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bookwormloverofbooks's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
cfaught99's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
canderson's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
jessjessibear's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
0.5
thelarlbookworm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This beautifully written book broke me... Not many books make me cry, but this one did.
We follow the story of Lizzie who stumbles upon some strange photographs of her Great-Grandmother Zofia dueing World War 2 and with her own Grandmother unwilling to talk about it, set about finding out all she can about Zofia.
Maria splits the book in half so we see the present-day story of Lizzie and also the 1940s story of Zofia.
Lizzie has gone through significant trauma of her own in having multiple miscarriages so it was emotional but lovely to see her healing as she learns more about her family's life in Warsaw during the war.
Zofia... Blimey, what a woman. I can remember learning about resistance fighters who risked everything to help the Jews and who also managed to smuggle children to safety and also hide them in plain sight, so this story was incredible to read.
What is even more incredible is this story is inspired by stories of Irena Sendler and the women of the Polish Żegota so what you read is small taste of the fear and exhilaration these amazing women felt on a day to day basic.
What incredibly selfless and brave women should ultimately save entire future generations.
I'm not going to lie. It is a very tough story to read with the amount of research gone into describing the ghetto conditions and the people evident, which makes for an astounding read.
I highly recommend this book but make sure you have tissues at the ready because you are in for a very emotional and raw read.
We follow the story of Lizzie who stumbles upon some strange photographs of her Great-Grandmother Zofia dueing World War 2 and with her own Grandmother unwilling to talk about it, set about finding out all she can about Zofia.
Maria splits the book in half so we see the present-day story of Lizzie and also the 1940s story of Zofia.
Lizzie has gone through significant trauma of her own in having multiple miscarriages so it was emotional but lovely to see her healing as she learns more about her family's life in Warsaw during the war.
Zofia... Blimey, what a woman. I can remember learning about resistance fighters who risked everything to help the Jews and who also managed to smuggle children to safety and also hide them in plain sight, so this story was incredible to read.
What is even more incredible is this story is inspired by stories of Irena Sendler and the women of the Polish Żegota so what you read is small taste of the fear and exhilaration these amazing women felt on a day to day basic.
What incredibly selfless and brave women should ultimately save entire future generations.
I'm not going to lie. It is a very tough story to read with the amount of research gone into describing the ghetto conditions and the people evident, which makes for an astounding read.
I highly recommend this book but make sure you have tissues at the ready because you are in for a very emotional and raw read.
trudyd's review against another edition
5.0
I can't remember the last time I cried so much while reading a book. There was so much devastation within the pages. I am amazed that the people of Warsaw were able to rise from the ashes.
I found myself obsessed. The author's words grabbed me. I wanted to know more and more. I wanted to read about the heroism and dedication. The more I learned the more crushed I became. The more I read the more I needed to discover truths. I found those truths. I was horrified. Daughter of Warsaw guided me in ways I had not been before.
The determination of resistance workers left me in awe. Daughters of Warsaw helped me create a picture in my mind of the dedication of those trying to save the Jewish children in the ghetto. The Jewish people lived in such squaller.
One of the reasons I read World War Two historical fiction is to attempt to understand why and how it happened. I find myself at a loss. The horrors, the atrocities. I am left speechless over the strength they must have had to go on as they did.
Maria Frances has taken the dry words of history textbooks and humanized them. She has taken what many have tried to brush under the rug and brought it into the light. She has put faces to names. She has built the ghettos in my mind in away that they will remain forever.
We all need the horrors brought to life so we don't need to repeat them. Our imaginations should be enough to make sure it never happens again. Too make sure we must read more, learn more.
I found myself obsessed. The author's words grabbed me. I wanted to know more and more. I wanted to read about the heroism and dedication. The more I learned the more crushed I became. The more I read the more I needed to discover truths. I found those truths. I was horrified. Daughter of Warsaw guided me in ways I had not been before.
The determination of resistance workers left me in awe. Daughters of Warsaw helped me create a picture in my mind of the dedication of those trying to save the Jewish children in the ghetto. The Jewish people lived in such squaller.
One of the reasons I read World War Two historical fiction is to attempt to understand why and how it happened. I find myself at a loss. The horrors, the atrocities. I am left speechless over the strength they must have had to go on as they did.
Maria Frances has taken the dry words of history textbooks and humanized them. She has taken what many have tried to brush under the rug and brought it into the light. She has put faces to names. She has built the ghettos in my mind in away that they will remain forever.
We all need the horrors brought to life so we don't need to repeat them. Our imaginations should be enough to make sure it never happens again. Too make sure we must read more, learn more.
atina's review against another edition
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
hayleym24's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book was absolutely amazing! In 1942 Sofia becomes part of the resistance and helps to get Jewish children safely out of the ghetto before they are transported to death camps. She risks her own life countless times to rescue children and help out those in the Warsaw ghetto. In present day, Lizzie returns home to her parent's house after suffering multiple miscarriages. While cleaning in the attic she discovers some of her grandmother's old belongings as well as a photo of her great-grandmother. Wanting to learn more about her family's past, Lizzie starts researching and it takes her to Poland where she uncovers the amazing history of her family. This book grabbed me right from the beginning and pulled me into the story. The author has clearly done her research and it adds too much to the storyline.
georginap92's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Daughters of Warsaw is such a heartwarming, but heartbreaking tale of families torn apart by tragedy and above all having hope to find the light at the end of the tunnel.
This book is told from dual perspectives; main characters Zofia in war-torn Warsaw in the years 1942-1946 and Lizzie from Seattle in present day, both going through their own traumas, and having a plot line that sees their stories and lives connect!
Both characters were written really well, but in all honestly I did prefer Zofia, I found her story so heroic whilst being troubling, she was fighting in the resistance, against the occupation of the German’s in her home town whilst trying to keep her involvement hidden, as well as conducting numerous missions alongside Irena Sadler (one of the most amazing inspirational figures of WWII) Zofia portrayed such determination, grit and hope considering she was in the middle of war torn Warsaw with the absolute horrors of the Ghetto. I felt that all the research the author conducted really filtered through into Zofia’s character, and she really was the highlight of this book. I found her character to be more developed as well as more engaging, I found myself more interested in Zofia’s experiences and life than Lizzie’s.
Lizzie was a good character, however there were times throughout the book that she was coming across as depressed and to be honest slightly dull, she was struggling with her own troubles of fertility and marriage, which in comparison to Zofia’s plights seems immaterial, but it was still such an important topic and I like the fact that she was able to find some happiness in the end, I just wish the fertility issue was covered a bit more throughout the book (other than the triggering mentions of miscarriages)as I feel this could of added to her character a bit more.
The world building was very visual and slightly graphic in places, with half the book being focused during war time I was expecting more details regarding the horrors that occurred, but this was kept quite minimal compared to other historical fictions I have read, but I loved the comparison of Zofia’s Warsaw to present day Warsaw that Lizzie was experiencing, it was very humbling and interesting to read about the differences time had made.
The plot was well developed, and I liked the way that the chapters flicked between timelines and perspectives, it was interesting to see both MCs come to life across the pages, and the characters that they interacted with, I loved Zuzanne, Irena and Helena and found that their personalities really did come off the page! Plus, the plot twists throughout the book were great, there were characters that did not make it which really threw me off, as well as the ending which was joyous and refreshing to see in a historical fiction novel, as often the subject matter is dark, so the endings are often far from happy.
This is a great introduction into historical fiction, and to the story of Irena Sadler, this is a novel I would recommend to those starting out in this genre, as I feel seasoned historical fiction readers may find this book just slightly too romanticised.
This book is told from dual perspectives; main characters Zofia in war-torn Warsaw in the years 1942-1946 and Lizzie from Seattle in present day, both going through their own traumas, and having a plot line that sees their stories and lives connect!
Both characters were written really well, but in all honestly I did prefer Zofia, I found her story so heroic whilst being troubling, she was fighting in the resistance, against the occupation of the German’s in her home town whilst trying to keep her involvement hidden, as well as conducting numerous missions alongside Irena Sadler (one of the most amazing inspirational figures of WWII) Zofia portrayed such determination, grit and hope considering she was in the middle of war torn Warsaw with the absolute horrors of the Ghetto. I felt that all the research the author conducted really filtered through into Zofia’s character, and she really was the highlight of this book. I found her character to be more developed as well as more engaging, I found myself more interested in Zofia’s experiences and life than Lizzie’s.
Lizzie was a good character, however there were times throughout the book that she was coming across as depressed and to be honest slightly dull, she was struggling with her own troubles of fertility and marriage, which in comparison to Zofia’s plights seems immaterial, but it was still such an important topic and I like the fact that she was able to find some happiness in the end, I just wish the fertility issue was covered a bit more throughout the book (other than the triggering mentions of miscarriages)as I feel this could of added to her character a bit more.
The world building was very visual and slightly graphic in places, with half the book being focused during war time I was expecting more details regarding the horrors that occurred, but this was kept quite minimal compared to other historical fictions I have read, but I loved the comparison of Zofia’s Warsaw to present day Warsaw that Lizzie was experiencing, it was very humbling and interesting to read about the differences time had made.
The plot was well developed, and I liked the way that the chapters flicked between timelines and perspectives, it was interesting to see both MCs come to life across the pages, and the characters that they interacted with, I loved Zuzanne, Irena and Helena and found that their personalities really did come off the page! Plus, the plot twists throughout the book were great, there were characters that did not make it which really threw me off, as well as the ending which was joyous and refreshing to see in a historical fiction novel, as often the subject matter is dark, so the endings are often far from happy.
This is a great introduction into historical fiction, and to the story of Irena Sadler, this is a novel I would recommend to those starting out in this genre, as I feel seasoned historical fiction readers may find this book just slightly too romanticised.
bluefairybug's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is my absolute favourite genre of book, and my favourite period of history. So as soon as I saw the title I knew I had to be on the tour.
Daughters of Warsaw is a fictionalised account of true events. The historical detail matched up to real accounts, and the fiction parts fitted in seamlessly.
Irena Sendler, who is largely a background character is a hero of mine. Her love and bravery were absolutely astounding. The same is true for every single one of the women who worked with her.
Zofia is one of those women. Although the Zofia of this story isn't a real person, there would, I am sure, have been someone doing what she did. I loved Zofia. She risked her life daily to save others.
In the present day we meet Lizzie, Zofia's Great-grandaughter. Whilst struggling with her own heartbreak, she discovers her families fascinating history and travels to Poland to complete the story.
The writing captures the love, and fear, of the Żegota, and at times I forgot that this story is technically fiction.
I'm not sure how realistic the ending really is, I know miracles can and did happen, but the odds are very low. For me, that's often the problem with Holocaust fiction.
Overall, this was an amazing read and I'm definitely going to look out for more of Maria's books.
Daughters of Warsaw is a fictionalised account of true events. The historical detail matched up to real accounts, and the fiction parts fitted in seamlessly.
Irena Sendler, who is largely a background character is a hero of mine. Her love and bravery were absolutely astounding. The same is true for every single one of the women who worked with her.
Zofia is one of those women. Although the Zofia of this story isn't a real person, there would, I am sure, have been someone doing what she did. I loved Zofia. She risked her life daily to save others.
In the present day we meet Lizzie, Zofia's Great-grandaughter. Whilst struggling with her own heartbreak, she discovers her families fascinating history and travels to Poland to complete the story.
The writing captures the love, and fear, of the Żegota, and at times I forgot that this story is technically fiction.
I'm not sure how realistic the ending really is, I know miracles can and did happen, but the odds are very low. For me, that's often the problem with Holocaust fiction.
Overall, this was an amazing read and I'm definitely going to look out for more of Maria's books.