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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
I couldn't get into this book which is unusual for me with WWII stories. Sorry
**I received an advanced reader copy in exchange for my review, my opinions are my own**
I will say the synopsis and the cover had me drawn in. I was unfortunately let down. The characters in the story were not as fleshed out as I felt that they should have been for a story that has this huge backdrop, they felt more like pawns on a chessboard than characters brought to life. The exception, and the reason I kept reading, was the main male character Isaac, I believe he saved this book, at least in my case.
I will say the synopsis and the cover had me drawn in. I was unfortunately let down. The characters in the story were not as fleshed out as I felt that they should have been for a story that has this huge backdrop, they felt more like pawns on a chessboard than characters brought to life. The exception, and the reason I kept reading, was the main male character Isaac, I believe he saved this book, at least in my case.
In the midst of WWII, Sofia struggles to remain true to her virtues. Her father, a Protestant doctor working for the SS, does everything in his power to keep his Jewish wife and daughter safe. His religion and status help his family stay alive but Sofia can no longer stand and watch her fellow Jews be murdered. She knows she must do something. When she meets Isaac, a young man forced to work at a concentration camp hear her home, she realizes this could be her chance. She must risk everything for what is right.
Author Shari J Ryan had me on a deep and powerful emotional rollercoaster with this heart-tugging novel. We follow Sofia's inner battle between obeying her father's wishes to stay safe and longing to help those in need. She knows putting her thoughts into action could mean the end of her life, as well as her loved ones, too. Siblings Isaac and Olivia try to stay together while fighting for their very lives. Their struggles between giving up and staying hopeful are difficult to read, knowing abuse like this was very real at the hands of the Nazis. One critique I had was the pacing was not as smooth as it could have been. The large jumps in time could have been filled in with more detail and story as this is a fairly quick read. Overall, though, the suspense throughout and touching ending combined made for a great historical fiction book that would make a fantastic movie!
Author Shari J Ryan had me on a deep and powerful emotional rollercoaster with this heart-tugging novel. We follow Sofia's inner battle between obeying her father's wishes to stay safe and longing to help those in need. She knows putting her thoughts into action could mean the end of her life, as well as her loved ones, too. Siblings Isaac and Olivia try to stay together while fighting for their very lives. Their struggles between giving up and staying hopeful are difficult to read, knowing abuse like this was very real at the hands of the Nazis. One critique I had was the pacing was not as smooth as it could have been. The large jumps in time could have been filled in with more detail and story as this is a fairly quick read. Overall, though, the suspense throughout and touching ending combined made for a great historical fiction book that would make a fantastic movie!
As a librarian and former history teacher, I tend to gravitate towards historical fiction and really enjoyed "The Doctor's Daughter". The book was very well written and offered perspectives that aren't what we typically read in a WW2 novel - the Jewish child of a father who works for the Nazis and a child who begins their journey in the Warsaw ghetto. I enjoyed how the narrators stories began separately than became more intertwined throughout the story, and will be recommending it to my friends.
This was a hard one for me to rate.. I really value when I feel connected and immersed in the characters’ experience, and I didn’t feel that with this story. I would’ve loved the story from Sofia’s view or Isaac’s view- not both. The back-and-forth caused the story to feel rushed and less intimate. I also felt like the way the characters talked were too formal and very robotic. Like, that’s not really how I’d feel two people would talk to each other. It’s a quick read though!
Just finished this book and loved it. I read The Bookseller of Dachau by the same author and loved that one as well. A smidge more so even. I was very invested in both books, laughing, heartbroken, sobbing. She’s a great writer!
Another amazing book by Shari J. Ryan. I had very high hopes reading this as The Bookseller of Dachau had to be one of my favourite books of last year and as soon as I found out about this one I had to try to get an advanced copy so I could read it as soon as possible.
The Doctor's Daughter predominately follows the lives of Sofia, the half-Jewish daughter of a German doctor, and Issac, a Jewish boy who is the same age as Sofia without all the privileges that come from being born into a privileged marriage.
I loved how Shari decided to explore yet another topic that isn't talked about much in History (let alone historical fiction) and that is that there were, to begin with, "privileged" marriages in the Nazi regime between Jews and non-Jews (from before the Nazis came into power) that meant that some Jews were safe for a while longer than other. It is a topic that I did know a little about but didn't think about the lives these Jews would have had to live being on that balance line between surviving and getting murdered.
The two sides of the story show how although the non-privileged Jews were treated horribly they knew where they stood in society but the privileged Jews didn't know if, or more likely when, the Nazi regime would turn on them in order to achieve their goal of eradicating the Jews. There is almost the same level of desperation in the stories of Sofia and Issac but for two completely different reasons.
Overall, this was another excellent book by Shari J. Ryan and I would recommend everyone reading it when it comes out on April 28th.
The Doctor's Daughter predominately follows the lives of Sofia, the half-Jewish daughter of a German doctor, and Issac, a Jewish boy who is the same age as Sofia without all the privileges that come from being born into a privileged marriage.
I loved how Shari decided to explore yet another topic that isn't talked about much in History (let alone historical fiction) and that is that there were, to begin with, "privileged" marriages in the Nazi regime between Jews and non-Jews (from before the Nazis came into power) that meant that some Jews were safe for a while longer than other. It is a topic that I did know a little about but didn't think about the lives these Jews would have had to live being on that balance line between surviving and getting murdered.
The two sides of the story show how although the non-privileged Jews were treated horribly they knew where they stood in society but the privileged Jews didn't know if, or more likely when, the Nazi regime would turn on them in order to achieve their goal of eradicating the Jews. There is almost the same level of desperation in the stories of Sofia and Issac but for two completely different reasons.
Overall, this was another excellent book by Shari J. Ryan and I would recommend everyone reading it when it comes out on April 28th.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Very good.
A very powerful read, one that continued leaving me wanting more. I always love a little romance, but I’m sometimes put off when they’re written into stories like The Doctor’s Daughter, but this romance made sense. As readers, we see a different side to the prisoners work as we follow Isaac to his work detail and learn more about the mixed marriage privilege following Sofia’s family. We also get a look into Kanada and the horrors that’s occur there following Olivia. A very good book that o recommend to anyone that likes reading about WWII.
I'm afraid this book fell a bit flat for me, but I also acknowledge that I may be a bit jaded with WWII fiction at this point and perhaps I should take a break from it.
I loved Isaac, and what he endured with his family in the Warsaw Ghetto was heartbreaking and really well-written. I didn't feel that Sofia was written as strongly as Isaac though, and her emotional reactions to the events that unfolded and her ongoing conflict with her father just didn't feel convincing. The plot stalled somewhat after Isaac left Warsaw and the tension became a bit underwhelming. I continued to find Sofia's arc to fall flat, including her chemistry with Isaac.
My overall impression is that the author really cared about this subject and did indeed have an interesting story to tell, but it just felt underdeveloped in a lot of ways and therefore it doesn't stand out in the crowd of WWII stories. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
I loved Isaac, and what he endured with his family in the Warsaw Ghetto was heartbreaking and really well-written. I didn't feel that Sofia was written as strongly as Isaac though, and her emotional reactions to the events that unfolded and her ongoing conflict with her father just didn't feel convincing. The plot stalled somewhat after Isaac left Warsaw and the tension became a bit underwhelming. I continued to find Sofia's arc to fall flat, including her chemistry with Isaac.
My overall impression is that the author really cared about this subject and did indeed have an interesting story to tell, but it just felt underdeveloped in a lot of ways and therefore it doesn't stand out in the crowd of WWII stories. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.