This was waaay too twee for its subject matter. Life on the East German side was brutal, poverty stricken and unfair. But that hardly comes across at all in this book. Karin, the East Germany trapped twin, could have been just stuck in a friendly place somewhere. Because of the cuteness, the stakes really aren't high enough for the reader. There are eyeroll moments too, where the twins act so stupidly, in a way they never would if their lives really were at stake.

When the Berlin Wall goes up literally overnight, twins Karin and Jutta are separated. After falling ill the day before, Karin wakes up in hospital on the eastern side of the city, with Jutta and the rest of her family at home in the west. Trapped under Soviet rule, Karin has to learn to adapt and survive in East Berlin with no way back to her beloved family. Unable to contact Karin, Jutta tries everything in her power to contact to her beloved sister. 

For years the sisters live parallel lives on opposite sides of the wall. Karin finds love with Otto, and finally finds hope and a semblance of happiness. When Jutta finds a hidden way through the wall the sisters are delighted to be reunited. However with Soviet spies everywhere, Karin needs to make a decision. Should she flee to the west and be with her family, or sacrifice all she knows to be with the man she loves?

The book is clearly well researched and while it is a fictional story, it's set against the backdrop of real life events. I found the political aspects fascinating and I can only imagine the devastation the wall created for those living in Berlin.

You can read my full review at https://mmbbookblog.com/the-girl-behind-the-wall-by-mandy-robotham-review/
The story is told from both Karin and Jutta's perspectives with each chapter dedicated to each twin's experience. I felt this was really well done and emphasised the stark contrast of living on either side of the wall. I loved the relationship between Karin and Jutta and how they they may be separated by the wall yet still bound by familial love and loyalty. 

I did find the story a little slow in the middle but it did pick back up again towards the end. 

I'll definitely be looking out for more books by Mandy Robotham.

Have you ever wondered why The Berlin Wall was called by the name of the city and not something like the German Wall or The Great Wall of Germany? Simple. It didn’t surround a country but slashed right through a city. And when a city is divided, it is more than just geography that is affected.

This book is a historical fiction centred around the Berlin Wall and the lives upended because of its abrupt construction in 1961. An intriguing premise for sure. I’ve read a lot of this genre but I’ve never read a book covering this particular historical timeline. The book delivers on some points and disappoints on some more. Here’s what you need to know.

Story:
Jutta and Karin Voight, twenty four year old twins and citizens of West Berlin, are extremely close to each other. Jutta is the practical one, working in a library. Karin is the creative one, interested in fashion design. When the Berlin Wall comes up almost overnight without any warning to the residents, Karin ends up stuck on the East side of the wall. What follows is Jutta’s struggle to get her twin back, and Karin’s struggle to stay safe, and even stay alive, on the unknown side of her city. The story covers the time period from 1961 to 1963, with a brief epilogue set in 1989, the year the Wall came down.

What I enjoyed:
✔ Everything to do with the Berlin wall and its impact. As something that is much in the past, I had no idea of the political machinations behind the wall. The book reveals the facts painstakingly and you actually feel the pain and confusion of the citizens on both sides of the divide.
✔ The main characters seemed quite believable. Both Jutta and Karin come across as human rather than these perfect girls who can do no wrong. It makes them seem approachable, vulnerable and hence likeable. I did like getting the story from both their perspectives.
✔ The romantic arcs with Danny and Otto are well-written.
✔ While this is my first book by Mandy Robotham, I was impressed by her attention to historical detail.

What could have been better:
❌ I found the chapter names distracting. I would have preferred plain chapter numbers for such a story. The chapter names made me feel like I was reading a children’s book with the title revealing what’s going to happen in that particular section. This is even more irritating when the chapters are so short.
❌ The writing style could have been better. The story moves ahead very slowly. There is a lot of repetition in the content and this turned an interesting story into a mundane one. Karin’s thoughts especially seem to go around in circles and it gets boring after a point.
❌ Many of the secondary characters (barring Otto and Danny) aren’t developed well. (The action remains adamantly concentrated on the twin sisters.) So the rest of the characters fall flat.
❌ Some part of the content is farfetched. I find it very difficult to justify impractical writing in historical fiction.
<spoiler>
👉 It is tough to accept that Jutta jumped the wall so many times and yet wasn’t caught until the very end.
👉 How come no one except Jutta used the wall opening? Axel knew that Jutta was using the wall but he (or anyone from his group) could have easily followed her to know where it was and begin using it without even telling her.
👉 I could understand why Karin kept her family secret from Otto but it is never made clear why Jutta never revealed the details of her struggles to Danny.
👉 Both the sisters knew that their connection to each other had to be kept a secret. Yet they keep visiting the same two cafes every time, albeit separately. Doesn’t this increase the chance of people recognising them as two separate persons?
</spoiler>

All in all, I did like this book, but not as much as I had expected. The historical part of the content gets a 5/5, and I would love to read more books that have the Berlin Wall as their focal point. But the editing of the book ought to have been tighter for the story to make a greater impact.

A 3.5 from me, rounding up to 4.

Thank you, NetGalley and Avon Books UK, for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this opportunity to Mandy Ronotham's new book.
I have to say this is the first book that I have read about the Berlin Wall and it didn't disappoint.
Two sisters live in Berlin, then one night the one sister goes to east Berlin. The sister in East Berlin has a medical emergency and is in the hospital. The other sister does everything to try to get to her sister. To me this is a story about sisters and what lengths they will go to -;to see each other.
I will be looking forward to reading more of Mandy zRobotham's books.

The Girl Behind the Wall has been one of my favourite books I’ve read so far this year. In essence it is a simple story based on the separation of twin sisters in Berlin when the wall is put up during the 1960s. For those who know nothing about the history of this period, the idea of a wall physically separating a city, a nation in the western world, seems like a tale of science fiction. Indeed, as you read about the plight of the families effected from our current position of looking back over time, it seems fantastical that such a situation occurred in a well-developed country. This makes the book all the more important and moving. Recommended.

A couple of points to note in addition; I felt that the ending came too abruptly. Yes, there was a prologue but it felt a little inadequate and just the easier way to finish off the book.

I recieved an extremely severe concussion and was unable to read and review this novel. It expired and therefore, there will be no review for it! Thank you for the opportunity to read and review and sorry for the lack thereof!

I was sucked into this story immediately! Twin sisters that have spent every day of their lives together in Western Berlin are suddenly separated when the Berlin Wall is put up almost overnight. Instead of living out the dreams they’ve planned together, they must learn how to live apart even while the East German Stasi is breathing down their necks.

I loved the back and forth between Karin and Jutta’s stories. It served to highlight the differences between life in the East and the West, which I hadn’t known before. I found myself wanting to stop and google things I was reading to get a better understanding and picture in my mind’s eye.

I didn’t always know which characters were “good” or “bad” and was often skeptical, nor was I able to predict the decisions characters would make – both of which made me want to keep turning pages.

As far as pacing goes, I find that some historical fiction never really gets off the ground, but Robotham brought this story to a crescendo and then tied up my questions and loose ends at the end of the book.

Somehow, I kept forgetting that this took place in the 1960s. Surely something so devastating would have been decades or centuries past. I am thankful to Mandy Robotham for giving us this story and a much-needed slice of history. This was my first book by Robotham, and I’m excited to read more!

I would recommend this book for fans of Pam Jenoff, Kristin Harmel, and Jennifer Robson.

A story of 2 sisters on opposite sides of the wall. Historical fiction is a genre pretty new to me. I loved this the story between the characters is heartbreaking. I am shocked at the impact the wall had I had no idea. I don't have a lot of knowledge but this book seems so well researched and beautifully written

Thanks to Netgalley and author for the arc in exchange for my unbiased opinion on the book. Love the book. Would love to read more from the author

Intriguing and unusual story about twins living opposite sides of the Berlin Wall. I felt as though I knew the characters and lived the journey with them.

This book gave a real insight into what it must have been like living in a divided city. The poverty and want on one side and normal ‘western’ life on the other. Twins are torn apart in this story, because one happened to be in hospital in the east on the day the wall went up. What bad fortune. The risks our two heroines took every time they ‘Wall jumped’ left me on the edge of my seat, just hoping and praying they didn’t get caught by the Stasi. That awful van which trawled the east side picking up suspects and locking them in such a small cell, really made my flesh crawl. It put me in mind of the stories of the child catcher in German folklore.
Would this story ever end well for Jutta & Karin?
Treat yourself to a great read and find out.

‘The tourists come and go, they look and peer over the Wall to another land, at people who squint their eyes back at the West. They comment on the atrocity and they go away again. But still there are no bulldozers, no widespread will to tear it down. The Wall endures.’

You really cannot surpass Mandy’s books for quality WWII fiction stories. I truly loved this one for shining a light on the post Cold War situation - something I was not overly familiar with. Through cleverly telling a story from twins who perchance find themselves separated by the construction of the Berlin Wall, you get a first person account of what life must have been like to wake and find your city being split in two. This proved an emotional read exploring family and political divisions, sibling and romantic love.

‘So the Wall is not a ‘protection barrier’, but a steely way of stitching up a heavily bleeding wound. For good.’

I grew up watching the Olympic Games with East and West German teams and was in fact in Europe around the time of the Wall coming down. Today, we would find it extraordinary to have a major city torn in two, with divides being political, social and very emotional. Two polar opposite ways of governing but a simple stone throw apart and to have loved ones separated by such a structure would be pure heartache. I think Mandy captures so much of these themes wonderfully well.

‘Her sister, her soulmate, is barely a few kilometres away, and yet it might as well be a million miles, at the end of a rainbow.’

It was thought provoking to consider that this wall basically went up overnight, where previously, movement between the two zones had been permitted. The use of twins was a stroke of genius as it perfectly encapsulates the divide between East and West. I was there with Jutta crawling through the wall and standing beside Karen as she looked over her shoulder fearing life under Communist rule.

‘But the world isn’t thinking straight right now, is it? As the Wall climbs higher, life as they know it comes crashing down.’

It is clear the depth of research Mandy has undertaken on all bases concerning facts surrounding not only the politics of the day but the human side of this major world event. Any book that has you racing to Google places and events has done a great job. Tying it all together with characters you come to care about and a plot that has you on the edge of your seat, is a historical fiction reader's heaven.

‘She balances the scales in her head, weighing the risk against Karin’s need and Mama’s elation. In every calculation, Jutta’s own sacrifice is outweighed by her family’s continuing loss.’

Congratulations Mandy on yet another winning book. I have read and adored all your books and cannot recommend them highly enough. For a realistic, well written tale of what life in Berlin during the years of the Wall would have been like, look no further than, ‘The Girl Behind the Wall’.

“… until August 1961, you lived with your twin sister Karin in said residence. Until, in fact, the day when the anti-fascist protection barrier was erected.”
The Wall. If we’re being honest, call it the fucking Wall.




This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Wow! What a beautiful well researched book it’s so difficult to imagine this was a real life event for millions- completely unthinkable! However it did happen in real life and this story is so beautiful and heartbreaking in every way. This is one I will buy and recommend for everyone!

Twins, Karin and Jute, get separated by a twist of fate just as the Berlin Wall gets built. One day no wall and the next day the wall is in place. Karin is stuck in East Germany and Jutta is in West Germany with the rest of their family.
The story is told by each girl as they go through this upheaval in their life. Will they find a way to be united?
Interesting historical fiction about the trauma of the Berlin Wall.
I have not read a book about the time period of the Berlin Wall. Very suspenseful and emotional to read about.
We happened to be stationed in Germany in the Air Force when the Berlin Wall was taken down. What a historical moment.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

I have mixed feelings about this book and would give it 2.5 stars. It was OK, definitely not my favorite by the author. I liked that it was a bit of a different historical fiction, since it took place after the end of WWII and focused on East and West Berlin. I usually like books that alternate between characters, but not this one. I never really got to know Jutta or Karin. The the story jumped back and forth between the two sisters a little too much. Karin's life was more of a mystery than Jutta's. It would have been interesting reading about Karin adjusting to East Germany and how her life changed. The Stasi had to know what was going on. They had eyes everywhere, so I found it hard to believe that Jutta could keep sneaking across the Wall without anyone noticing. Axel, a complete stranger, was able to tell the difference between the twin sisters, but Otto couldn't?

Give the book a try, it just wasn't for me. I look forward to reading more books by the author. I love the cover of the book.

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

Mandy Rosbotham has crafted another well researched book about Germany, this time post war when the Berlin Wall was erected.

This is a thought provoking book which will make you think how the erection of the wall affected the inhabitants of Berlin. It has a cast of well drawn characters and an interesting plot and will appeal to lovers of historical fiction.

This is an amazing look at the Berlin Wall going up and what life was like on either side of it, specifically the families that are separated by it. Seemingly overnight, the walk goes up and twin sisters Jutta and Karin get separated when Karin is hospitalized on the east side and Jutta and her family aren’t allowed to cross over. When Karin wakes up alone in the hospital, she is desperate to get word to her family that she is ok after the nurses explain to her what’s happening-all communication between sides has been cut off. Until one day, a couple of years later, Jutta finds a literal hole in the wall and uses it to sneak in and out of the east to see her sister and try and get her to go back home to the west, but Karin has made a life and fallen in love. It was fascinating to see how each side adapted to their new way of life and the Stasi surveillance, which reminds me of how our phones and electronics are always listening to us.
Thanks to Avon Books and Netgalley for this Arc in exchange for my review.

Read if you like: Cold War history, Ken Follett's Edge of Eternity.
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Twins Karin and Jutta get separated when the Berlin Wall is erected and how the sisters try to find a way back to each other. Of course, this is not easy and the book looks at many different trials that the twins go through.
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The beginning was a little slow but then it picked up right away and I was sucked in! I really loved the relationship between the two women and how the book shows the impact the wall had on families living in Berlin.
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CW: violence, torture, death, separation.

Berlin is one of my favorite cities in the world and i love reading stories set there and about the life before the fall of the Wall
This is an excellent and gripping story, great characters and vivid historical background.
I liked Jutta and Karin and the description of live in East Germany.
An excellent, interesting and well written story.
Recommended
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I loved this story of twins being accidentally separated by the Berlin Wall and really enjoyed the historical aspect as it was just about in my lifetime but I was too young to know much about it and this is the first novel I have read about it. Mandy Robotham has definitely captured the atmosphere of the time as in her previous books and it is one that I would definitely recommend