short bibliography. It's really great, because she directs to books where you can learn more. Plus, it felt like she really knew the historical details, and did a lot of research. It really showed throughout the book.
Let's Rate It: I really liked Prisoner Of Night And Fog, especially because I feel like we get a perspective we don't normally get with Nazi Germany. I didn't love the romance, but I'm hoping I warm up to it in the other books, because I feel like there's a lot of cute and potential in terms of the romance. Prisoner Of Night And Fog gets 4 stars.
One of the things that I loved about this book, and what I think sets it apart from a lot of 1930's/WW2 historical fiction, is that it's about a girl who's super close to Hitler. I feel like that's pretty unique, because it seems like so many books set during this time aren't from the perspective of a girl who see Hitler as an uncle-type person, and who grew up so close to the Nazi Party. I really liked seeing his rise to power through Gretchen's eyes, and how she saw him and what he stood for change so much over the course of the book. Especially as she learned what really happened the day her father died and how she couldn't turn to him for help after things went horribly wrong with her brother. I liked that her beliefs changed by the end of the book, and while it seemed like they changed awfully fast, it also made sense for this story.
I also liked how her life and Daniel's life intersected with history. It made the history seem so much more real because you felt for these characters and saw what things were like for them.
I didn't quite feel their romance- we know so much about Gretchen, and it her story we see in this book, but I also felt like I didn't really get to know Daniel enough to be fully invested. Still, I liked that he played a role in helping Gretchen challenge her beliefs about the world around her. I especially like it because it's set during a time when things were changing so fast in Germany, and things got to what we see in World War 2.
The fact that there's something very inner circle about this book...it makes it stand out to me, because I feel like it's not something we see. It's a very different perspective, and I really liked that. Which I think is obvious by now, because I feel like that's all I can talk about.
I'm actually glad that this is the first in a series, because I want to know what is in store for Gretchen and Daniel, with everything that happened.
I also loved the author's note and the end, and that Blackman even included a short bibliography. It's really great, because she directs to books where you can learn more. Plus, it felt like she really knew the historical details, and did a lot of research. It really showed throughout the book.
Let's Rate It: I really liked Prisoner Of Night And Fog, especially because I feel like we get a perspective we don't normally get with Nazi Germany. I didn't love the romance, but I'm hoping I warm up to it in the other books, because I feel like there's a lot of cute and potential in terms of the romance. Prisoner Of Night And Fog gets 4 stars.
The Prisoner of Night and Fog gives an informative and unique historical account of Adolfo Hitler and Nazi Germany after World War One. Through the eyes of Gretchen Meuller, we learn of her "uncle" Dolf and how this man can manipulate and enlighten the Germans of this time. When she meets Daniel, a Jewish reporter, in Munich, she discovers her heroic father who saved Adolfo Hitler may have been murdered. As the story unfolds, Gretchen begins to see the true colors of the National Socialists and this man who had been a close family friend for the last eight years. She learns of her brother and his menacing actions which brings her pain and loss.
The book earned a three star for me, because I did have difficulty grabbing onto the story in the beginning. However, as Gretchen grows closer to Daniel and changes her views on the National Socialists, the story becomes more intertwined and intriguing. I love how the author has interwoven fictional character with real people and events in history. Plus, there are more stories to come with more to learn of Hitler and Germany. I plan on recommending this story to my students as an alternative to books like the Book Thief and The Diary of Anne Frank. Each of these stories rounds the different points of view of the German people during this catastrophic time in history.
Thank you Edelweiss for the ARC.
The book earned a three star for me, because I did have difficulty grabbing onto the story in the beginning. However, as Gretchen grows closer to Daniel and changes her views on the National Socialists, the story becomes more intertwined and intriguing. I love how the author has interwoven fictional character with real people and events in history. Plus, there are more stories to come with more to learn of Hitler and Germany. I plan on recommending this story to my students as an alternative to books like the Book Thief and The Diary of Anne Frank. Each of these stories rounds the different points of view of the German people during this catastrophic time in history.
Thank you Edelweiss for the ARC.
dark
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Up front, I've always struggled with fiction that uses fact as the entire basis for a made-up story. I'm twitchy about the possibility (albeit possibly unintentionally) of reinventing history. PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG is therefore built on a particularly challenging premise - that the central character in this book, Gretchen Müller, is a protégé of Adolf Hilter.
Needless to say it came as no surprise to find that Müller's loyalty to her "Uncle", the party and all is undermined when she meets a fearless and "handsome" (couldn't he at least have been average looking...) Jewish reporter. To whom she is fiercely attracted despite her anti-Jewish conditioning.
So a rather hefty component of illicit love into the bargain. Which turned out to be one of the stronger elements of the entire book. The mystery component, what actually happened when Müller's father supposedly took the bullet to save the Fuhrer's life, seemed to struggle a bit for traction – or at least it did for this reader.
The PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG has a really strong sense of place, and of the time about it. Obviously there's a hefty component of foreboding and tension built into the society, and that's frequently well drawn out with the battles between members of the Nazi Party, the Communists and of course the Jewish population. There's also the tension between Müller and her ambition to study medicine and the expectations for young women of the time, particularly fatherless young women with a mother who runs a boarding house to keep the family alive.
For my own taste I have to admit I found much of the romance / attraction element was overly predictable, and overly forefront. The mystery elements were swamped, which left it feeling uninteresting / optional to the overall story. Having said that the character of Müller is reasonably strong although perhaps not best served here – she sometimes came across as a bit wet when she obviously wasn't supposed to be.
The elements where the origins of Hitler and the Nazi Party start to rise to prominence were interesting, although I've no way of assessing whether or not they were historically accurate (which is why I struggle a lot with this sort of fiction). It was also interesting that a lot of the build up around those figures seems to have provided exactly the breeding ground in which your average psychopathic lunatic with a chip on his shoulder flourishes. Hence the character of Müller's brother Reinhard.
Unfortunately other characters – interestingly particularly that of Daniel (he of the handsome love interest) are less fleshed out. Wraith like, that might have suited the way he seemed to waft into Müller's field of view, but it was frustrating for those of us trying to get an emotional connection with somebody in the story. And let's face it - the downtrodden Jewish character in a society which is rapidly losing it's collective mind and humanity should have been a character that you could side with.
Since reading PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG I've heard it's the start of a series – ? a trilogy. It could be that some of the missing elements in this book are straightened out and built on in the subsequent books.
Allowing for this reader's reluctance outlined earlier, I wasn't 100% convinced by PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG. It didn't deliver enough to sweep this reader into the story, burying the whispering doubt over historical accuracy under the weight of an enthralling puzzle.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-prisoner-night-and-fog-anne-blankman
Needless to say it came as no surprise to find that Müller's loyalty to her "Uncle", the party and all is undermined when she meets a fearless and "handsome" (couldn't he at least have been average looking...) Jewish reporter. To whom she is fiercely attracted despite her anti-Jewish conditioning.
So a rather hefty component of illicit love into the bargain. Which turned out to be one of the stronger elements of the entire book. The mystery component, what actually happened when Müller's father supposedly took the bullet to save the Fuhrer's life, seemed to struggle a bit for traction – or at least it did for this reader.
The PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG has a really strong sense of place, and of the time about it. Obviously there's a hefty component of foreboding and tension built into the society, and that's frequently well drawn out with the battles between members of the Nazi Party, the Communists and of course the Jewish population. There's also the tension between Müller and her ambition to study medicine and the expectations for young women of the time, particularly fatherless young women with a mother who runs a boarding house to keep the family alive.
For my own taste I have to admit I found much of the romance / attraction element was overly predictable, and overly forefront. The mystery elements were swamped, which left it feeling uninteresting / optional to the overall story. Having said that the character of Müller is reasonably strong although perhaps not best served here – she sometimes came across as a bit wet when she obviously wasn't supposed to be.
The elements where the origins of Hitler and the Nazi Party start to rise to prominence were interesting, although I've no way of assessing whether or not they were historically accurate (which is why I struggle a lot with this sort of fiction). It was also interesting that a lot of the build up around those figures seems to have provided exactly the breeding ground in which your average psychopathic lunatic with a chip on his shoulder flourishes. Hence the character of Müller's brother Reinhard.
Unfortunately other characters – interestingly particularly that of Daniel (he of the handsome love interest) are less fleshed out. Wraith like, that might have suited the way he seemed to waft into Müller's field of view, but it was frustrating for those of us trying to get an emotional connection with somebody in the story. And let's face it - the downtrodden Jewish character in a society which is rapidly losing it's collective mind and humanity should have been a character that you could side with.
Since reading PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG I've heard it's the start of a series – ? a trilogy. It could be that some of the missing elements in this book are straightened out and built on in the subsequent books.
Allowing for this reader's reluctance outlined earlier, I wasn't 100% convinced by PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG. It didn't deliver enough to sweep this reader into the story, burying the whispering doubt over historical accuracy under the weight of an enthralling puzzle.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-prisoner-night-and-fog-anne-blankman