This book was not a cozy read. It was uncomfortable many times. The author gives you an idea what it was like for young ladies during the war as Soviet Citizens. You also saw the battle between personal identities as Jewish AND being a loyal citizen of the Motherland (Soviet Union). If you tried to call attention to the atrocities against JEWS, you could get in trouble for pointing out that specific instead of calling them Soviet Citizens. The soviet women were called FrontLine Wives and forced to have sexual relations with the soldiers--and if they survived the war, they were called War Whores by the women at home. Many of them entered simply for survival purposes. They were told they were "as good as a man" but then not recognized for their equal contributions.

This focused on the challenges of seeing your comrades blown to bits right next to you. The emotional trauma of killing. Learning how to numb yourself.

It simply showed how terrible war was and is to the soul. Also showed the Jewish persecution for all Jews regardless of citizenship. Also the anti-Semitic towards the Jews by the Soviets. Dooming them to repeats of what Hitler inflicted--but by their own country.

It's not a gentle read. There is swearing. Violence. And the mention of rape. It's not pretty. But it's done with just enough of a sideline view to not be completely in your face.

The book also went back and forth to the lead characters experiences at the beginning of her war time then jumps to "current" which is near the end of her war experience. It uses the past to bring her to where she currently is.

4Stars for the way the topic was presented.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARc of this book. All opinions are 100% my own.

Shelly Sanders’ “The Night Sparrow” is an intense historical fiction novel that brings real characters to life. The book was spine-chilling, shedding light on the horrors of war that I had no idea existed. It was also fascinating to learn about the courageous female snipers in WWII. Highly recommend.

This book was chilling. I knew that WWII was a horrible war. This book described the things that were done to innocent people that made me want to cry.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book

This was a really well done historical fiction novel, it had that gripping element that I was looking for and was engaged with the way the characters worked in this time-period. Shelly Sanders has a strong concept for this type of book and the characters were realistically done. It was interesting to learn about the female snipers in this and was engaged with the story.