The War Girls primarily follows the Jewish Majewski sisters of Warsaw, Poland and their Catholic neighbor Janka throughout WWII.

Hanna, the elder Majewski sister, is estranged from her family, living in London with her aunt. Though essentially disowned by her father, her mother still writes when she can, and believes she is safe in London. The reality is that she is working for the SOE after hearing rumors of what is happening back home, and Hitler’s Luftwaffe bombs shattering her sense of security in England.

Younger sister Stefa is still at home with her parents, and younger brother Aaron. They are “luckier” than many Jews in the city because of her father’s position at a restaurant, which feeds the top brass Germans in charge. Eventually they too end up being rounded up into the newly formed ghetto, and do what they must to not only survive against the constant threats of disease and deportation to “work” camps, but also rise up against their oppressors.

Janka is married to a cruel drunk, who takes out his unhappiness on Janka. Generally, she just tries to get by one day at a time in a life she hadn’t expected. Initially she finds small ways to help her neighbors, the Majewskis, and discovers she is glad to thwart her antisemitic husband. Eventually she gets bolder doing more to help those in need, not just the Majewskis.

Kelli Tager does an excellent job of narrating the three women’s perspectives. Overall, it was sad and bleak as to be expected in a story about Jews during WWII, but it is still worth the read. The treatment of those not a part of Hitler’s Aryan vision was abominable

Thank you to NetGalley, High Bridge Audio, and of course V.S. Alexander for the advanced copy. The War Girls is out now. All opinions are my own.

I’m struggling to decide between giving this book a four or a five star because it was both great and greatly horrible as it should be on the subject of the holocaust. I’m going with a four only because The Diary of Anne Frank is a solid five and I think this may be more of a 4.5-4.75.

I listened to this book on audio and found the narrator to do a nice job of not overacting and making the book a drama due to performance rather than what happened. It isn’t easy for all narrators to let the story be the star and this one did that beautifully.

Pros:

One of the most powerful aspects of this novel is something I normally dislike, switching between character perspectives. Usually I find it jarring, sometimes even confusing but here it gives insight into what is happening to different people in different locations. It’s a way to allow a person to see the horrors which happened not only to the poorest or those caught early but to Catholics in Poland, to Jews who got to keep their jobs, to Jews who weren’t in areas taken over. It shows that things happened early on in England which usually doesn’t get mentioned in detail because those horror weren’t as great as the concentration camps.

I appreciate that the book tells you where you are in the timeline of the war. You can see how things didn’t just happen over night, they progressively worsened as people became numb to the horrors. I feel because of this it could have the potential to become a classic read in schools. People need to remember their history so that it isn’t repeated and to remember that every action has a rippling effect you won’t know the full effect of until much later.

Cons:

Because of the nature of what happened historically there are horrors shared in this book that will break your heart. They should do that, however people who are easily triggered by their own dark pasts could struggle with the story bringing things up they don’t want to think about. I believe the author did an excellent job not sensationalizing the horror to draw in people for the wrong reasons but they got to the heart of things enough that it hurts to know that real people had to suffer these atrocities.

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The War Girls by V. S. Alexander was a very emotional and sobering novel about life in Warsaw, Poland just before the Nazi invasion and during it. It took place between September 1939 and May 1946. It portrayed three very brave, strong and courageous women that became known as The War Girls.

In a very traditional family unit in Warsaw, one daughter chose to take another path. The Majewski family lived quite comfortably in a nice apartment in Warsaw. There were two daughters and a son who lived with their loving mother and father. The oldest daughter, Hanna, chose to break away from her family’s traditional Jewish ways when she was eighteen years old. She refused to abide with the tradition of an arranged marriage. Hanna contacted her mother’s sister, her aunt, who had also broken away from her family years ago. Her aunt now lived in London with her husband and agreed to take Hanna in. This decision left the Majewski family heartbroken,. Her father, though, refused to mention Hanna’s name or inquire about her well being. Hanna was dead to him. Hanna missed her family but not their ways. She slowly got used to living in London and made friends. Then the Germans began to bomb London. In a bombing raid, Hanna lost both her aunt and uncle even though they had taken shelter in a bomb shelter her uncle had purchased. By some miracle, Hanna survived. Shortly after her devastating loss, Hanna was recruited and trained by the SOE to become a spy. Hanna was to be sent back to her homeland, to Warsaw, to try and learn what the Nazis were planning. She also had another mission. Hanna was determined to find out how her family was and try and get them out of the ghetto before it was too late.

Stefa was Hanna’s younger sister. She was bright, independent and caring. Stefa chose to follow the traditional Jewish life and ways her parents had instilled in her. A boy had caught Stefa’s attention, though. Stefa and Daniel had forged an easy and comfortable relationship without the knowledge of their parents. At timely opportunities, Stefa made it her business to meet up with Daniel and spend as much time with him as she could. When the Nazis invaded Warsaw, Stefa’s life changed drastically. Restrictions were implicated and rules enforced. Then her family was driven from their comfortable apartment to two rooms that they shared with Daniel’s family. Daniel had had the hindsight to apply to become a member of the Jewish Police. This role afforded him and Stefa’s family a nicer place to live compared to other families. Conditions in the ghetto were awful, though. Everywhere Stefa looked she saw disease, starvation, filth, unsanitary conditions and almost a half million Jewish men, women and children imprisoned behind its walls. Stefa would eventually join Daniel and become part of the Jewish Resistance.

Janke was a Polish Catholic woman who resided in an apartment on the same street that the Majewski family had lived on before they were relocated to the Warsaw Ghetto. On several occasions, Janke had come to the rescue of Stefa’s younger brother and saved him from the dreaded Nazi soldiers. Janke slowly became a friend to the Majewski family. She suffered at the hands of an abusive and alcoholic husband. Janke’s husband was all in favor of helping the Nazis eliminate the Jews of Warsaw. He was a Nazi supporter. Janke became the third War Girl. She tried to help the Majewski family anyway she could.

The War Girls by V.S. Alexander was the second book I had read by this author. V.s. Alexander proved again to be a masterful storyteller and his research was impeccable. The audiobook was long and there were many characters but I was instantly hooked. I enjoyed Kelli Taker’s performance of this audiobook. There were several strong female protagonists and I enjoyed the roles they played. There were many themes presented in The War Girls that included courage, sisterhood, hope, bravery, family, love, tragedy, strength, promise, loss, fear and pain. I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook of The War Girls by V.S. Alexander and highly recommend it.

Thank you to HighBridge/Recorded Books for allowing me to listen to this audiobook through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was my second V.S. Alexander book. This one however, I ended up DNF at about 80%. I just had no drive to keep going with this audiobook and was less invested in this story than others. This book was a very slow burn, a little too slow for my taste and frankly, I was just bored. This happens occasionally. Perhaps I wasn’t in the right midframe to read this one. The story was an examination into the Jewish Ghettos in Warsaw during World War II. I felt for each of the characters. When I read the premise of a female spy, I was excited. I don’t feel that the book followed through with my excitement though.

What a beautiful story of the Blitz in London and the Warsaw Ghetto. I really enjoy books about WWII and this one did not disappoint. This is my first book by V.S. Alexander. I will have to check out other works by this author. Highly recommend the book.
Thank you NetGallery for the ARC.

This was another beautifully written story of WWII. I thought the beginning was a bit slow, but it picked up and was a compelling read! I would recommend this one for any historical fiction fans!

The War Girls follows the lives of three women and their families during WWII. Two Jewish sisters-one living in Poland during the Nazi invasion, and one enduring the devastation of London blitz both work to save their family from Hitler’s “final solution.” One through resistance work and keeping a written account of the atrocities committed against the Jews while attempting to survive the Warsaw Ghetto, the other as a SOE spy. The final protagonist is their neighbor turned ally also seeks to aid the Jewish family despite great personal risk as she too tired to survive the Nazi occupation.
The lives, experiences, and outlook of each woman is unique, offering a fresh perspective to the brutality experienced by the Jewish and Polish people, as well as all are their integrity and determination to do what is right and survive no matter the cost. Each character feel realistic, flawed and genuine. While the details of the Warsaw ghetto are at times realistically brutal, the writing well researched, felt authentic, and is beautifully written. While I have read many WWII historical fiction books, I felt that what set this one apart is the main focus being on the lives of those in the Warsaw Ghetto as well as the training and perspective of the SOR agents and their training.
I felt on the edge of my seat with terror for each character, could cheer with their successes and felt grief at their deep losses. I did feel that the title did not fully encapsulate the story as the large contributions of the male characters were also central to the story. I found War Girls to be a story worth your time and tears, and one so important to be told and remembered.

Historical fiction taking place in WWII is my jam. I haven't read may books that take place in Poland and this is my first about the Warsaw ghetto.
This book had great character development. It did a great job at capturing the fall of Warsaw and the atrocities that occurred there as well as the true horror that were the Nazis.
My only complaint is that at time the book dragged a bit.
The narrator did a fantastic job with accents of different characters and changing her voice. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was narrated by a full cast.

The War Girls
By: V.S. Alexander
Narrated By: Kelli Tager
Review Score: 3 Stars

Five Key Feels

-This book had a very slow start, but by the end, I was on the edge of my seat.

-I love that this book really showed the dynamics of all Polish people in Warsaw.

-Alexander really transports you into that time during World War 2.

-I loved all of the powerful females; they all earned the title “War Girls”.

-The ending felt a bit rushed after such a slow build.

———

The War Girls was kindly provided as an ARC by Netgalley and RB Media. Thank you for allowing me to read this wonderful book!

Release Date: 7/26/22

The War Girls was a bit of a slow burn for me. I felt that there was a lot of description to get to the climax of the book. Once I got into that part, I was hooked, but it took me awhile to get into the book.

With that being said, I still enjoyed this book. I think it’s a solid read for fans of historical fiction.

I also really loved that Alexander links multiple pieces of WW2 history into this book, and it was really well done.

Have you read The War Girls? What did you think?


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*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: July 26, 2022

A very intense WWII historical fiction audiobook listen. The narrator is incredible differentiating between the extensive cast of characters and brings out the heartbreaking emotion from the words on the page about these women and the things they do to survive daily life in the ravages of war.

War Girls takes place in 1940. When Germany begins bombing in England Hanna almost loses her life. Her sister, Stefa, and a family friend Jenka get taken from their home and sent to the Ghetto. Everyday they saw starvation, disease, and death. These three brave women did what they could do to help with the fight against Germany as the War Girls.
I thought the narrator was very good. Easy to follow.

Thank you NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for the early copy to review.

This is the first V.S. Alexander book I have ever read so I didn't know what to expect. The storyline was good, it the end I was pretty caught up into it. However, it seemed a little slow and, at the beginning, I was confused who was who and at times who was talking, maybe this was just the result of an audiobook.

Thanks NetGalley for this audiobook

4.5 stars!

This is the first book of many WWII books that I’ve read that spoke of the Warsaw Ghetto and I intend to do some more research on it since this one touched me so deeply. V. S. Alexander has written this tragic saga in such a way that I could not help but feel their pain (woes of being an empath). The characters are strong and well developed with likeable traits. I will tell you that in reading this book your heart will ache, may break, and you may even find yourself shedding some tears due to the intense description of the lives of the characters.

Narration by Kelli Tager was well done. She narrated so that I was able to tell which character was speaking and chapters were announced. I will say that the accent she used for the Jewish characters was not one that I associate with my Jewish friends and after awhile I found myself being distracted by it. It did not take away from the excellent writing of the book though, just my enjoyment of listening to it.

V.S. Alexander has a new fan! I can’t wait to read his other writings!My thanks to #NetGalley and #HighBridgeAudio for the ARC. This opinion is my own.

A lot of characters and covers a lot of years, . It was sometimes difficult to hear the difference between characters' POV and the time jumps on the audio. The settings and horrors were described so we'll, with such detail most of the time, than other parts (ie the bathhouse and the train) were confusing, I knew what was happening for the most part, but it was also confusing, like I think this is what happened, and I understand the not going into detail, I don't want more detail of the acts, but a better explanation would've been helpful. I'm still confused about the bathhouse. The characters were really good individually but sometimes the relationships were just thrown together and there really wasn't background information. I stayed up really late listening to it and found the ending to be meh. Had I known, I would've gone to sleep and finished in the morning.

What an amazing, horrifying, emotion evoking story of the Warsaw Jewish People at the beginning of World War 2.

Before the war began, Hannah left her family in Poland to search out her own life in England. When the war starts, the ghetto walled, and the Nazis occupying her hometown of Warsaw, Hannah knows she needs to find ways to help her people as well as her family.

The rest of the family in Warsaw, Israel (papa) continues to work his job in the kitchen of a fancy hotel but the forced relocation of Jewish families starts. Along with his wife and two remaining children are moved into the ghetto with his remaining daughter’s boyfriend’s family sharing very close quarters. Then more forced relocations happen to the “work camps” before they even really had opportunities for rumors of the atrocities that would happen there spread. How and who will survive?

I have read many, many WWII historical fiction novels and this is the first with the depiction of the atrocities in Poland. So very well developed; so very well done.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio version of this book. With all books surrounding WWII it is very hard content when you think that what the author is writing about is something that probably most likely happened to some capacity. This was a war story a love story a survival story a story about family and new begings. I enjoyed the aspect the author took on yes this was Nazi occupied Warsaw but she took the angle of the familyhaving more means than those of others yet there was still problems. How you make friends and keep friends when you dont realise it is happening. You find a way to survive when it is not meant to be. This is a great book to read.

The War Girls by V.S Alexander
Narrated by Kelli Tager

Taking place between Sept 1939 and May 1946, we follow the Jewish Majewski family and their neighbor, Janka, a Catholic woman. At the beginning of the story, eighteen year old Hanna has left her traditional family home, in Warsaw, to live with her aunt and uncle in London. She refused to follow the traditional Jewish ways, especially when it came to an arranged marriage. Her estranged family thinks she is safe in London but it's being bombed by German planes and she is in as much danger as her family in Warsaw.

I've read other books and done research about the Warsaw Ghetto and the stories are devastating. The Majewkski family, father, mother, Hanna's sister, Stefa (two years younger than Hanna) and their younger brother, are driven from their home to be crowded into one room in the ghetto. They are fortunate because Stefa's boyfriend, Daniel, is able to get a job that allows his family and hers the privilege of all living in two tiny rooms. Half a million Jews are crowded in the ghetto and it becomes clear that few will get out alive. Disease, starvation, deportation to work/death camps, and slaughter by their captives, on the streets or in their rooms, are constant threats.

Janka, whose cruel husband is all for the extermination of Jews and others he doesn't like, has no one to rely on but she wants to help the Majewski family. Janka sees what the Germans, and even some Polish people, are doing do her Jewish friends. In London, circumstances have put Hanna in a situation where she is being asked to spy for England and when she accepts, she is sent back to her homeland where she might be able to learn her family's fate. In the ghetto, Daniel, Stefa, and her younger brother see that just staying alive isn't enough. They must fight against their oppressors. It seems they will all die no matter what they do and they will not go down without a fight.

Kelli Tager does a lovely job of narrating this story. It is long, there are numerous characters, but I never had any trouble keeping up with them. I was invested in this story despite the fact that it hurt to hear it, especially knowing this really happened, the number of people killed is impossible to comprehend, the cruelty is impossible to get my mind around, and knowing that these kinds of things go on even now. The courage of so many people who had lost everything but their lives, who would lose their lives, who had no hope of survival, is inspirational and heartbreaking.

Thank you to HighBridge Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

Such a beautiful and important story to share. I appreciated the different placement and how it showed some of the real struggles faced in different areas through WWII

Historical Fiction can be hit or miss for me. This one I’m still on the fence about. While I enjoyed it, I also found myself less than invested in the story.

WWII stories are everywhere and this one joins the ranks pretty typically. It appears to be the usual story from a different POV than usual. This focuses on three women that fight to save their loved ones from certain death. Hanna is recruited as a spy after narrowly escaping her own death and uses this opportunity to save those she loves - this is the main storyline.

A female spy had me excited - but the execution wasn’t my favorite. I’m not even sure what I didn’t like about it. I can’t put my finger on it. I can say with certainty it wasn’t the narrator. I’m impressed with the different voices that were accomplished to tell this story.

I’m going to give this one 4⭐️ regardless. It seems decently researched to be realistic and I loved the narration. Thanks to NetGalley for the audio!

In the fall of 1940, London is under attack. The Germans are dropping bombs on the British, killing thousands of civilians in the attempt to secure a surrender by the British government. Hanna left traditional Jewish life behind in Warsaw along with her sister, Stefa. Now, Hanna has become a spy for the British and is sent back to Poland to gather intelligence. Life in Warsaw has been a nightmare for Hanna’s siblings, who’ve been sent, along with thousands of other Jews, to live in the Ghetto, where life expectancy is near zero. But Stefa refuses to give up and has become the leader of the Jewish Resistance. Together with a friend, the sisters become the War Girls, determined to fight the Nazis and save their friends and families. Keep your tissues handy for this heartbreaking story