Brilliant WW2 story of twins Asta and Jurgen trying to escape to Denmark when their parents are taken by the Nazis. I loved this book and couldn't put it down made more interesting as Denmark doesn't normally feature in this type of novel. Emotional story that will stay within you after you have finished reading it

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

Amazing novel, so much emotion, great character development, wonderful plot. Fantastic fantastic fantastic.

Asta is forced to escape Hamburg with her brother to escape the brutal Nazi regime. With the only family in Denmark, they both must draw on strengths they never knew they had. Getting separated from her brother Jurgen, Asta must keep on going and keep the hopes alive to be reunited with him. Well written historical fiction.

I was given a copy of The German Girl by Lily Graham by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. I have read several books by this author and this book was probably one of her best. The story tells the story of twins Asta and Jurgen who must flee Germany after their parents are taken by the Nazis. They must get to their aunt in Denmark. A great story.

This author’s The Child of Auschwitz is a book that stayed with me for a long time. I was, therefore, very excited to see her latest book revisiting WWII. I was not disappointed. I particularly liked how the contemporary storyline took place in Sweden. Most of the historical fiction WWII novels I have read recently either have a British or American connection. I also thought the author did a good job of setting up the contemporary story line. My grandfather never talked about his time in the South Pacific when he returned from WWII, but that he was a changed man (by all accounts). I think that this was a common story among people (especially men) who saw and experienced the atrocities of war, and Ingrid’s grandfather personified that. Very well-done. For a detailed review, please visit Fireflies and Free Kicks. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC of this book.

Wow, what an amazing story! I loved following the twins' stories throughout this historical fiction. I really enjoyed that this story was about the twins escaping from the soldiers and follows their secret travels to get to safety. The story is told in two timelines, which I always enjoy. I really enjoyed the 1938 story, but I loved how the two connected. While this is a heartbreaking story, it's beautifully written, and absolutely worth reading.

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I cannot even imagine what must have been going through Asta and Jurgen’s minds! Again to be so little yet so brave! I was captivated by their journey to try and escape, yet heartbroken at the same time. This book is very well written and will come highly recommended by me to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

1990s Sweden: Ingrid moves home to care for her aged grandfather. He has early dementia and is confused, leading him to reveal that he once had a twin sister...
1930s Germany: Asta and Jurgen are twins who grew up in Hamburg. But their lives changed forever when the Nazis take power in 1933 and Jewish communities are persecuted. Their parents are arrested and the twins go on the run towards the Danish border but the Nazis remain hot on their heels...
The original title for The German Girl was The Flight of Swallows and I truly think it should have kept it due to the link with the twins' surnames and their flight from danger. The original title was poetic and evocative of the plot and I hope it is reinstated.
This book is terrible (in a good way) and beautiful. The sense of anticipation waiting for the bad events to take place was completely compelling. Yet I also had hope, that perhaps the twins were merely separated, that the kindness and goodness of some people would prevent the Nazis' cruelty. The only thing I didn't like was a spot of non linear narrative which I felt was unecessary as it all caught up a few chapters later.
The twin characters are wonderful. The honesty and humour of their childhood sharply contrasts with the devasting events as the Nazis take power and measures to destroy the Jews begin to gain momentum. The racism elicits a revulsion from the reader and a heartbreaking inevitability as we know that this was the beginning of the Final Solution which caused the deaths of millions.
I was particularly interested in the setting of the Nordic countries as they are an area I don't know much about historically. It has also been under-represented in the books I have read about WW2 and the Holocaust.
The German GIrl was a wonderful historical novel and I loved the development of the main characters against the unusual setting of the Danish border during Nazi occupation.

Jewish twins, Asta and Jurgen are a just a couple of ordinary teenagers who enjoy living their lives with their parents in the city of Hamburg. However, it's now 1938, and as the political arena starts to change in Germany so the family face particular hardship when animosity towards the Jewish population starts to creep into their everyday lives. With unspeakable horror, Asta and Jurgen witness their parents being forcibly removed from their house but thanks to the kindness of their neighbours the twins are able to flee the city and undertake a perilous journey to find their only other relative in Denmark.

The story which follows is an emotional roller-coaster which sees the twins placed in grave danger as they make their way through a country in turmoil. The author writes with emotional conviction and brings to life the danger and despair of those who are, quite literally, running for their lives. Told in two time frames which begin primarily in Northern Sweden in 1995, before switching to WW2 Germany, I thought that both sections have a strong historical authenticity and I felt just at comfortable in the cold and ice with the old man and his granddaughter in Sweden as I did in the fierce distraction in the forests of Southern Jutland in late 1938.

Beautifully and emotionally written The German Girl is a heartbreaking story of hardship, despair and unerring bravery in the face of great tragedy.

First and foremost, thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Lily Graham for access to this chilling, heartbreaking WWII story. Please be sure to read the authors notes before you close the book and learn about the inspiration for this story.

Before the Germans invaded, Juergen and Asta were typical kids...twins... in Hamburg. They were pranksters for sure but had bit ambitions. They were the children of a surgeon and nurse so life was good. Then, hitler rose to power and slowly their lives began to change. They had a place to escape to but their parents kept putting it off in the hopes that things would get better. Then the unthinkable happened, their parents are arrested and the SS are after the twins as well. So they run. Their best bet is to find a way to cross the border into Denmark where their aunt lives. A run in with a German officer leaves one of the twins on deaths door and the on the run to save her life. This story explores the bond between twins and the kindness of those who realize just how evil the Germans are. It also explores a bit of PTSD which at that time didn’t have a name but was very much a real thing and not something to be ignored.

I should explain the 4 star rating. The story itself is every bit of a 5 star story. I loved it. I gave it a 4 star because of the title. This book was originally titled, The Flight of Swallows but has since changed to The German Girl which I do not think is very fitting, in fact i find it to be very generic and bland and probably something I would skip over because it is so common. The Flight of Swallows is not only fitting for the story itself but it is what caught my attention in the first place. It correlates with the theme of the story and it broke my heart a little when I got the notification of its change.

A tale of love, loss, sacrifice and courage, Lily Graham’s The German Girl is a brilliantly written historical novel that will break your heart.

The streets of Hamburg in 1939 reverberate with tension and fear. Everything has changed and a cloak of darkness has enveloped and transformed everybody’s life. This climate of fear and distress has effected the lives of the entire community and even fifteen year old Asta and her brother Jurgen have realised that all the joy and happiness which they used to take for granted has now been curtailed. But worse is to come for them when one day, while coming back from synagogue, they are informed that their parents have been dragged away from their home by Nazi soldiers and that should the two children go anywhere near their house, they will suffer a similar fate. Their home is no longer the sanctuary they once knew and if Asta and Jurgen are to have any hope of surviving, they must flee Germany and make the perilous journey to Denmark to be with their Aunt Trine, a woman they barely know. Will Asta and Jurgen manage to reach their new homeland or will their path to freedom be thwarted at every turn?

Jammed into a truck with other refugees, Asta and Jurgen will need a miracle to make it to Denmark safe and sound. With crossing the border being punishable by death, Asta and Jurgen need to be cautious and trust nobody if they want to reach their destination without arousing suspicion – even if the path to freedom is fraught with risk and jeopardy. When armed soldiers and barking dogs manage to track down Jurgen, it looks like the game is finally up for Asta. With no other choice but to escape again, Asta feels as if she has lost everything once more. Will she ever be reunited with her twin? Or is her sibling lost to her forever? There is nothing Asta will not do to find Jurgen, but the price which she will have to pay will end up costing her far more than she had ever imagined…

Keep a box of tissues handy when reading Lily Graham’s The German Girl because this book will make you cry buckets. Lily Graham vividly brings to life Asta and Jurgen’s fear, desperation and anguish as they leave their homeland behind to find a better life. A book that is poignant and brilliantly atmospheric, but which never descends into melodrama, The German Girl is a searingly emotional tale that is sure to stay with you and linger in your heart long after the last page is turned.

A beautifully written novel of hope and resilience, spellbinding historical fiction does not get any better than Lily Graham’s The German Girl.

The German Girl by Lily Graham is a dual timeline story that is heartbreaking and emotional. This was a different look at that horrendous period in time, 1938 to 1945. It begins in Hamburg in 1938 when fifteen year old twins, Asta and Jurgen, find out that their parents have been taken to Dachau for refusing to change their paperwork to identify themselves as Jewish. They can't go home or to anyone they know, so with the help of a friend they head to Denmark to their Aunt Trine. It is not an easy trip and it ends with Asta making it to their aunt, and Jurgen left on the ground in a forest shot twice. The second timeline is 1990s with Jurgen an elderly man with Alzheimer's. His granddaughter, Ingrid, is finally able to get him to talk about his life before he came to live with his aunt. A past that no one, not even his own daughter, knows about. This is where we learn the story of what Asta and Jurgen endured.

This is a well written and researched book. I did not know how the war effected Denmark and the Danish people. I had heard of the Elsinore Sewing Club, but this was the first book that had them as an important part of the story. This story once again highlighted the plight of the Jewish people and how even their requests to leave the country were blocked and denied. It showed that there were good people willing to help, but there were also those who only wanted to help if it lined their pockets. This is an emotional story, especially as the characters are realistic and relatable. A well-written story that I recommend to those who enjoy historical fiction, WWII stories and dual timelines.

I’m not at all surprised that I loved this book. I’ve read a lot of WWII historical fiction, but The German Girl will be one of those books that I always remember.

I’m not even sure what sets it apart, maybe it’s a little bit of everything.

Lily Graham chose to use a dual timeline of present day struggles rooted in dark family secrets. The exposure and subsequent healing from those traumatic events fuels the entire narrative of the book kicking the reader’s emotion into high gear on nearly every page.

Each event from the past feels like you are unlocking a piece to the overall puzzle, giving this historical fiction an almost mystery novel quality. Asta and Jurgen’s harrowing journey is a present day puzzle solved with pieces from horrific scenes from the past.

The setting also marks The German Girl as different from most of the other books in this genre because it takes place largely in Denmark, which is often overlooked in the history of WWII. I know very little about Denmark’s history during the war, even though it was separated from Germany by only a forest.

Conclusion
The German Girl is an excellent addition to the WWII sub-genre of historical fiction, perfect for fans of The Nightingale and The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Loved it!! It was not what I expected. I can't imagine living in a small cabin in northern Sweden without any running water or electricity. Without Ingrid there to help Jürgen, he probably would have froze to death. Loved everything about the book- the story, characters and writing style. Jürgen and Asta's story was my favorite part of the book. They were such brave children and never gave up. I never expected what happened. So many secrets kept in the family, mainly by Jürgen. If Ingrid wouldn't have persisted in finding out what her grandfather was hiding for so long, her family would have missed out on learning the truth about their family history. Such an emotional story. Enjoyed that part of the story took place in Denmark during WWII.

Definitely recommend the book, especially if you are a fan historical fiction. Look forward to reading more books about the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bookouture through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This World War II story is both heartbreaking and eye opening. This author has a gift of pulling you into the story and making you feel like you are living the life instead of reading a book.

This book was simply amazing. Lily Graham is an author that not only draws you in but also teaches you about history along the way. This is a story of young fifteen year old Jewish twins, whose parents were killed. Asta and Jurgen, who are brother and sister, who had to flee their hometown of Hamburg, Germany to seek refuge from the Nazis with their aunt in Denmark. When they get separated on their journey Asta is forced to go it alone. The friends and strangers they met along the way that help them was so heartwarming. The hardships that they endured were so terrifying yet every flip of the page gave hope. This time-slip tale paints such a vivid picture of survival and experiences are beyond comprehension. You’ll need to read this one with a box of tissues near by.

The fear, the loss, the courage and the endurance that these kids had to face was absolutely heartbreaking. This unputdownable, real life story is an absolute must-read. This author writes well beyond her years. I highly recommend Lily Graham and will definitely read anything this author writes. Bravo Lily, well done.

Ingrid is visiting her Grandfather Morfar in Sweden where they all live. He has not been well and has mild dementia. He starts to talk to her in German shocked but she replies. She recalls a time as a child that he scolded her for speaking German and she speaks to her Mother about Morfar’s past she knows very little as her own mother died when she was a baby.

When she visits him again he again falls in the German conversation and this time calls her Asta, his twin sister. He has always said he was an only child, so is he confused, or hiding a dark secret. He gets very angry when she questions him and upset, however he calms down and decides to tell Ingrid his story.

What transpires is a heartbreaking story of a family torn apart by Nazi Germany in Hamburg in 1933. It tracks the life of Jurgen as Hilter comes to power and Germany becomes a deadly place for the Jewish people. It was heartbreaking, the closeness of Asta and Jurgen as twin siblings, they come from a comfortable background where their parents both work at the local Hospital. Their friends start to be told that they cannot be friends with the twins anymore as their parents said they have to choose a side. Things go from bad to worse and Mutti and Papa consider moving to Denmark to Papa’s sisters Trine to escape. However things take a dark turn and Jurgen and Asta find themselves alone and needing to escape.

This is a very engaging and beautifully written story and although completely devastating in places the thought of this young pair caught up in some of the most tragic occurrences seen in our history really touched me. It is dramatic and tense and kept me gripped.

The connection with the swallows was particularly poignant ‘Swallows seldom rest, they spend most of their lives in flight’ and the story of the Schwalbe family will stay with me for a very long time.

For Asta and Jurgen the life they knew comes to an end when a neighbor comes to find them at school to inform them their parents have been taken by the Germans. She tells them she cannot take them in and they cannot go home because the German’s are waiting outside their home to get them too. The twin’s parents refused to have their passports stamped with a J and therefore trap them in Hamburg because they have plans to flee to Denmark to go live with their Aunt Trine. Being only 15 they have no recourses or family to take them in so they must go in hiding. A very kind man helps them hide and comes up with a plan to get them across the border. The two are traveling with a group and when the Germans find them everyone runs in different directions to try and get away. Asta is grabbed swiftly by one of the men and her twin brother shot and left for dead. Scared and heartbroken Asta is sure this man will turn her in, but once he gets her into his home he lets her know that although he’s working with the Germans, he does not agree with what they’re doing and he wants to help her get safely to Denmark.
It’s not an easy road but Asta does arrive to her Aunt’s home. She’s extremely fragile and broken both physically and mentally. With the help of her aunt and a new friend Oliver, Asta will slowly start to rebuild her life. Her fear of the Germans finding her and the emptiness of being without her twin will still be with her daily, but she knows her family would want her to be happy. Everything is starting to feel better and then…..
I really enjoyed this book. I know so many books have been written about this subject but I really liked what the author did with the story. It's completely unpredictable and so well written. I was connected to the characters early on and really impressedthe author was able to trick an advid reader like myself!

I was completely captivated by The German Girl and lost so much sleep because I couldn’t stop reading at night! This historical fiction novel was told in such a unique way and I especially loved reading from the children’s point of view. I tend to find some novels in this genre to be a tad bit dry or cumbersome at times, but not this one! It was informative, but told in an easy yet intriguing way. The author’s note at the end of the novel really struck an emotional chord with me and made me love the book even more. The author’s knowledge, research, and talent all combined together create a heart-wrenching yet powerful novel on WWII and the Holocaust. I feel like this review doesn’t express my emotion or reaction accurately enough, but know that this novel is HIGHLY recommended with five solid stars.

“A swallow will always find its way home if it can find its nest”

This is another of my 5 star “best reads” of 2020, so by the end of the year I definitely also owed a vote of thanks to the tissue company, who had dried my tears so many times!

I had no idea from the first couple of pages of this wonderful, powerfully written book, exactly where events were heading and the premise very cleverly, never gave too much away. The storyline kept me engrossed throughout, although I didn’t want to turn the pages too quickly, as I was trying to devour every single word so that I missed not a single moment of this heart-breaking saga. The ending, when it came, left some sense of fulfilment and closure, although I still had one or two unanswered questions and loose ends – but let’s face it – I just didn’t want the story to be over!

Author Lily Graham has carried out some meticulous research before setting pen to paper, and whilst I like to think that I have a generally good broad knowledge of WWII events, there were so many aspects of this particular German / Nordic conflict about which I knew nothing, that I had quite a few ‘information upload’ breaks along the way, which revealed facts that only added to the historical authenticity of the story. You especially need to check out the “Elsinore Sewing Club”.

Based on a true story; two timelines and three different countries, give this tragic, intensely realistic, historical and cultural story, true depth and meaning. With many of the horrendous events being seen through the eyes of and told by children, they have been afforded that extra poignancy and emotion you might expect, dealt with expertly by a consummate storyteller, skilled in the imagery of words, who fills the pages with heart-stopping tension, which is rich in atmosphere and replete with visually descriptive detail.

In late 1990s Sweden, we have Ingrid caring for her elderly and infirm grandfather, whose lucid moments are becoming fewer and further between. The ever deteriorating situation threatens to overwhelm them both and as they each become more distressed, Ingrid is totally unaware of the forces she is unleashing when she forces the old man to confront his past, a lifetime he has committed to drawings, about which he is still in self-denial and which he has kept hidden from his entire family for decades, shouldering the burden of blame and guilt, alone and grief stricken.

As Jurgen’s story closes, we play out the final scenes back where we began our journey, in Sweden, as Ingrid’s mother arrives to support them both, totally unprepared for the emotional rollercoaster which awaits her, as closure draws near for the man she has only ever known as father, allowing peace to finally claim his tortured mind.

In between is a profoundly touching, slowly unfolding story, which spans six decades and two more countries, as recalled through the rheumy eyes of an elderly man, who is frightened to unleash the maelstrom of feelings and secrets he has held close for so long and the lies he has told to keep his mind and spirit from completely breaking. The story of a desperate group of mis-matched people, with one common goal, to escape Nazi persecution in a Hamburg they no longer recognise or belong to, only to be followed to a welcoming Denmark by their persecutors, as that country too, is overwhelmed by the same invading army, forcing them to fight or flee to neighbouring Sweden, where neutrality should guarantee their eventual safety and refuge – but not everyone is a born survivor and destiny is an immutable foe.

Lily has sympathetically and lovingly described and crafted a cast of emotionally complex characters I immediately fell in love with and felt I could almost reach out to speak to and touch, so vividly drawn are they. I became fully invested in the synergy between them, their intense search for a sense of home and belonging, as their lives are torn apart by the ravages of war and a religion they are forced to deny and renounce, in fear of the ultimate retribution and sacrifice.

The contemporary family, whose lives are about to be torn from their very roots by Jurgen’s devastating revelations, only add to the sense of personal loss and destruction this entire story engenders. Yes! loss of life was inevitable and there may have been no guaranteed happy endings, but after a lifetime of heartache and sorrow, remorse and regret, a broken Jurgen never felt able to take that one leap of faith, which might have kept the memories of his own birth family alive for the future generations, and not caused their ultimate sacrifices to have all been in vain.

This book took me on a unique and personal journey it was difficult to make, one I knew probably wouldn’t end well for everyone, yet one I needed to see through until its end.

An amazing tribute to the strength of human endeavour and survival!