I loved learning about the Russian girls who become snipers during WWII. It's hard to believe that the most decorated sniper from WWII was a young woman from Russian. But it goes to show you can't underestimate girls and women.

Due to a passing in the family a few years ago and my subsequent health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for years after the bereavement. Thank you for the opportunity.

The author's painstaking research and attention to detail is obvious in the writing of this book. There were many facts that I only discovered after reading this!

I found this book to be fascinating! The author, now in her 90's, details her experiences in World War 2 as a sniper for the Russian army. Never bragging, yet obviously very proud of her contributions, she bares her soul to the reader of her history. From being a teenager who wanted to defend her country, all the way through to today, she makes you feel like she is sitting at a table with you, telling her story. And what a story! The sacrifices she suffered, the horrors she witnessed, the PTSD she experienced; it's amazing she is still alive. As she relates the extremely difficult training she went through, the sexism she endured, and her escape from the Nazi's, you will feel your heart being ripped out of your chest. Never dwelling on the blood and gore, simply telling her story and what she did to save her country, this should be a book that everyone interested in World War 2, and in Russia today, should read!

Girl with a Sniper Rifle was a surprise. It was about World war 2. The surprise was that it was about how the Russian women were so Important to the war. Yulia Zhukova of Russia, whose hometown was Uralic, joined the Young Communist League as a young girl. She wanted to help defend her country and people. She was brought up with a love for her country. She became a sniper for the Red Army. Training was very hard. There wasn’t any rest and not much food. She was a woman who shared with men all the horrors of war. She has written in such details about her life at the front and she became very close to her frontline friends, both men and women. She was awarded many medals. She did Cadet training at the Central Women’s Sniping School. Went to the front end in 1944. War ended and she arrived home on August 6, 1945. I think the reason that she wrote her story is so that the young people of Russia would remember the war of 1941 to 1945 and respect the veterans. I especially enjoyed all the photos at the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.