"I have told this story so they will be known. How can you be remembered if you've never been heard of?" I absolutely love this quote from the Author's Notes. It so beautifully states why I deeply appreciate what authors like Heather Morris do with stories like this.

I have stumbled upon very few stories focused on the atrocities women faced in the POW camps during WWII. It is so incredible that Ms. Morris brought these women's stories to light. These were real people who lived through this. The more I read about WWII and the aftermath, the more mind boggling it is to me how far reaching that war was.

It seems there have been more stories recently published about WWII from the Japan side vs. Germany side. It's been interesting to learn more about that part of war and its implications.

What an astonishing story of so many women who fought against the horrors that took place during WWII. Their strength and resilience should be remembered and known by all of us.

It took me a little while to get into the story and all of the characters but once I did I was hooked.

The atrocities that took place are so challenging to read about but should give us pause to reflect and remember.

Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc. The opinions are my own

The author also wrote The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's Journey, both books I loved. This was a great story about a group of women who are imprisoned on an island after escaping from Singapore during WWII. They decide to survive by tending to one another, sharing, making music, singing, and loving one another. Despite their many hardships they endure. A great book with a strong message.

Heather Morris' new book is set in the World War II, as her other best seller The Tattooist of Auschwitz and just as gripping. This one was not set on the European mainland but in the eastern part of the world.

When the Japanese attack in the Pacific region, a young musician mother Norah, sends her daughter Sally, with her sister on a ship that is leaving Singapore, while she stays back to look after her parents. Very soon though, Singapore falls to the Japanese and Norah herself along with her husband and sister also leave aboard the Vyner Brooke. A group of nurses is also on the ship as they move south. Unfortunately, the ship is bombarded just two days later off the coast of Indonesia. Norah and a few others survive and reach an island only to be captured by the Japanese and transferred to a POW camp.

Women and men are kept in separate camps. Norah and her sister along with a young girl Judy, who they have taken under their wing, are in the camp along with the nurses. Nurse Nesta rises to the occasion and shows exemplary courage to fight their situation.

The story based on true events is engrossing and an eye opener. The hardships and losses of the women were so difficult to read. Conflict in our world is a bitter reality so narratives of the wars are important to realise how they leave a mark on lives and what a waste they are. this story has not been told before and the author has done a fantastic job of it. I highly recommend this book to all readers who can stomach the horror of the concentration camps.

I was given an uncorrected digital ARC by Netgalley to give my honest opinion about it.

This author has written some very good books about the Holocaust and a few of its survivors. I was surprised when I discovered this was also a WWII book, but one about the Singapore attacks and internment of Australian and British nurses, sisters, and private citizens. At first, it took me a bit to get into the book. There were so many different people introduced and so many different dates. Once I figured things out, I enjoyed the story more. It's another heartbreaking story by this author, one that tells about friendship and survival. 3.5 solid stars.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Heather Morris takes WW2 history to another important but somewhat forgotten venue. The Pacific theater. The story starts out when ships were trying to evacuate Singapore. The ships were bombed and survivors washed up on shore and were soon captured and placed into a Japanese POW camp. There was one group of Australian Army nurses and the rest were various refugees.

At first it was hard to keep track of all the people but soon I was totally invested. It was so hard to believe that people were that cruel and the will of people to survive, no matter the conditions. You forget that these were real people and not just characters in a book.

If you liked other books by this author you will love this one.

Amazing, heartbreaking, thought provoking book. I am grateful for the invitation to read it. This is a WW11 book that takes place in Japan. I knew nothing about this war. The cruelty experienced is unimaginable for most of us. Read this amazing book. I highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

Let me begin by saying I love Heather Morris and thoroughly enjoyed her previous books. The tale of the two sisters, the nurses, and other captives under the Japanese during WWII was gut-wrenching and brutal in what they had to endure. The majority of WWII historical fiction seems to center around the European theater, so this was a glimpse into the other side of that great conflict. Morris writes of the true characters in her story at the back of the book and shares some of their stories of before and after the war, which I found interesting. I would have given this book 5 stars, because the tale is so engaging and educational into the horrors of war and the phenomenal strength and endurance of these women. However, the writing style seemed somewhat elementary to me, almost like reading a YA novel, and did not seem to have much depth in the actual writing and tone. I also feel that desperate times call for desperate measures and it seems that there would’ve been at least some conflicts between the women during those trying times. I felt it would’ve made it more realistic if that had been portrayed, even among some of the minor characters in the story. Will I read the next Heather Morris book? Absolutely! And I am glad that I read this one and would recommend it to my friends. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read copy.

Chaotic.
This book is way too chaotic for me.

From the opening pages, there was too many people, too many places, things going on.
Then the bombing of the transport, through the jungle to capture, so many people, and I had no idea where this story was based.

I could not care for the characters. Characters were wooden, I felt that they had no personality, and there was no backstory.
This book would have been so much better if the author had just focused upon a few characters, NOT HUNDREDS!

It was confusing and then all of a sudden Margaret died. Ok? Was I supposed to care for Margaret. Who was Margaret. Was Margaret mentioned before she died? At that point I was tired, I just wanted the women to be rescued.

There is a story there, I enjoyed reading about the real life people, but this author DID NOT do them justice.

Heather Morris has established herself in the WWII historical fiction world, controversially or not. Her latest takes us away from Europe to the Pacific Theater of WWII with Sisters Under the Rising Sun. Sisters Under the Rising Sun tells the story of some women who become prisoners of war after their ship is sunk by Japanese aircraft as they were trying to escape Singapore. Brought together under dire circumstances, the women face atrocities from their Japanese captors, but look for a ray of hope amongst themselves. Without losing sight of where they are being held or what they are enduring, the women learn to lean on each other as they wake each day with survival in mind.

What the women find is a sisterhood that is powered by music. Using their talents, they put together concerts to keep the spirits of the prisoners up so they know not to give up. They find a family with each other that helps them wake up thankful each day, no matter what may come. While other novels about Japanese prisoners of war involving women have been written, I found this one to infer some of what went on instead of going into graphic detail. This also tells the story of a strength that many of the women probably didn’t realize they had. The strength to survive, the strength of perseverance, the strength of determination, the strength of sisterhood. Make sure to read the author’s notes at the end to know the inspiring true faces behind Morris’ book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own. This book is set for publication on October 23, 2023.

#netgalley #arc #bookstagram #sistersundertherisingsun #heathermorris #stmartinspress #smpinfluencers

Another great read by Heather Morris! I really enjoyed this book and did not want to put it down. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Although Heather Morris takes her readers off the European mainland and transports them to Asia, she still draws upon her stellar ability to write about suffering and hope in the midst of it. Her focus this time is on sisters - nursing sisters - and she examines the belief that struggles expand our compassion for others.

Inspired by the Vyner Brook Tragedy, Morris’s latest book reminds us that even when it feels like the suffering is too much for us to handle, it’s possible for us to keep feeling compassion. Furthermore, it’s possible to help generously. Armed with resilience developed through their career, the ‘sisters’ effectively elevated their own ability to care about and effectively help others who were …. Ugh, I”m going to say it … in the same boat. Don’t throw anything at me!

The Vyner Brook was a merchant ship carrying desperate evacuees from Singapore when it was hit by the Japanese Air Force and sunk. You’ll read about a group of courageous survivors who made it to a remote island … then realize that the sinking was only the beginning of their horrific journey to escape the Japanese invasion of Singapore.

You’ll appreciate a fresh setting and perspective for WW2 history, and your emotions will be high when you are reminded that these are real people and real events. Their resilience and bravery will astound you. I won’t forget Nesta James, Betty Jeffrey and Vivian Bullwinkel any time soon. Thank you for bringing this important piece of history to light so that we can continue to learn from their courage and care.

If you loved The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka’s Journey and/or Three Sisters, you’ll want to source a copy of this book immediately.

The significance of the title was not lost on me, Heather Morris!

I was gifted this copy by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I've read all of Heather's previous books and this one did not grab me. I was looking forward to a different perspective but I felt it fell flat.

Sisters Under the Rising Sun is a novel based on real people,. It deals with the internment of women in Japanese POW camps during World War II. The women lived in terrible conditions and tried to help each other to survive.
The story includes two sisters and a group of Australian nurses. There are also children in the camp. It took tremendous will to survive.

This was a new topic for me in historical women. Not only do men suffer during war but women are also suffering. This books showed how the Japanese treated POWs. It is a book about sisterhood, survival, and will give you a different view of WWII. This book is good historical fiction.

Thank you to #netgalley, @HeatherMorris and @StMartinsPress for a copy of this book.
#SistersUndertheRisingSun

First off let me thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a preview read of Heather Morris’ new book SISTERS UNDER THE RISING SUN. This book will be released OCTOBER 24, 2023….Heather is the author of the Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka’s Journey and Three Sisters and I loved those books!

This book is about another devastating time in which women are held in a POW camp during WWII. While leaving Singapore in fear of the Japanese, a group of civilians and Welsh Australian nurses board the SS Vyner Brook. They are bombarded from the air off the coast of Indonesia. They survive in the water for 24 hours, but are captured and sent to a POW camp for three and a half years! These camps are brutal…with starvation, disease and cruelty.

Sisters Under the Rising Sun is about two blood sisters who were captured…as well as “sister” nurses who were enlisted to tend Allied troops. These women stand side by side bonding, helping and courageously trying to live during this deplorable and helpless time. I was shocked to read about this horrific incident, as I had never heard of about this…I love learning about history I haven’t previously known about through fiction. It just brings the story to life.

I did have one down turn about this book, which I think that I understand Heather Morris’ reasoning ... in no way does that alter my rating.
~All the women in the POW camp (who were separated early on from the men) got along famously. No infighting, bullying, or even hostile quarreling. This had me shaking my head a bit, because I know women in the best of conditions. We often tend to be cranky and petty during certain situations that arise. These women didn’t get upset, weren't contentious or even jealous when others had more to eat and better conditions. They volunteered for difficult work and some did more than their fair share. With that said, while I did have difficulty believing that there was no animosity...I also think that the author was trying to put a “positive” outlook on this extremely difficult situation. I believe she just wanted to get the story out there so that we will know about this time in history. Many died there and I feel the author wanted to respect their memory.

I also felt it started to drag a bit toward the end. However, can you imagine how their lives “dragged a bit” being in a prison camp for 3.5 years?!?!

READ THIS BOOK! It is so important that these moments in history (horrific moments) NOT BE REPEATED!!!!

World War II was definitely a war that encompassed most of our world. Acclaimed Author Heather Morris has written several remarkable books dealing with the horrors of Jewish prisoners in Germany during the war. “Sisters Under the Rising Sun” reveals the cruelty of the Japanese internment camps. Author Morris is to be commended for creating another heartfelt and inspiring historical fiction book.

The story begins in February, 1942 in British Malaysia, just prior to its fall to the Japanese. Residents of Singapore are desperately trying to evacuate. Norah and her husband, and her sister are on one of the last boats to leave the endangered city. The boat is crammed with other citizens, including a group of Australian Army nurses, who vow to stay with the ship. When Japanese bombers attack, the boat rapidly sinks. The nurses do indeed stay until the end and this is just the beginning of their dedication.

The nurses and other survivors float in the ocean until they finally reach an island off Malaysia. The Japanese stationed there send the women and children to a camp, and the men are sent to another camp. It will be three and a half years until the war ends and they are released. Three and a half years of fear, deprivation, starvation, cruelty, terrible conditions- how do they stand it?

This large group of nuns, nurses, and women who range from the elite to housewives, to a missionary, bond together with hope and love. (At the end of the war, it was noted that the women fared better than the men.) These women work together, solve problems, love and comfort children, and administer medical care. One of the highlights of the book are the touching and beautiful artistic performances by the women, which readers will never forget.

Author Heather Morris is known for her stories of the Holocaust. As notable as those were, “Sisters Under the Rising Sun” is even more beautiful and moving. I like that this book delivers a strong message without being graphic. At the end of the book, the author shares the follow up stories of some of the characters who survived, who were all real people. Although many died in captivity, I was happy to learn that most of the women who survived lived to an old age!

“Sisters Under the Rising Sun” will be published October 24, 2023. I highly recommend this book. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance review copy. This is my honest review. 1st

Sisters Under the Rising Sun
By Heather Morris
Pub Date October 24, 2023
St. Martins Press
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Astonishing story, I highly recommend it,
I love this author.
5 stars

This was an incredibly difficult book for me to read. I had to just put it down and walk away many, many times. I did not know that women and children were captured and put into prisoner of war camps. The atrocities that humans do to other humans totally baffles me. The will to survive is inspiring! Sisters Under the Rising Sun would be a great tie in for a world history class for high school students. We must not forget.

Sisters Under the Rising Sun
I have read many novels of WWII and the Holocaust, including this author’s previous novel, The Tattoist of Auschwitz. Without exception,the novels I read were about the horrible treatment of Jews, the mass murders in the concentration camps, and how the Germans were able to execute 6 million Jews. This novel also takes place in WWII, but on the other part of the world, in the Pacific. After the fall of Singapore to the Japanese, the ship that holds refugees and nurses of the Australian army is bombed and sinks, with not many survivors.
The nurses and civilian survivors are captured and put into camps, where conditions were not much better than in the German concentration camps. There is no food, water, medicine, and constant disease taking toll of those who managed to survive. The heroes of this novel are the nurses who work to save lives under the worst conditions, while the Japanese keep moving their prisoners from camp to camp. As Nesta, the tiny nurse testifies after the war, they were held for 3 years and seven months. As you read about families torn apart and some reunited, you better get out those tissues. I’ve learned from this novel, because I didn’t know about these Japanese prisoner of war camps. In the afterword, the author tells us that the story is based on real people and events. 5 star book, mostly for the amount of research that went into the writing of this novel.
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review, the opinions are my own.

This is another wonderful book by author Heather Morris. It tells the story of women POWs during WWII. But these internees are in Indonesia after they are forced to flee Singapore after the Japanese invasion. I didn’t know much about this part of WWII, but have since done my own research and reading about this time period because of this book. Nurses, families and children were on a ship trying to flee Singapore when it was sunk by the Japanese. The survivors were taken captive in Indonesia and subjected to horrible conditions for more than 3 1/2 years. The women who are the subject of this book, create a life for themselves and refuse to let their captures take their hope and dignity. This is truly a story of survival, loss and how complete strangers can come together to create a family that survives for years to come.