Thank you to NetGalley, Ellie Midwood, and Bookoutoure for this arc of When the World Went Silent, out August 9, 2024!

📜Quick Summary: When Mina was 5, she contracted the measles and after some complications during the recovery, became deaf. The world prior to this loss was a loud place; the resulting silence, almost a solace for her mind. Mina is brilliant and as a student studying physics, is wanted to build an atomic bomb. When she meets Siggy, her world shifts. Can they stop the production of this bomb, or will German soldiers find out her nefarious plans to stop this world wide catastrophe?

💡Thoughts and Feelings: I loved this novel! I love historical fiction, and whenever a story can pull me in as fast as this one did, I know it is going to be a winner! This book made me feel so many emotions, from sadness to happiness, anxiety to bravery, nervous to courageous, and I truly felt as though Mina’s experiences were all captured well. For being “tossed around” for her intellect, she handled many scenarios like a pro…something I would have been terrified about!

🙋🏼‍♀️Moving Character: Mina was a force to be reckoned with the minute she was born. Overcoming her disability, that she saw as a tribute to her intrinsic personality, was really something to be admired. I loved her bravery, her intelligence, and her self awareness. She was never embarrassed about being deaf, even when it challenged her. I loved watching her grow into herself, and be proud of who she became.

👍🏻or 👎🏻: Thumbs up all the way! If you are a historical fiction buff, you will enjoy Mina’s journey and the story she tells.


🌟Overall Rating: 4.5 stars!

This novel was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

I loved it! Which sounds a bit odd given the storyline and that it opens with the aftermath of the Hiroshima bomb fall out. I was drawn in to the world of silence that is Mina’s since losing her hearing at age 5, the fear her family feel for her in the Nazi world where she is considered defective even though she is far more intelligent and a super mathematician way beyond her years. So well written and well paced it’s hard to put down, just one more page to see what happens, before you know it another hour has passed. I never knew the Germans had been working on splitting the atom for nuclear fuel and the Nazi’s then, of course, wanted to make a bomb, the scientists involved alongside Mina were heroes. Such an interesting and different read with a very satisfying ending.

“When the World Went Silent” is a WWII book by Ellie Midwood. This book follows a woman, Mina, who is fascinated with numbers - numbers related to math and physics specifically. She is deaf (not born that way) so there are some challenges thrown in her direction. She gains the attention of a teacher during her studies at school - and is then recruited to work on Germany’s atomic bomb. I found this book really slow to begin, but once it picked up it was a comfortable read. There’s a bit of physics and atomic bomb information thrown at the reader (if you know someone comfortable with the basic science, ask them your questions - or ask your favorite search engine) but Ms. Midwood does a good job balancing the information and moving the story along. I found this an interesting read - and liked the Author’s Note giving some information about Mina and some of the people she worked with.

This was my first novel by Midwood and it won’t be my last. Not sure how I did not know about this truly gifted author of historical fiction.
Set in Berlin in 1942. Mina has been deaf since she was five. She is now grown and a gifted student in physics at an Austrian university. She has always felt out of place, until she meets Siggy. He is a fellow student.

As the war breaks out and the SS arrive at her doorstep, she is taken to Berlin. She knows how Hitler feels about disabilities, so she has to wonder why she is taken. She soon realizes she is taken because of her abilities in physics.

This turns out to be troublesome because the Germans want her to help them build an atomic bomb. Even though Mina is deaf, she can read lips, which can prove to her advantage.

Its hard to find a new story in historical fiction, but Midwood nailed it with this interesting protagonist.

Thank you Bookouture for the gifted e-ARC.

WHEN THE WORLD WENT SILENT by ELLIE MIDWOOD is a WW11 novel with a difference, and I found it impossible to put down. The theme is that of man trying to destroy the planet, as we see Mina Best, a young deaf nuclear scientist, being forced to work on a bomb that will win the war for Germany and leave total destruction in its wake. I like to see the solid strength shown in her fellow scientists at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics, who with her, do all they can to stop a bomb being made……
Her boyfriend Ziggy resists the Nazis in his own way by intercepting messages for the Allies while supposedly supporting the Reich…..
There is a lot more to the story,including the subjects of euthenasia and forced sterilization of “undesitables”, and of course the horrific treatment of the Jews, but I will not tell you any more for fear of spoiling things for you.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bookouture. The opinions in this review are completely my owb.

Firstly I would like to thank netgalley and Bookoutune and the author Ellie Midwood for an early copy of her book..

This is my first read from this author, enjoyed the storyline too much physics talk for me in this book.my rating is 3.5 rounded to four.Mina is deaf not from birth.she wants to go to university will she be found out she is deaf.she lip reads..she meets a friend siggy and sent to Berlin and rumours are saying there is a Nazi euthanasia program can she hide her disability....good read...

This is a novel set in WWII about an incredibly smart young woman who lost her hearing at a young age from a measles complication. She manages to fake her way thru life reading lips. She is thought to be beneficial to the Nazi regime so is allowed to participate in high secret weapons development. The book is compelling and definitely a page turner. Great cast of characters. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

The amazing story of a young deaf woman fighting to keep the A bomb away from the Nazis and further her love of nuclear physics. I want more!