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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
‘Prisoner of Night and Fog’ by Anne Blankman is set in the 1930s in Munich, just after World War I (then called The Great War) when Germany is in turmoil. Gretchen Müller is a young adult, and a proud member of the National Socialist Party along with the rest of her family. Times are hard, but she is confident that a close family friend will look after them. He’s always been important to them, since the war. Especially since her own father saved the man’s life, by jumping in front of bullets meant for him. Gretchen, his favourite girl – his sunshine – calls him Uncle Dolf. Others call him Adolf Hitler.
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I decided to read Prisoner of Night and fog hot on the heels of Salt to the Sea, oddly wanting more of the World War II historical fiction I'd gotten a taste of. This is really strange behavior for me considering I usually stick to fantasy and dystopia, but I was intrigued by this book about Adolf Hitler's "niece." Admittedly, I don't know a whole lot about this time period, but I do love stories about people who learn the horrible truth about those they love. Luckily, I was not disappointed!
Gretchen is a young girl whose family has become very, very close to Adolf Hitler following her father's death. She has always been treated as his beloved niece, shielded from the horrors of the Germany that is slowly unraveling around her amidst Hitler's rise to power. Gretchen only sees the best parts of her Uncle Dolf and has been fed sugar-coated versions of his plans regarding the "relocation" of the Jews. Despite Gretchen's naivety, I loved her character. Once the truth begins to reveal itself, Gretchen goes after it instead of hiding behind her wall of ignorance as so many would do in her place. Gretchen is strong in face of adversity, even going against her own family in pursuit of the truth and I thought she was amazing for it!
This is YA historical fiction so there is obviously romance, but I found myself totally invested in it even though I didn't fully understand it at times. Daniel is a Jewish reporter who is looking into the death of Gretchen's father and ignites her passion for learning the truth. I didn't really get exactly why Daniel was interested in Gretchen's father's death, but I was honestly willing to overlook it because the bigger story was fantastic. Although Gretchen hates Daniel at first (what other choice does she have based on her upbringing, really?), she comes to understand that he is just a person like her - the first chink in her armor. I loved the relationship between Gretchen and Daniel and the mutual respect that they held for each other.
The villains in Prisoner of Night and Fog were despicable. Not only was Hitler the obvious bad guy here, but Gretchen's brother was also pretty terrifying. It was strange to see Hitler from the eyes of someone who loved him, but it was extremely interesting to watch his character devolve as Gretchen learned more and more about the man underneath the facade. I truly felt for her as her world crumbled.
Speaking of Gretchen's world, the world building in this book was fantastic! I've said before that I really don't have much knowledge about this period in history (my historical interests are thousands of years earlier), but Anne Blankman did an incredible job of placing me right in the middle of 1930s Germany. I also enjoyed how the setting seemed to get darker and bleaker as Gretchen discovered more about Uncle Dolf. This is something that I've often seen done in films, but I feel like it is much more difficult to achieve on paper.
The story itself - Gretchen discovering the truth about Hitler and her father's death, while realizing that the Jews were not villains - was interesting, if slow at times. It took awhile for the plot to really pick up, but throughout the second half of the book I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what Gretchen would find out next and whether she and Daniel would be safe in the end. There was a lot of information and a lot of names thrown at me at times and there were terms I was unfamiliar with. I feel like a glossary may have helped this book a bit for the uncultured Americans like myself.
Overall I really enjoyed Prisoner of Night and Fog! Sure, it had flaws. I felt like the way Gretchen and Daniel came together was a bit unbelievable, I was confused by some terminology, and it had a bit of a slow start. The good far outweighs the bad here though! Seeing Hitler's early years unfold from the viewpoint of someone who is essentially family was fascinating and the forbidden romance was fantastic! I definitely recommend this to those interested in WWII historical fiction and fans of Salt to the Sea!
I decided to read Prisoner of Night and fog hot on the heels of Salt to the Sea, oddly wanting more of the World War II historical fiction I'd gotten a taste of. This is really strange behavior for me considering I usually stick to fantasy and dystopia, but I was intrigued by this book about Adolf Hitler's "niece." Admittedly, I don't know a whole lot about this time period, but I do love stories about people who learn the horrible truth about those they love. Luckily, I was not disappointed!
Gretchen is a young girl whose family has become very, very close to Adolf Hitler following her father's death. She has always been treated as his beloved niece, shielded from the horrors of the Germany that is slowly unraveling around her amidst Hitler's rise to power. Gretchen only sees the best parts of her Uncle Dolf and has been fed sugar-coated versions of his plans regarding the "relocation" of the Jews. Despite Gretchen's naivety, I loved her character. Once the truth begins to reveal itself, Gretchen goes after it instead of hiding behind her wall of ignorance as so many would do in her place. Gretchen is strong in face of adversity, even going against her own family in pursuit of the truth and I thought she was amazing for it!
This is YA historical fiction so there is obviously romance, but I found myself totally invested in it even though I didn't fully understand it at times. Daniel is a Jewish reporter who is looking into the death of Gretchen's father and ignites her passion for learning the truth. I didn't really get exactly why Daniel was interested in Gretchen's father's death, but I was honestly willing to overlook it because the bigger story was fantastic. Although Gretchen hates Daniel at first (what other choice does she have based on her upbringing, really?), she comes to understand that he is just a person like her - the first chink in her armor. I loved the relationship between Gretchen and Daniel and the mutual respect that they held for each other.
The villains in Prisoner of Night and Fog were despicable. Not only was Hitler the obvious bad guy here, but Gretchen's brother was also pretty terrifying. It was strange to see Hitler from the eyes of someone who loved him, but it was extremely interesting to watch his character devolve as Gretchen learned more and more about the man underneath the facade. I truly felt for her as her world crumbled.
Speaking of Gretchen's world, the world building in this book was fantastic! I've said before that I really don't have much knowledge about this period in history (my historical interests are thousands of years earlier), but Anne Blankman did an incredible job of placing me right in the middle of 1930s Germany. I also enjoyed how the setting seemed to get darker and bleaker as Gretchen discovered more about Uncle Dolf. This is something that I've often seen done in films, but I feel like it is much more difficult to achieve on paper.
The story itself - Gretchen discovering the truth about Hitler and her father's death, while realizing that the Jews were not villains - was interesting, if slow at times. It took awhile for the plot to really pick up, but throughout the second half of the book I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what Gretchen would find out next and whether she and Daniel would be safe in the end. There was a lot of information and a lot of names thrown at me at times and there were terms I was unfamiliar with. I feel like a glossary may have helped this book a bit for the uncultured Americans like myself.
Overall I really enjoyed Prisoner of Night and Fog! Sure, it had flaws. I felt like the way Gretchen and Daniel came together was a bit unbelievable, I was confused by some terminology, and it had a bit of a slow start. The good far outweighs the bad here though! Seeing Hitler's early years unfold from the viewpoint of someone who is essentially family was fascinating and the forbidden romance was fantastic! I definitely recommend this to those interested in WWII historical fiction and fans of Salt to the Sea!
I enjoyed this! It's an interesting take on that era and, while it definitely does read like YA, I didn't get too bogged down with some of the typical YA tropes that tend to pop up. I thought the characters were well written, the drama was good but not too over-the-top, and I always enjoy reading that part of history. I was hovering around a 3.5 until the last 100 pages or so, which bumped it up to a 4. I'm looking forward to reading the conclusion!
There's a reason I have not read many books related to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust even though I'm intensely interested in the subject; I simply don't have a stomach strong enough to take it. I started reading the diary of Anne Frank when I was 12, and to this date I have not been able to finish it. The general information I know about the Holocaust somehow weaves into very disturbing imaginations for me and sets a deep dark weight in my heart.
I'm no expert in the details regarding the occurrences during Hitler's reign, and I have absolutely no grasp of the German language, so I was not able to judge this book by any of the discrepancies in facts. What I did judge this book on is the thoughts and feelings I had reading it. While there was quite a bit of factual information which I normally find myself skimming though in books, I found that this time, I did not find it tedious, perhaps because I am woefully ignorant about many of the facts. I felt as if this story could not have been written if those details about people or places had not been mentioned. Gretchen was a believable heroine, and I truly think that this was a great attempt to weave a fictional character such as her(along with others like Daniel) with events that did really happen.
It scares me to think about Hitler as a man of flesh and blood, and not just a black and white figure with thousands and thousands of people cheering him on as he convinced them about his ridiculous ideals. The whole concept of blue-eyed, blonde haired, pure-blooded Aryans seemed too far fetched to me while I read about it the first time in my History textbook. It was only later that I realised that it had been a shocking reality, an idea that had been adopted by almost an entire country, and had lead to the organised massacre of innocent people in terrifying manners. I don't know if I'll ever understand Hitler, and then I'll realise that don't ever want to. Hitler was more than just a few pictures and more than the person who caused horrific things happen to millions of people. He had a life, he had people surrounding him, he lived in houses surrounded by beautiful scenery, he went on holidays, he picnicked with those he considered close to him while at the same time plotting one of the most inhumane tragedies the world has ever seen.
This book made me see Hitler, as well as other real life characters from a closer proximity, one that did not involve him just giving speeches. My only knowledge of Eva Braun had been that she had been Hitler's mistress who committed suicide along with him before the end of the war. However, I see her now as a person with a history, as a person who might have had friends, as a person who was probably a young girl manipulated by Hitler with his compelling words and his clever lies.
Ultimately, this book did move me, and I'm eagerly waiting to pounce onto the sequel.
I'm no expert in the details regarding the occurrences during Hitler's reign, and I have absolutely no grasp of the German language, so I was not able to judge this book by any of the discrepancies in facts. What I did judge this book on is the thoughts and feelings I had reading it. While there was quite a bit of factual information which I normally find myself skimming though in books, I found that this time, I did not find it tedious, perhaps because I am woefully ignorant about many of the facts. I felt as if this story could not have been written if those details about people or places had not been mentioned. Gretchen was a believable heroine, and I truly think that this was a great attempt to weave a fictional character such as her(along with others like Daniel) with events that did really happen.
It scares me to think about Hitler as a man of flesh and blood, and not just a black and white figure with thousands and thousands of people cheering him on as he convinced them about his ridiculous ideals. The whole concept of blue-eyed, blonde haired, pure-blooded Aryans seemed too far fetched to me while I read about it the first time in my History textbook. It was only later that I realised that it had been a shocking reality, an idea that had been adopted by almost an entire country, and had lead to the organised massacre of innocent people in terrifying manners. I don't know if I'll ever understand Hitler, and then I'll realise that don't ever want to. Hitler was more than just a few pictures and more than the person who caused horrific things happen to millions of people. He had a life, he had people surrounding him, he lived in houses surrounded by beautiful scenery, he went on holidays, he picnicked with those he considered close to him while at the same time plotting one of the most inhumane tragedies the world has ever seen.
This book made me see Hitler, as well as other real life characters from a closer proximity, one that did not involve him just giving speeches. My only knowledge of Eva Braun had been that she had been Hitler's mistress who committed suicide along with him before the end of the war. However, I see her now as a person with a history, as a person who might have had friends, as a person who was probably a young girl manipulated by Hitler with his compelling words and his clever lies.
Ultimately, this book did move me, and I'm eagerly waiting to pounce onto the sequel.
3.5 stars.
SEQUEL PLEASE. I mean, I'm not freaking out over my need for the next one, but it would be awfully nice to have it right now.
So you know how some books practically write the review in your head as you're reading the book? Or some beg for a review so piteously that you indulge them? Unfortunately, as much as PoNaF was a good book, it did not engage itself in any of the aforementioned actions, so unfortunately this is all you get for now.
SEQUEL PLEASE. I mean, I'm not freaking out over my need for the next one, but it would be awfully nice to have it right now.
So you know how some books practically write the review in your head as you're reading the book? Or some beg for a review so piteously that you indulge them? Unfortunately, as much as PoNaF was a good book, it did not engage itself in any of the aforementioned actions, so unfortunately this is all you get for now.
Read this review, and others like it at my blog, Bookmarks and Coffee Mugs !
I saw this book advertised before it was released, and it sounded exciting and terrifying. I could not wait to read it; a teen girl who calls Hitler "Uncle Dolf", who knows all of the Nazi leaders by name, who starts to realized that maybe they're wrong... that just sounded so amazing.
However, maybe I shouldn't have gone into this book with expectations; whenever I do, my expectations and reality never match up, in good ways and bad. This time it was bad.
Let me start off by saying that this book is SO well researched. I have never read a YA book this full of historical fact. I have read YA books where the authors basically read a Wikipedia page, and then decided that was enough information to use to write a book. I did not have that problem with this book.
My problem with this book is that the author took a really old, everyday YA plot and tried to mesh it with facts about pre-WWII Germany. All of the Nazi leaders are introduced fairly quickly into the book, so to keep track of them I almost had to stop and think about each one. In fact, I'm still not really sure about some of them.
Also, the main character, Gretchen, really had very little personality. She seemed more like a reason for the author to introduce Hitler and cronies than an actual heroine. Things happened far too easily for her which were obviously meant to propel the story along, like Hitler giving her a job with one of his cronies, thus giving her access to both of their offices (and their secrets), helping her solve the murder of her father. Other characters in the book were stereotypes I see in YA literature all of the time; the wild, make-up crazy friend, the mean brother, the weak mother, the mysterious, alluring love interest, which are all motifs I've seen too many times.
Another problem I had with this book was the murder mystery. It really wasn't a mystery, was the problem. Once you find out that her father was murdered, not martyred, it's pretty obvious who the bad guy is (I'll give you a hint: who's the baddest bad guy in all of modern history? Mmm, yeah. Obvious). That was really disappointing. Could the author not have thought of an original plotline? And then, because Gretchen was so well set up by the author to have access to clues, all of the pieces of the murder fall into place long before Gretchen figures it out. How she even figures out who the murderer is is by her thought process - one paragraph of thinking about all of the clues, and then she knows who killed her father. Really?
My biggest source of irritation was how quickly Gretchen abandoned the convictions and teachings that her family and the father figures in her life had instilled her since she was a baby. To have your father seemingly die as a martyr for Hitler, and then to have Hitler be like an uncle to you for the rest of your life, would be so influential; their beliefs would become your beliefs, and it would have been INGRAINED into your very being. You would be completely brainwashed. In this book, however, it only took about two chapters for Gretchen to have Daniel, the Jew, challenge her beliefs and then for her to abandon them. That didn't seem realistic to me at all.
And Daniel himself seemed kind of like a jerk; he always had to make comments whenever she was helping him, and he would make her feel bad. Ugh.
So, all in all, I would recommend this book as a great way to learn about the history of Nazi Germany, but not as a great story on its own.
I saw this book advertised before it was released, and it sounded exciting and terrifying. I could not wait to read it; a teen girl who calls Hitler "Uncle Dolf", who knows all of the Nazi leaders by name, who starts to realized that maybe they're wrong... that just sounded so amazing.
However, maybe I shouldn't have gone into this book with expectations; whenever I do, my expectations and reality never match up, in good ways and bad. This time it was bad.
Let me start off by saying that this book is SO well researched. I have never read a YA book this full of historical fact. I have read YA books where the authors basically read a Wikipedia page, and then decided that was enough information to use to write a book. I did not have that problem with this book.
My problem with this book is that the author took a really old, everyday YA plot and tried to mesh it with facts about pre-WWII Germany. All of the Nazi leaders are introduced fairly quickly into the book, so to keep track of them I almost had to stop and think about each one. In fact, I'm still not really sure about some of them.
Also, the main character, Gretchen, really had very little personality. She seemed more like a reason for the author to introduce Hitler and cronies than an actual heroine. Things happened far too easily for her which were obviously meant to propel the story along, like Hitler giving her a job with one of his cronies, thus giving her access to both of their offices (and their secrets), helping her solve the murder of her father. Other characters in the book were stereotypes I see in YA literature all of the time; the wild, make-up crazy friend, the mean brother, the weak mother, the mysterious, alluring love interest, which are all motifs I've seen too many times.
Another problem I had with this book was the murder mystery. It really wasn't a mystery, was the problem. Once you find out that her father was murdered, not martyred, it's pretty obvious who the bad guy is (I'll give you a hint: who's the baddest bad guy in all of modern history? Mmm, yeah. Obvious). That was really disappointing. Could the author not have thought of an original plotline? And then, because Gretchen was so well set up by the author to have access to clues, all of the pieces of the murder fall into place long before Gretchen figures it out. How she even figures out who the murderer is is by her thought process - one paragraph of thinking about all of the clues, and then she knows who killed her father. Really?
My biggest source of irritation was how quickly Gretchen abandoned the convictions and teachings that her family and the father figures in her life had instilled her since she was a baby. To have your father seemingly die as a martyr for Hitler, and then to have Hitler be like an uncle to you for the rest of your life, would be so influential; their beliefs would become your beliefs, and it would have been INGRAINED into your very being. You would be completely brainwashed. In this book, however, it only took about two chapters for Gretchen to have Daniel, the Jew, challenge her beliefs and then for her to abandon them. That didn't seem realistic to me at all.
And Daniel himself seemed kind of like a jerk; he always had to make comments whenever she was helping him, and he would make her feel bad. Ugh.
So, all in all, I would recommend this book as a great way to learn about the history of Nazi Germany, but not as a great story on its own.
OMGOMG this book is amazing if u can get the the first bit that sounds kind of winie than u will most likely like this book at least
I really, really struggle to say anything about this book. On the one hand, I did read it very fast, not really able to stop but rather chained to it, but on the other hand, I shook my head so many times and could not quite believe what I was just reading.
I thought it to be a bit too easy in a way, not really explaining why people were tempted to believe in Hitler and his ideas, not really explaining why Gretchen followed him for so long just to drop every of her beliefs in such a short span of time.
What I thought the strangest certainly was how the author just used every of these historical persons to bring her point across. I am absolutely not used to read about a fictionalized Hitler, and I could not help feeling very weird about him just casually acting and talking with Gretchen. Especially one scene in which he gets closer to her made me just frown because in my opinion, you should not use a historical person as wellknown and despised as Hitler in such a way. I can´t really explain it, but it just felt wrong to me because we cannot know how Hitler really acted in private.
What is more, I adored Daniel, but I did not completely understand the romance and its sudden development. Everything just happened a little too fast for me, maybe.
I also did not really like the psychological aspect this book was also praised for- maybe it is just due to my particular interest in psychology, but I would have loved these insights to be much deeper and less superficial. I also felt as if the character of Reinhard, her brother, was a little flat even though this is explained through his psychological condition.
Regardless of these aspects, I certainly cannot say that I did not like the basic idea of the book, and I would also lie if I would say that I didn´t enjoy it and didn´t decide to pick up the second book. So regardless of all the aspects I just mentioned, I found the book quite thrilling at some points and I really enjoyed the general atmosphere of it. I would have just found it much better if the book was longer and much deeper.
I thought it to be a bit too easy in a way, not really explaining why people were tempted to believe in Hitler and his ideas, not really explaining why Gretchen followed him for so long just to drop every of her beliefs in such a short span of time.
What I thought the strangest certainly was how the author just used every of these historical persons to bring her point across. I am absolutely not used to read about a fictionalized Hitler, and I could not help feeling very weird about him just casually acting and talking with Gretchen. Especially one scene in which he gets closer to her made me just frown because in my opinion, you should not use a historical person as wellknown and despised as Hitler in such a way. I can´t really explain it, but it just felt wrong to me because we cannot know how Hitler really acted in private.
What is more, I adored Daniel, but I did not completely understand the romance and its sudden development. Everything just happened a little too fast for me, maybe.
I also did not really like the psychological aspect this book was also praised for- maybe it is just due to my particular interest in psychology, but I would have loved these insights to be much deeper and less superficial. I also felt as if the character of Reinhard, her brother, was a little flat even though this is explained through his psychological condition.
Regardless of these aspects, I certainly cannot say that I did not like the basic idea of the book, and I would also lie if I would say that I didn´t enjoy it and didn´t decide to pick up the second book. So regardless of all the aspects I just mentioned, I found the book quite thrilling at some points and I really enjoyed the general atmosphere of it. I would have just found it much better if the book was longer and much deeper.
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read this review on my blog.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The premise intrigued me from the moment I first read it and I was definitely not disappointed. A book about Hitler's close (almost) family and a mystery that's been swept under the carpet just sounded so fascinating to me.
This book follows Gretchen, who calls Adolf Hitler her uncle. He isn't actually her uncle, but her father gave his life for him and Hitler took Gretchen and family under his wing after that. Or at least that's how Gretchen always thought that her father died.
She is completely brainwashed and whole heartedly believes in everyting her 'uncle Dolf' says. But then a Jewish reporter comes up to her in the street and he is very insistent when he says that Gretchen's father didn't die a hero's death. He was murdered.
Gretchen of course doesn't believe him, but he makes her eyes slowly start to open to what is going on around her. Gretchen teams up with him to find out how exactly her father died, and in the process her whole life starts tumbling down around her.
You can immediately tell that Anne Blankman put a lot of research into this book. It is a story that is partly fiction and partly things and people that really happened and really existed. I thought that was great. She succeeded in creating a really haunting novel that still sticks really close to what actually happened.
The characters were also really well written. When I started reading I was afraid that Gretchen, who was raised as a national socialist, would throw everything she had ever been taught and had ever believed in away for a boy. But that didn't happen and I really appreciated that. Gretchen was a strong character that really followed her heart and wasn't afraid to confront the truth.
Anne Blankman also managed to paint a vivid picture of the fear of Gretchen's mom of her brother, who was completely insane, and of Hitler.
Gretchen's brother had some screws loose in his head, but everyone around him was too afraid to do anything about it, which was really scary. Every time Gretchen had to deal with him I was afraid for her.
The mystery part of the story was also really good. I had just one problem with it. The reason Gretchen finally believes the Jew, which I won't spoil here, was so stupid. I couldn't believe she hadn't realised that before and I just wanted to hit her. SO stupid and quite unbelievable. Luckily she started being a bit smarter after that.
All in all, I think this is a really great book for people who like historical fiction and are intrigued by the premise. I see some people on Goodreads that are really bothered by alleged historical inaccuracy, but I actually thought everything was very well researched. So if you're in doubt, I say you should give it a go and see for yourself.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The premise intrigued me from the moment I first read it and I was definitely not disappointed. A book about Hitler's close (almost) family and a mystery that's been swept under the carpet just sounded so fascinating to me.
This book follows Gretchen, who calls Adolf Hitler her uncle. He isn't actually her uncle, but her father gave his life for him and Hitler took Gretchen and family under his wing after that. Or at least that's how Gretchen always thought that her father died.
She is completely brainwashed and whole heartedly believes in everyting her 'uncle Dolf' says. But then a Jewish reporter comes up to her in the street and he is very insistent when he says that Gretchen's father didn't die a hero's death. He was murdered.
Gretchen of course doesn't believe him, but he makes her eyes slowly start to open to what is going on around her. Gretchen teams up with him to find out how exactly her father died, and in the process her whole life starts tumbling down around her.
You can immediately tell that Anne Blankman put a lot of research into this book. It is a story that is partly fiction and partly things and people that really happened and really existed. I thought that was great. She succeeded in creating a really haunting novel that still sticks really close to what actually happened.
The characters were also really well written. When I started reading I was afraid that Gretchen, who was raised as a national socialist, would throw everything she had ever been taught and had ever believed in away for a boy. But that didn't happen and I really appreciated that. Gretchen was a strong character that really followed her heart and wasn't afraid to confront the truth.
Anne Blankman also managed to paint a vivid picture of the fear of Gretchen's mom of her brother, who was completely insane, and of Hitler.
Gretchen's brother had some screws loose in his head, but everyone around him was too afraid to do anything about it, which was really scary. Every time Gretchen had to deal with him I was afraid for her.
The mystery part of the story was also really good. I had just one problem with it. The reason Gretchen finally believes the Jew, which I won't spoil here, was so stupid. I couldn't believe she hadn't realised that before and I just wanted to hit her. SO stupid and quite unbelievable. Luckily she started being a bit smarter after that.
All in all, I think this is a really great book for people who like historical fiction and are intrigued by the premise. I see some people on Goodreads that are really bothered by alleged historical inaccuracy, but I actually thought everything was very well researched. So if you're in doubt, I say you should give it a go and see for yourself.