When I lived for awhile in Singapore and Indonesia, I met a couple of older women who had experienced life there in WWII. Both places fell to Japanese rule for a time, and conditions were harsh for those who fell prisoner. It was mostly Dutch people in Indonesia as they had colonized it, and Under the Java Moon is a story of that time. It is based on a woman's recollections, and I found it fascinating to read about this little-discussed period of WWII.

Six year old Rita Vishner's rather pleasant life in Java is turned upside down when war reaches their shores. Her father, along with any able bodied man, is sent to war. Rita's father George goes away on a ship, but before they are hardly out of sight from land it is bombed by the Japanese. It is a fight for survival and several days floating in the sea, but George survives, only to be captured and sent to a POW camp.

Meanwhile his family is faring no better. His wife, her mother, his sister, and children are taken to a prison camp for women and children. Life is extremely hard there, and a large portion of the book is taken up with the realistic story of what happened to them there and how they were treated. Many died of starvation, disease, and exhaustion, but Rita's family is managing to survive. Will they survive until freedom, and will they be reunited with their father?

Anyone who has an interest in history, particularly WWII history, should enjoy this well written book. It illuminated a staging area of the war that I knew little about. The fact that it was mostly written on someone's true memories made it that much more interesting.

This book was a 4.6 read for me and I'm rounding up.

Thank you to Net Galley, Heather B. Moore, and Shadow Mountain Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This historic novel is so well written and carefully researched. It contains a lot of detail about life in Indonesia, I left know so much about a portion of history that I was pretty unaware of.

This book is so powerful!
WWII books always blow my mind, but this one was a whole new aspect I didn't even know about.
I will have this book in my brain for years to come and have already recommended it to many!

Based on a true story, this story shows the plights of those who lived through the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies.

The story follows Rita, Mary, and George Vischer a family separated by the occupation. This book does an excellent job of bringing to light the how Indonesia was affected by WWII, and this was my first time hearing about Dutch East Indies and how they were treated under the Japanese and put into camps. Well researched, I liked how it showed the war through the eyes of not just the husband and wife, Mary and George, but also their young daughter Rita.

A moving read, that shows the power of hope, strength and perseverance. Rita and Mary, are separated from George, while he carries out his duties with the Dutch Navy, they bravely face the unknowns. An emotionally gripping read, based on a true account of this tumultuous time. Highly recommend!


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

I’ve read a good number of WII novels, most of them focusing on the war in Europe and the Holocaust, the concentration camps . I’ve read a few about Japanese internment camps in this country, but there always seems to be so much more to know . This novel illustrates yet another facet of the war that I knew nothing about. While described as a novel, this book tells the true story of one Dutch family living in the Dutch East Indies during the Japanese invasion as they are held in prison camps. Heather Moore met Marie Vischer Elliott called by her nickname Rita in this story and was taken by her account of her family’s experience . It’s clear that they represent many Dutch families who endured hardship and loss, horrible living conditions, fear and uncertainty under Japanese domination.

With multiple narrative points of view from six year old Rita through a child’s eyes, from her mother Marie bearing the uncertainty of her husband’s whereabouts and condition and managing to keep her children as safe as possible in the prison camp, and her father George, an officer in the Dutch Navy on a perilous mission trying to do his job while always thinking about his wife and children. Heartbreaking and hopeful. There’s always something new to learn through well written and well research historical fiction .

I also recommend Moore’s The Paper Daughters of Chinatown.


I received a copy of this book from Shadow Mountain through NetGalley.

This was a fantastic book. It was well written and the author obviously did her homework. The moving story is gut wrenching because it actually happened! Similar to Schindler’s List, this is a book that needs to be read so we can learn from the past. While the hate and travesties that occur in the story make it difficult to read, I didn’t want to put it down. It gripped me from the beginning to the end!

This historical fiction was very well researched and compelling, providing a perspective on British colonialism I hadn’t read before.

I always enjoy reading WWII stories but I enjoy them even more when they are based on true events. Adding in this new location I've never read about before made the story even better.

I can't imagine having to live through what these people lived through. Being removed from your home, separated from your father, the endless drills and bowing and scraping to the enemy. It would break almost anyone. Yet these women and children kept going day after day. What incredible strength!

I would have liked more of George's story but based on real events I'm guessing they just didn't have the info. It sounds like Rita's family did not like talking about their experiences. Completely understandable.

I highly recommend this book!

This was one of my favorite books in 2023!

The story begins with a Dutch family being separated during WWII when Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies. Rita was forced to relocate to a POW camp along with her pregnant mother, Mary, and little brother, Georgie. The conditions were deplorable — overcrowded, malnourished, and rampant with malaria and dysentery. But they had to do what they could to survive, holding out hope that the patriarch of their family, George, was still alive.

This was a such a harrowing, and yet uplifting, story. I have to be honest, I didn’t know anything about this part of WWII, but it is one I will never forget. Rita and her family were such strong and determined characters, and I admired them a great deal. If you enjoy emotionally-driven historical fiction that is based on true events, then you will love Under the Java Moon!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Montain for providing a copy of this book to review.*

Brilliant, poignant, and heart wrenching. I loved this book. I don't know much about the Dutch East Indies, and it was really great to learn more. I loved that this was based on a true story. It made it much more enjoyable to me. Mary and George were amazing. I want to learn more about this location and what happened during WWII.

Well researched and well written. A testament to the human spirit and incredibly moving. This book deserves all the stars.

This book tells a story I was unfamiliar with during WWII. When Holland declared war on Japan, the Japanese army invaded the Dutch island of Java and forced the people into POW camps. We follow Mary and her two children as well as her husband who is serving in the Dutch Navy as they live through this dark time in world history. Again, I knew nothing about the more than 100,000 Dutch who were forced into prison camps and the atrocities they endured. While never enjoyable to read about the horrors of war, this book was well written and I appreciate getting to know these people and their stories.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A riveting and moving historical fiction based on true events. Very well researched and written.
Many thanks to Shadow Mountain Publishing and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I had to DNF this book. I found it boring and could not connect with any characters at all. I was listening to the audio version so maybe at another time I will read the print version and have a different experience.

I thought this was a great story that was well researched. I love how the author told a part of history that I didn’t know anything about. I also liked how she made the characters come alive for us so we cared about what happened to them. I also enjoy Heather’s books because they touch my heart.

I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, and or authors.  A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.

This was interesting. I'm still undecided on if I liked it or not. A different type of story that I have not encountered before.

For those interested in the Pacific theater of WWII and the lived experiences of Japanese occupation, Under the Java Moon delivers a poignant and moving story of loss and perseverance.

The novel follows the Vischer family, Dutch colonials living in Indonesia when the Japanese arrive and occupy the region. George, an engineer is drafted into service, separated from his family, who are marched out of their home and into the enemy alien camp at Tjideng. Told through the eyes of George, Mary, and their young daughter, Rita, the reader is immersed in the experience of living through war.

The novel and story is emotional and psychologically nuanced, but -- for this reader -- sanitized. While I felt sympathy for the Vischers, I felt no emotional pull, no real heart-wrenching, which -- perhaps strange to say -- I expect to feel from a story of this genre.

Moore's novel is well-crafted as a historical novel; pertinent historical events serve as the structure of the story, without it turning into a history textbook. But it is unfortunate that we only see the Dutch perspective of WWII here, and very little of the Indonesian experience. I would have liked to seen a little more balance of perspectives.

Overall, an enjoyable read, though less profound that its subject suggests.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for approving my request for an advance copy. This was certainly an interesting and informational read.

One of my favorite parts about reading historical fiction is learning about new places and experiences to me. Under the Java Moon is based on the true story of Rita Vischer and her family living in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) during WWII. After the Dutch surrender to the Japanese, the Dutch are forced into internment camps on the island where thousands of people are forced into very small camps and forced to endure disease, starvation, and beatings. A heartbreaking story, but one full of hope as the family separately endures the traumas of camp. I highly recommend this book for lovers of historical fiction. I especially loved the quotes from internees that were included throughout the book as well as some of the notes at the end of the book.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A phenominal book! This book cured me from feeling burned out on World War 2 stories. I previously knew nothing about Indonisia and the Japanese occupation during WWII. This book is told in multiple point of views: Rita (6 years old), Mary (Rita's pregnant mother), and George (Rita's father). Each experienced the war in very different ways. Its clear in the story that Rita has to grow up really quickly, but she starts so innocent and childlike in the novel. Mary had to sacrifice and take care of her family in ways that any mother would shudder of thinking about, all while living with her children in an internment camp. George had to run away from Indonesia in an attempt to help the Dutch navy, but ends up being captured by the Japanese. George also spends most of the war in a separate internment camp, miraculously close to his family.

Heather Moore's gift as an author is that she can write about really heavy subject matter, describing horrific events, while still uplifting the reader and instilling hope. I really appreciated that while there were terrible details shared, the events were described tastefully.

Thank you to the publisher for the advance copy of this book. A poisitive review was not required.