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A review by nerdy_birdie_reader
Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman
5.0
OMG THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD! :D :D :D
I picked up this book because between World War I and World War II I thought that World War II history was really interesting. Since I already had to read so much non-fiction from school, I figured why not try some fiction about World War II—needless to say, I am very glad I did. I liked this book because it doesn’t really list dangerous facts and stuff about the tension in that time, it actually shows people in Germany experiencing this slow build-up. I thought the tension was great! Really added to the whole experience for Gretchen having to make a choice.
I thought that as a main character in Germany, Gretchen was amazing. I don’t blame her for panicking around Jewish people, she didn’t really resort to violence with them or anything. One thing was weird though: it was how she was like, “Oh, Uncle Dolf said that Jewish people were monsters, their souls will never be clean!” Like, Gretchen, they’re human beings, and they’ve never done anything to hurt anyone. The fact that people even used to think like this makes me feel weird, because I couldn’t get over the fact that this was just wrong. Ugh. But, this isn’t really Gretchen’s fault. So, I still loved her! :D Towards the end of the story she becomes so strong! :D
The secondary characters were really well done. Hats off to Blankman for representing Adolf Hitler—by the time I was done reading this book, I could feel chills down to the bone. My other favorite character: Daniel Cohen! I really like that last name. Cohen; it sounds so cool. :D Anyway, main point is, I feel like Daniel was a pretty great character! I thought he was so loyal to himself and stuck so well to his beliefs! It was so cute reading about him and Gretchen together! I ship it!
Reinhard. Scared. Me. So. Much. *hides under the blankets*
Two other characters were Geli and Eva! I could not believe when I was reading the Author’s Note that Geli and Eva were real people! The way she combines their stories with Gretchen’s life was done so well that when I read her note at the end, I was so surprised at how she pulled this off. :D Hats off to Blankman! :D
The backdrop of Germany was really well done—well, for me as a reader’s perspective, I thought it was done well. It definitely showed the restrictions put on these people at the time and I thought that Blankman—once again—showed that pretty well. I was more than happy with this. The constant raids, Hitler’s speeches, the effect of the media, the way that people believed so strongly in the Aryan race! DONE. REALLY. WELL. This was so emotional from everyone! I felt like everyone character came out so strongly to me in this book! Except for Reinhard—if you’ve read the book, then you know what I mean.
The plot and the pacing. Holy crap. Towards the last . . . one hundred and fifty pages in the book, I was at the the edge of my seat; screaming. My heart was actually pounding for Gretchen and Daniel and every second they were away from one another, I was like, “NO, NO NO. GRETCHEN GO FIND DANIEL. NOW! NO! YOU CAN’T LEAVE ONE ANOTHER!”
When I finished this book, I was like on the floor melting. If that sounds good enough for you, then of course you should check this out!
I was originally going to give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars. But then, I read Anne Blankman’s Author’s Note at the end. I couldn’t stop myself. I read it. I reread it, and then when I looked through her bibliography and flipped through the last few pages of the book, I was so impressed! Blankman’s done some pretty hardcore research guys. So, how could I not bump this up to 5 stars when you see the hard work put behind this book? I was so surprised (and impressed) at how she managed to combine real events with fake ones! And how she paced the plot and everything.
Overall, Prisoner of Night and Fog is one of my favorite reads this year! I was very satisfied with what I read. I loved everything about this book and I had no complaints for anything.
I would recommend Prisoner of Night and Fog to everyone! Particularly if you like Historical Fiction—especially during the World War II times, and it helps that this book is set in Germany itself! Read. This.
I picked up this book because between World War I and World War II I thought that World War II history was really interesting. Since I already had to read so much non-fiction from school, I figured why not try some fiction about World War II—needless to say, I am very glad I did. I liked this book because it doesn’t really list dangerous facts and stuff about the tension in that time, it actually shows people in Germany experiencing this slow build-up. I thought the tension was great! Really added to the whole experience for Gretchen having to make a choice.
I thought that as a main character in Germany, Gretchen was amazing. I don’t blame her for panicking around Jewish people, she didn’t really resort to violence with them or anything. One thing was weird though: it was how she was like, “Oh, Uncle Dolf said that Jewish people were monsters, their souls will never be clean!” Like, Gretchen, they’re human beings, and they’ve never done anything to hurt anyone. The fact that people even used to think like this makes me feel weird, because I couldn’t get over the fact that this was just wrong. Ugh. But, this isn’t really Gretchen’s fault. So, I still loved her! :D Towards the end of the story she becomes so strong! :D
The secondary characters were really well done. Hats off to Blankman for representing Adolf Hitler—by the time I was done reading this book, I could feel chills down to the bone. My other favorite character: Daniel Cohen! I really like that last name. Cohen; it sounds so cool. :D Anyway, main point is, I feel like Daniel was a pretty great character! I thought he was so loyal to himself and stuck so well to his beliefs! It was so cute reading about him and Gretchen together! I ship it!
Reinhard. Scared. Me. So. Much. *hides under the blankets*
Two other characters were Geli and Eva! I could not believe when I was reading the Author’s Note that Geli and Eva were real people! The way she combines their stories with Gretchen’s life was done so well that when I read her note at the end, I was so surprised at how she pulled this off. :D Hats off to Blankman! :D
The backdrop of Germany was really well done—well, for me as a reader’s perspective, I thought it was done well. It definitely showed the restrictions put on these people at the time and I thought that Blankman—once again—showed that pretty well. I was more than happy with this. The constant raids, Hitler’s speeches, the effect of the media, the way that people believed so strongly in the Aryan race! DONE. REALLY. WELL. This was so emotional from everyone! I felt like everyone character came out so strongly to me in this book! Except for Reinhard—if you’ve read the book, then you know what I mean.
The plot and the pacing. Holy crap. Towards the last . . . one hundred and fifty pages in the book, I was at the the edge of my seat; screaming. My heart was actually pounding for Gretchen and Daniel and every second they were away from one another, I was like, “NO, NO NO. GRETCHEN GO FIND DANIEL. NOW! NO! YOU CAN’T LEAVE ONE ANOTHER!”
When I finished this book, I was like on the floor melting. If that sounds good enough for you, then of course you should check this out!
I was originally going to give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars. But then, I read Anne Blankman’s Author’s Note at the end. I couldn’t stop myself. I read it. I reread it, and then when I looked through her bibliography and flipped through the last few pages of the book, I was so impressed! Blankman’s done some pretty hardcore research guys. So, how could I not bump this up to 5 stars when you see the hard work put behind this book? I was so surprised (and impressed) at how she managed to combine real events with fake ones! And how she paced the plot and everything.
Overall, Prisoner of Night and Fog is one of my favorite reads this year! I was very satisfied with what I read. I loved everything about this book and I had no complaints for anything.
I would recommend Prisoner of Night and Fog to everyone! Particularly if you like Historical Fiction—especially during the World War II times, and it helps that this book is set in Germany itself! Read. This.