msmoodyreader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
krathmann's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
lifewithmisskate's review against another edition
Fantastic concept with terrible storytelling.
Feels more like a history book, in that it reads more like a bullet list of facts rather than any type of narrative building or personal stories about these great heroines.
I RARELY don’t finish books, but this one deserves to be skipped.
Feels more like a history book, in that it reads more like a bullet list of facts rather than any type of narrative building or personal stories about these great heroines.
I RARELY don’t finish books, but this one deserves to be skipped.
melindagallagher's review
4.0
This is a heartbreaking true story of 18 Jewish young women who fought the Nazis in Poland through espionage, theatrics, weaponry, and any tactic necessary to help their people. The author, Judy Batalion, is the granddaughter of a Holocaust Survivor and began to research her heritage to understand who she was and where she came from. As she stumbled upon stories of these women who had been forgotten in time, she knew she needed to write the story. Fascinating but heavy. I had to take frequent breaks so that I could keep going. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 is that it was so hard to keep the women and the surrounding characters straight. I really needed a chart to refer to! Excellent book to read for our Hidden Figures book club.
growintogardens's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.5
This was the hardest thing I've ever read. It was heavily researched. While long and hard to get through, it was because of the horror and disturbing content instead of any writing issues.
I started with the audiobook, as I often do for nonfiction. I had to stop after a while because listening to it was so rough. I definitely recommend this to anyone who'd like to know more about WWII, and/or women during wartime, as long as you can handle the grief and the violence.
I started with the audiobook, as I often do for nonfiction. I had to stop after a while because listening to it was so rough. I definitely recommend this to anyone who'd like to know more about WWII, and/or women during wartime, as long as you can handle the grief and the violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Deportation, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, War, Xenophobia, Child death, Sexual harassment, Torture, Medical content, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Abandonment and Abortion
Minor: Pregnancy
Sex and rape warnings include beastiality. Graphic depictions of child death, torture, war/fighting, suicide, etc. It's a hard read.kristinasshelves's review
4.0
The author, herself a descendant of a Holocaust survivor, became fascinated by the women's resistance during this time. The aim of this book is to spotlight several of these women, as their survival and resistance activities are underreported and virtually unknown. Women were better able to hide their Jewish identities, as there was no circumcision evidence to out their heritage. Thus, they assumed new identities, with many acting as couriers for the Nazis. The resistance group featured was headquartered in the ghetto in Będzin, Poland. Many of the courageous women featured wrote their own memoirs, which have been incorporated into this more comprehensive account of their actions. I particularly was interested in the portion dedicated to the resistance's effort to procure placements for children with non-Jewish families- including how often they had to be relocated. The end chapters look at the legacy of these women and their families, including how PTSD effected each of them. I was also shocked to read how the experiences of these women were minimized in published accounts, with some even being censored, if not silenced.
This has been optioned for a movie, which will undoubtedly be fabulous and one that I'll definitely be watching!
This has been optioned for a movie, which will undoubtedly be fabulous and one that I'll definitely be watching!