Survival and friendship.

Women being held in a notorious Japanese POW camp during WWII is another frightening example of brutalities that occur/occurred during wartime. I had both the book and the audiobook versions which made a fully enjoyable reading experience. I recommended the audiobook as the female characters form a chorus during their time in the POW camp and their singing/orchestra voices is played during at one point during the audiobook.

During the war, many tried to escape and find a safe refuge not only for themselves but for those that they loved. Some of the women enlisted as nurses to help the allied cause. One of which was Sister Nesta James, a Welsh Australian nurse, who boarded the Vyner Brooke as Singapore fell to the Japanese. Also on board was Norah Chambers, an English musician and mother. Two days into their voyage, their ship was hit and sank. Nesta, Norah and others survived in the sea for 24 hours and once they found a remote beach, were taken prisoner by the Japanese and put into a POW camp. There they met other prisoners of war and formed strong bonds and friendships.

Their plight is a hard one and many did not survive. What shines was their bonds, their determination, their bravery, their singing, and their sacrifices. I enjoyed how the women used their voices to form an orchestra which lifted their spirits and entertained others.

This book, like Heather Morris's other books, is well written, well thought out, and depicts a horrific time in history. I appreciate that she based this book on the real life Nesta James and Norah Chambers, along with 500 hundred other women who were kept in POW camps in the jungle. Parts of this book may be difficult for some to read but know that the scenes are not graphic.

While this was not my favorite book by Heather Morris, I still found it to be impactful, moving and gripping. Knowing that this is based on real people and events in history, makes it even more powerful.

Well written, moving and depicting deep female bonds.

Received as a free ARC from NetGalley.

Heather Morris has done it again. She tells us a story based on true facts and then adds her magic. The book takes readers to Asia. She tells the suffering, dreams, and hopes of Australian nurses taken as Japanese POWs. I fell in love with the characters who although strangers eventually became more than friends, but sisters. I love the narrator of the book and the cherry on top is the music added that the nurses sang/played/heard and the author's note. The author's note explains the true story the book inspired Heather Morris to write.

I listened to the audiobook and also read the ebook. I wish history in high school were taught through novels. I would've learned so much more! I find that Heather Morris does so much research and listens so well that she tells the story that the people involved feel heard and respected. The story of Norah and Nesta and the nurses and women with whom they were imprisoned is both heartbreaking and empowering. This book tells how kindness, courage, and determination can affect lives for generations.

I've read all of Heather Morris's books, including the popular "The Tattooist of Auschwitz," but I have to say that "Sisters Under the Rising Sun" is my favorite. It is the truly inspirational story of life in a Japanese POW camp in the middle of the jungle in Indonesia. The descriptions of life in the camp are at times difficult to read, but the strength and resilience of the women, as well as their love for each other, outshine the horrors of camp life.

This is a book that will haunt me for quite some time. While the market is a bit saturated with historical fiction set during World War II, this is the first book I've read about women POWs. The characters. who are based on real people, came alive to me and my heart was touched by their will to survive appalling conditions while still retaining their humanity.

From the author: "I have not told this story so the women internees of the Japanese prisoner-of-war camps in Indonesia will be remembered. I have told this story so they will be known...alongside those of all male prisoners of war, their suffering no less." The subject of this book was new to me and I thank the author for educating me about an aspect of World War II about which I knew nothing. In an world where we are so quick to desire conflict, it is important that stories of the actual consequences of these conflicts be told.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Heather Morris for the privilege of reading an advanced digital copy of this book.

Heather Morris does it again. The amount of research she does for her books is unmatched. I also love how she incorporates real people as her characters. The writing was so detailed that I could imagine myself in the camp with the women. My only suggestion would be to narrow down the time period at the beginning of the chapters. It was confusing to have chapter after chapter with the same year timeframe. The author’s notes at the end was one to not miss! This is a book I will be recommending!

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read all of Heather Morris's books and I have to say that this one is probably the one I liked the least.
The story is about a group of women and children held in a Japanese prisoner of war camp for three and a half years; among these women are a group of Australian nurses. The prisoners are moved many times to new camps, with changes in the commanding officers and living conditions
There are a lot of different characters in this story as we follow along in their torments and triumphs of their survival.
I had a harder time connecting with the characters of this story then with her other books, I'm not really sure why. I did enjoy this novel and I'm sure others will as well, I just didn't love it.

I have been deep in a romance mode and was a little nervous to start a historical fiction that I knew would hurt my heart. From page one, Morris tells a tough story. This is her gift. She finds real humans and shares their stories so that we know them. She should be proud.

This is the story of women in a Japanese internment camp in WW2. A band of nurses and a pair of sisters and the friends/family they make over their time interred by the Japanese is heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. This is history that I did not know and I am so thankful that she shared it with the world. Morris's research is flawless and her ability to create a story from her interviews is top notch. She will always get my reading minutes.

I was really excited when I saw that Heather Morris had written a fourth book, being such a huge fan of her previous work with the Tattooist of Auschwitz series. The premise of the story is fascinating, following ex-pats living in Singapore who are trying to escape the Japanese, but when their ship is hit and sinks, they make it to shore where they are rounded up and become Japanese POW. The story focuses around sisters Norah, and her nurse sister, Ena and the host of women they are set to live with on this island.

I really enjoyed the themes around sisterhood, courage and bravery. These women worked together, stuck together, and cared for each other so deeply. They also found joy in music and singing, and had a shared belief that they would survive this and get back to their families.

However, the amount of characters, and format of this book made it extremely hard to get to know each of them, and become attached to their stories. The POV’s shift quite a bit, and I had a hard time remembering which POV I was reading. The format is also as if you’re listening in on a bunch of conversations, with a variety of characters without much additional context. Because there are so many characters, it feels like you’re getting to know a lot of them at a surface level.

Overall, I felt like this book had so much potential but it fell a bit flat for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Norah Chambers, an English musician, and Sister Nesta James, a Welsh Australian nurse, become Sisters in Arms after the boat they were escaping Singapore on during World War II is sunk by the Japanese. The captured women and children are held in a notorious POW camp and must fight daily to survive against illness, starvation and beatings. I knew a little about this story from the movie "Paradise Road" but this extremely well written historical fiction put you right in the camp with these incredibly brave and resourceful women. Heather Morris does an incredible job making the stories of these women known when they had been forgotten for so many years. The friendships these women shared are extraordinary, heartbreaking and full of courage in the face of evil. I highly recommend this amazing book!

Sisters Under the Rising Sun is based on the true story of women who were Japanese prisoners of war on a remote island. The story focuses primarily on Norah Chambers, a trained British chorale conductor, and on Sister Nesta James, a Welsh Australian nurse. Along with others, these two women could bring hope and even some joy to their fellow prisoners during the three years and seven months they were held captive. Chambers was able to form a voice orchestra to perform for the camp. James and other Australian nurses were devoted to the care of everyone in the camp. The conditions were often grueling. The prisoners were often barely fed, given little water, had to endure infestations, punished for the smallest infraction, and forced to move camp numerous times.

The author has done an excellent job of telling this story of endurance, bravery, and resilience.

Historical fiction, especially based on WW2, is one of my favorite genres. I especially like a book that explores different locales, like this one. Set in Singapore and Malaysia, it tells the story of real nurses, nuns, and real women and children that were fleeing Japanese occupation. As the women were leaving Singapore, their ship was sunk and they were captured by the Japanese and taken to Malaysia. There they were interned in numerous prison camps, as they had to move camps multiple times. At camp, the nuns and nurses helped run a hospital and keep everyone as healthy as humanly possible. The other women and children learned to do their part in cooking, cleaning, etc. to make the camps run with some order. The living conditions were horrific, food was scarce and contaminated, and the guards were far from hospitable. The nuns tried to keep up Sunday services with a small choir. One woman had formal musical training and created a voice orchestra. Each person's voice became an instrument to create and perform the music she remembered. The music created was beautiful and touched everyone who heard it.
Nesta and Norah, just 2 of the many women in the book, were incredibly strong characters and since they were real people, it is hard to wrap your head around what they had to endure for 3 years and 7 months. I found myself crying at different times when they had to say goodbye to one of their own due to malnutrition and disease and then at the end when they were repatriated back home.
The author's notes at the end explain who the people were in real life and a bit about what happened to them after the book time period ended.
I read this in a few days because I had a hard time putting it down. Whenever I had a few minutes or more, I had to return to the story to see how these characters were getting along and what would happen to them next. If you are looking for a quick-paced book about unknown women doing the hard things during WW2, I recommend this book.

#StMartinsPress #SistersUndertheRisingSun #SMPInfluencers
Thank you St. Martin's Publishing Group and Net Galley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Wow! I had no idea about what was going on in this part of the world during WWII, to the British, Australians and Americans captured by the Japanese in the Pacific. Sisters Under the Rising Sun, by Heather Morris (which I am a big fan of all of her novels), is an incredible, powerful, dignified historical fiction novel, based strongly on true characters and events, depicting in an incredible manner the horror, brutality, deprivation and the strong human spirit of women, rising above their terror to offer kindness and save one another. Just MAGNIFICENT. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the Advance Reader Copy for review. All opinions are my own.

After reading this book, I am speechless. This is the first WWII book from the Japanese angle I've read and won't be the last. I loved reading about the teamwork and resourcefulness of the women as they try to survive while still having moments of peace and happiness. I also appreciate the biographies of the real people in the book at the end. It truly is a profound testament of the resilience of human nature. Highly recommend.

Heartbreakingly beautiful story

This book of historical fiction is rooted in history. The major characters existed and endured the horrors of Japanese internment for 3 years and 7 months, from 1942 to 1945. The prisoners were mainly from Australia and England, with a small number of people from other countries. I selected this book because I don't know much of the history of that area, and because my sister-in-law is from Banka. I wanted to learn more.

In reading of the atrocities, I had to remind myself these things happened in the 1940's, not the 1700's. Imprisonment in terrible conditions, torture, lack of food and medicine and tyrannical prison leaders, I simply cannot imagine how the survivors managed to live through it all. They used all their strength and creativity, calling on power they didn't know they had, until the liberation.

Highly recommend for history buffs and people who admire the perseverance of strong women.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

I’m not sure if it was my heart wasn’t in it or the story. This did not grab me like the author’s previous books. It was a good story but not the level of great I am used to.

I found the story line hard to follow. I did enjoy it overall.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

Not much is known about women who were held in Japanese POW camps during World War II, and this fictional telling of the story of these women helps open the readers eyes to the conditions and strength that these women endured.
Singapore is falling to Japan during the war, and many people board a merchant ship to escape. Passengers included many Australian nurses. The ship is attacked and sinks two days after its departure. Some of the passengers are able to get themselves to shore, but quickly find themselves captured by the Japanese. The journey is long as the women are moved from camp to camp, deal with hunger, disease, and death, and as they miss and wonder about what has happened to their loved ones. This is an eye-opening read about what the real women likely experienced during this time in the world's history.

This book was absolutely fantastic. The Tatooist of Auschwitz is one of my all time favorites and this one was just as good. It was part of the war that I wasn't as familiar with. The women in this story were strong, brave and heroic. I loved the ending and am recommending this to anyone who enjoys the historical fiction genre.

Sisters Under the Rising Sun is yet another WWII historical fiction but this one takes place on an island in the Pacific at a POW camp. It is based on a true story.
I struggled with this one a bit. Look, I'm grateful to the author for introducing me to these women and their heroism but it wasn't all that interesting as a novel. I can't tell you how many times I actually said out loud, "wait... who is this now?" There were so many characters. And most had similar names. I understand that historically many women DID have the same or similar sounding names but the author should have consolidated them.
Characters were also plopped into the narrative out of thin air and readers were expected to just know who they were (and they were NOT historical figures). At 66% a death is written in a way that I guess was supposed to make readers feel shocked and saddened but I just felt confused... Who the heck is this person? They were NEVER mentioned beforehand.
I also had a hard time believing that the women never fought amongst themselves. Really? Everyone was friends and got along perfectly? The only instance of arguing I found was when they were discussing pavlova and who "invented" it.
I listened to the audiobook while following along with the kindle version and I will say that helped keep a few characters separate. The narrator did a decent job with accents (Australian, Scottish, English, American, and English with a Dutch accent) as far as I could tell.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Having devoured all of Heather Morris’s books, I was very interested in this latest historical fiction novel. The story revolves around women (British, Australian and Dutch) who are imprisoned by the Japanese after bombing of their ships in an attempt to flee from Singapore during the early days of World War II through to the liberation of the survivors when the war ended. The writing is superb and filled with many poignant and emotional moments. The resilience, stamina and courage under unbearable conditions (including starvation, punishments of standing in excruciating sunshine for hours and forced subjugation to Japanese officers) of the women is remarkable. It would be fascinating to have heard the music made by these women.
I thank NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and especially Ms. Morris for the opportunity to read this memorable novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is such a well researched story that I did not know a lot about. Based on the true story of the internment of women and children by the Japanese during WWII. This is the story of 2 sisters, their children and a group of Australian nurses who are basically ship wrecked and confined during the war. The conditions and treatment of the women was deplorable.

Such a heart wrenching tale of survival and strength!