Quick & Dirty
-multiple timelines
-single POV WWII novel
-vaudeville subplot
-down on her luck orphan

Synopsis
Fenna is no stranger to heartache and loss. She's known far too many tragedies in her young life. As a child, she discovers a love of magic tricks, a talent that would ultimately help her manage her anxiety and give her something to run toward. But fate has a bigger plan for Fenna, and war is calling. When she answers the call to support secret ops for the British army, she has no idea that her path will soon cross with the one person she longs to see.

Musings
This book was everything I didn't know I needed in a book. I couldn't put this one down, even during a recent bath! Word to the wise: it's a long one (573 pages), so don't expect to breeze through it. Those new to historical fiction might find this one a bit of a challenge; there are some competing themes, seemingly unrelated timelines, and plenty of plot twists. Despite all this, the book comes together in the end as McMorris threads all the plot lines together into a rich tapestry of love, loss, and bravery. I really appreciated how the author included aspects of Dutch culture and the Dutch immigrant experience, something I haven't encountered much in my reading. Overall, this was a strong read that some people will love, but others might find it too long and layered.

Book Review

The Ways We Hide
Kristina McMorris
reviewed by Lou Jacobs



readersremains.com | Goodreads


Multi Award winning McMorris weaves another heartfelt moving historical fiction gem, destined to be a blockbuster bestseller to rival her amazing Sold On Monday and secure multiple literary awards.

Young Fenna Vos, raised solely by her Dutch miner father in a small immigrant filled town in Michigan, has struggled to overcome early tragedy and adversity to forge a place in a man’s world by utilizing her obsession with the magic and illusions of Harry Houdini.

The story opens in 1942 with Fenna performing on stage as an assistant to Charles Bouchard, as he performs feats of magic and escapology to thunderous hoots, hollers and applause from the audience. But, actually she is the mastermind behind his “death defying” escapes. She has groomed him and devised and choreographed the illusions and magic, and yet, performs as “his assistant” for over three years on tour. She remains at center stage virtually unseen. She is approached after the performance by Christopher Clayton Hutton, who proposes and offers a job in London as a wartime civil servant to assist him. Her job would be to devise gadgets and escape aids to thwart the Germans in order to save lives of Allied soldiers and P.O.W.s. Hutton is well aware that Fenna is the brains behind their act, and is desirous of obtaining her unusual skill set for MI9’s war effort. Fenna vividly recalls being immersed as a child watching spy and detective adventures at the movies, and accepts the offer with trepidation. She has no inkling that eventually she will leave the comfortable confines of London, and request to be dropped behind enemy lines in occupied Holland to find and clear the name of her dear childhood friend and love of her life, Arie Jansen. He has disappeared without a trace and is suspected of being a Nazi collaborator.

McMorris utilizes flashback chapters of Fenna’s early life in 1928 to lay the foundations of her early life, exposure to tragedy, and mechanisms to overcome her adversity to life in an orphanage that lead to her future motivations and independence. She had disabling nightmares after experiencing the trampling tragedy on a stairway, at a Christmas Party.. After someone falsely called “fire” both adults and children were trampled to death. She envisions caskets nightly, some filled with her own image. Arie Jansen proved to be a godsend in his nightly offering her solace and a distracting story about brave knights, dragons, and pirates. He also gave her a book that would alter her life forever. She found on her pillow, a pocket-sized book: Houdini’s Big Little Book of Magic and Stunts. Fenna sets out to make her own way in the world.

Kristina McMorris weaves a complex and twisted tale with multiple interwoven subplots, with elegant and passionate prose that immerses the reader with an escalating tale of secrets, intrigue, desperation, friendship and love. This evocative tale results in a compulsive page turner to find closure in Fenna Vos’ life. This gripping story of survival was inspired by multiple true events and real persons, as disclosed by the author in an insightful Afterword.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark Publishers for supplying an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

The Ways We Hide by Kristina McMorris is a novel that is set during WWII. The main characters both are participants, but the war is not the story as much as the story of magic, illusions, and love. The novel covers a range of Fenna’s life and her experiences.

Fenna Vos grew up poor in Michigan and somehow survived a horrible experience with stampeding people. Her dislike of being confined is strongly linked to that survival. She has nightmares for years unnoticed until a neighboring boy, Arie, hears her crying out and helps her. Those nightmares for both of them leave them bound to each other in their trauma.

Years later Fenna, an illusionist , is approached by British Intelligence to help build illusions to ship to the people stuck in German camps behind enemy lines (for example: cards when they are wet show maps of the area to help escaping. Her life in Britain is difficult, but she feels she is helping, until an event happens and she needs to help Arie behind German lines.

The novel contains information that was new to me. The terrible Christmas tragedy when numbers of people were trampled. The horror of being behind the lines in the Netherlands. The group of scientists who were trying to help soldiers and others held behind German lines. BUT it is also about how we hide within ourselves when things are hard or uncomfortable.

The Ways We Hide by Kristina McMorris was a good read.

This book has everything to love. The characters were amazing, the details were rich, and the setting was enthralling.

You know that feeling you get, those goosebumps when you’re reading a book and you finally understand the title? You’ll get that in this book. You’ll also laugh, moan in despair and root for the main players Fenna and Arie, as well as the small characters, the ones in the shadows. The WWII setting was at times deep and heavy, and difficult to carry, and yet the irrevocable truths I found within these pages are indisputable. I wanted a very different ending, but after processing it a bit I realized that every page, every chapter was crafted with expertise and amazing research, and pored over with love. A wholly satisfying experience. (Be sure not to skip the author’s notes at the end.)

The Ways we Hide by Kristina McMorris is a historical fiction novel centered around World War II. Fenna Vos has not led a comfortable, easy life. She has however, learned to survive and thrive as a skilled magician. Fenna is performing in a magic show as the assistant to the magician, when in reality, she is the brains behind the show. Charles and Fenna begin to disagree when Charles begins to modify the show without telling Fenna. The relationship continues to break down and Fenna joins the British military as an intelligence agent. Her job is to design tools for the Allied troops in order to escape from the Germans during the war. This book was interesting in that it explored a female’s point of view during the war, which is difficult to find in historical fiction. It was interesting to read about the Italian Hall disaster as well as, the war. This book was an extremely well written historical fiction novel about the obstacles of the World War. I highly recommend reading his book. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, RB Media/Recorded Books for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest historical fiction book by Kristina McMorris, wonderfully narrated by Cassandra Campbell - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Fenna survived a disaster growing up in copper country in Upper Michigan, saved by her best friend, Arie. Her love of magic took her to be the brains behind a magician show. It was there where she was noticed by an MI9 agent and approached to help the war effort by creating devices to help those behind enemy lines during WWII. However, her loyalty and subterfuge are tested when Arie could be in harm's way.

This was yet another unheard story of brave Americans helping the war effort in ways we couldn't imagine. It was so interesting to read and hear about all the devices that were created to hide things and people from the enemy as well as keep troops safe and in better spirits (hot soup!). This was the beginnings of Q of James Bond fame. As with so many historical fiction books, this one will educate you with disasters in our own country that may be unknown as well as events taking place across the world. Fenna was such a loyal, strong, resilient character. I felt this book was maybe a tad too long and it jumped around a bit from current events to Fenna's past but was another winner from this author. The audiobook even includes recipes!

4.5 Stars
Oh, how I love to be captivated by a strong story. Ways We Hide by Kristina McMorris had all the elements that work for me.

She gave me a girl, then the woman she becomes, she gave me her talents, the need to be strong, and then the way to confront all the challenges put before her.

A complex tale based on true accounts of the times.

This was a very well written book but I just could not get into it. I think maybe I was burned out on this setting.
I've read and enjoyed this author's books before but just am not ready for this one. If I finish it I will amend my review.

Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC.
5 stars because I can't give it less without good reason.

I love all of Kristina’s books and this was no exception! An amazing story line that at times just breaks your heart! Loved this story and it’s amazing characters. Highly highly recommend

I read this book for a BookBrowse discussion, with the option to do a full review of the novel afterward.

There were a number of aspects of it that I did like a lot. It was obviously very well researched and covered parts of WWII history that I hadn't read about previously (specifically MI9 and the gadgets the unit designed).

I ultimately opted to not review the book, however, because I felt a large part of the plot was improbable. I just couldn't get beyond my feeling that certain actions never would have occurred.

So, from a historical fiction standpoint, it was a five-star book, but the story brought it down to more like a 3 for me.

This was a great story. I very much appreciated the detailed descriptions of places and events, the time given to the different character back stories and the research of the time period. The suspense and the twists and turns kept me reading on late into the night.

I could immediately identify with the heroine, Fenna Vos in THE WAYS WE HIDE by Kristina McMorris. A young girl whose life was shaped by tragedy, Fenna is determined to survive and to make a meaningful contribution to the world. This historical novel had so many interesting elements from Fenna’s fascination with Houdini, her immigrant family’s struggles in a mining community to WWII intrigue. Fenna faces alarming odds as she finds herself in Nazi territory trying to help her childhood sweetheart and his niece escape danger. Enthralling and poignant I cheered for Feena until the very end. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ways We Hide is an interesting perspective on the interwar years and WWII. It is a unique story among the standard WWII plot fare.

What I enjoy about historical fiction is that the author can base the storyline around one or more important historical action(s) or person /people, which then gives the reader the best of two worlds.....learning more about history but at the same time imagining the "what if" of the story being brought into our imagination. This story brings together several actual events and people of history that brought the magical acts of illusion into helping the soldiers of WWII outwit their enemies. The story of the hardships of the orphan Fenna Vos, coming from the copper mining town of Calumet Michigan, falling in love with her childhood friend Arie, and yet always running away from the fears that plagued her since the tragedies of her youth, was heartbreaking. Magic was her escape as a child, and it leads her to become a part of British Intelligence in designing ways to help trick the enemy. But this skill also takes her dangerously close to the war when she attempts to help her friend Arie in a mission that makes him a suspect of spying. This was a very interesting read....and always be sure to read the Epilogue to get more facts about the story. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #WaysWeHide #NetGalley.

Fenna Vos was raised amid the hardships of Michigan's Copper Country, and she learned to survive. That ability sustains her as the Second World War rages in faraway countries. Though she performs onstage as the assistant to an unruly escape artist, she's the mastermind of their act. Yet for all her planning, Fenna doesn't foresee being called upon by British military intelligence. and asked to design escape aids to stop the Germans, MI9 seeks those with specialized skills, and Fenna reluctantly joins the unconventional team as an inventor. But when a test of her loyalty draws her deep into the fray, she discovers no mission is more treacherous than escaping one's past.

Inspired by true accounts, The Ways We Hide is a gripping story of love and loss, the wars we fight—on the battlefields and within ourselves—and the courage found in unexpected places. This is the first book I have read by this author and was impressed by the amount of research she did to tell this story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

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I couldn’t put this book down! I wish I hadn’t waited so long to read it, because it was fascinating and heartbreaking in equal measure. I am such a sucker for childhood friendships that turn into love, and their relationship in every form kept me heavily invested. So, so good.

Heart wrenching and beautifully told, this will appeal to fans of Martha Hall Kelly and Kristin Hannah. Fans of WWII fiction will appreciate the unique but harrowing take on a tale of survival in which a little girl’s life is at stake. I enjoyed the fact that the main character was a magician and felt that it added flavor to the story. This will be a good choice for book clubs.

I really enjoyed this book, as I have all of this author's previous work. I love how she explained afterwards how she had created this story and I was able to see how she had taken disconnected stories and combined them all together for this piece of work. It's definitely one I will be recommending for fans of historical fiction!

Right from the start this book had me hooked.. I love Historical Fiction and have read so many interesting books on WWII. The Ways We Hide by Kristina McMorris had such a different story line than most WWII novels. The fact that Fenna was a magician and able to use her skills to help the Allie’s was brilliant. I loved the backstory of her family life and struggles. This was a four star read for me. The story and the characters were excellent. My only issue was how long the story was. I might be one of the few but I almost lost my way when she went on her mission. I felt it could have been shorter without missing much of the plot. But I did finish and overall it was a original story. I want to thank Netgalley & the author for my copy for an honest review. It is always a pleasure to read a new to me author. As for the length, give it a whirl.. I did finish it and the ending was very good.