Shari J. Ryan delivers a deeply moving and emotionally gripping historical fiction novel in The Family Behind the Walls, a story set against the backdrop of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust. The novel follows the harrowing journey of the Bergmann family, a Jewish household struggling to survive in Nazi-occupied Poland. Ryan masterfully interweaves themes of resilience, love, and the enduring strength of family bonds amid unthinkable adversity.

The story is told through alternating perspectives, primarily focusing on Dalia, the matriarch of the family, and her daughter Jordanna. As the Nazis tighten their grip on Europe, Dalia and her husband do everything they can to protect their children, but their worst fears come true when their family is torn apart. Dalia finds herself imprisoned in Auschwitz, enduring the brutality and dehumanization of the concentration camp while holding onto the hope that she might one day see her children again. Meanwhile, Jordanna and her siblings are sent to a Polish labor camp disguised as an orphanage, where they must learn to navigate a world of cruelty, secrecy, and constant danger.

Ryan's storytelling is powerful and immersive, painting vivid scenes of wartime suffering while also capturing moments of profound love and courage. Her ability to bring historical events to life with emotional depth makes this novel not just a harrowing tale of survival, but also a tribute to the strength of those who endured such unimaginable hardships. The novel’s pacing keeps readers engaged, and its well-researched historical details add authenticity to the narrative.

One of the most compelling aspects of The Family Behind the Walls is its portrayal of human resilience. Despite the horrors they face, the Bergmanns never stop believing in the possibility of reunification. Their story is a testament to the power of hope, even in the darkest of times. The characters are richly developed, making their pain, fears, and small triumphs feel deeply personal to the reader.

Ryan's prose is both haunting and beautiful, balancing the gravity of the subject matter with moments of tenderness and hope. Readers who appreciate historical fiction that delves into the emotional and psychological toll of war—similar to The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah or Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly—will find The Family Behind the Walls to be a profoundly affecting read.

Overall, The Family Behind the Walls is an unforgettable novel that sheds light on the resilience of the human spirit during one of history’s darkest chapters. It is a must-read for fans of historical fiction and those who seek stories of survival, love, and the unbreakable bond of family.

I haven’t read a lot of Historical fiction recently, and it isn’t a genre I frequently read, but I very much enjoyed this book. That said, ‘enjoyed’ feels like the wrong word to use as, although it was a gripping and well-written book, it is entirely heartbreaking and leaves you thinking deeply about the past.

I was initially drawn in by the family-centric plot and the complex relationships explored. The two main characters constantly tug at your heartstrings and they are at the core of the story as the POV shifts between the two. I found both Dahlia and Jordanna’s POVs equally gripping and was really invested in both of their storylines.

This book is really hard to read purely because the subject material is so upsetting and doesn’t hold back from the unimaginable horrors Jewish people faced in the Second World War. There are many very upsetting scenes and it’s horrible to know that those aspects are not fiction.

I would recommend the book as it felt very educational while also making you fall in love with the family at the centre of the story. It’s very emotional but the ending is somewhat hopeful. It’s a very well-written novel and those who enjoy Historical fiction and strong family bonds will get a lot out of reading it.

Overall, I rated this book 4.5/5 stars, rounded up to 5 stars.

I enjoy reading historical fiction and in recent months I have read a few books which focus on the experience of those who are sent in the concentration camps during World War Two. The title of this book, “The Family Behind the Walls”, the cover and the blurb on the back cover all grabbed my attention. Shari J Ryan is a new author to me, but I will definitely look out for more of her books.

The book is centered on a Jewish family. Parents, Leo and Dahlia have both experienced and survived World War One. Leo fighting with the German army and Dahlia as a nurse. They believe they have survived the worst until their family is torn apart and sent off to various concentration camps.

The parents are “warriors” and they have brought up their children – Max, Jordanna and Lilli to be “warriors” too. They have brought their children up in such a way that enables them to be resilient during one of the worst times in world history.

“Mama would always tell me to look for hope even if it’s not something we can see. I realise now, it wasn’t a life lesson, it was a way to keep us strong when we might consider giving up. I wonder if she’s found any semblance of hope, wherever she is. Even if she hasn’t, she would still make sure we did. I need to give Lilli hope, despite everything she just heard.” (Jordanna)

The book is told from the points of view of Jordanna and Dahlia, which works really well. It is enlightening to see the events unfold through the eyes of a mother and her daughter.

When Dahlia arrives at Auschwitz, she, like everyone else, is made to strip, her head is shaved and a number tattooed onto her arm. This is her identity now – a number, no name, so that she, like countless others, is seen as less than human.

“My life – my identity, dignity and everything that made me who I am is gone…If I caught a glimpse of my reflection, I wouldn’t know what I was looking at or who I am. They might as well have carved out my soul too.”

It is a heartbreaking, but compelling read. I don’t know how anyone can hold onto hope and love in such appalling conditions and such cruel treatment, and yet this family each manage to do so. The children are definitely their parents’ offspring and behave in a way that would make their parents proud. Instead of being selfish, they look out for others, as well as looking out for each other. Their purpose is to find one another again. This is what keeps them alive and gives them hope.

Although the family themselves are fictional, the book is based on historical fact and so I found it very informative. I was interested in learning more about the Russians who rescued them, as well as the process of being sent to displaced persons camp and what it took to reunite individuals with their families. I appreciated that the writer included several chapters on what happened to some of those who survived the concentration camps.

If you enjoy reading historical fiction, particularly World War Two history, then this book is for you. You may very well need some tissues to hand as it is painful reading at times. There is much to like about this book, the characters draw you in, and to see their perseverance, their love for one another and the hope they share encourages you to believe that evil can be overcome and that there is always something to hope and believe in even in the darkest of times.

My thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me a copy of “The Family Behind the Walls”, in return for my honest review.

The Family Behind the Walls
By Shari J. Ryan
Chapter Seven : Jordanna
July 28th, 1943 -Hamburg, Germany
5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

||: His words spark an anger that rages through me. I could be fooled into believing a lifetime had passed since the start of this war, and the brutality and hatred only grows worse every single day.
“No one must find out,” I seethe.
I reach back to touch Alfie's knee so he'll look at me again. He's sluggish about it, but does. I point at him, then Max, Lilli, and me, then interlock my fingers to show in any way I can that we'll protect him. I cross one wrist over the other and shake my head. I point to him. I need him to understand me. He looks confused.
I search my body for a way to be clearer when I notice soot smeared across my arm. I drag my finger through the thick black dust and spell out the word protect on the stone between us. I point back and forth between Max and me, point to the word, then again at Alfie. I mouth the word: “Always.” :||

We follow the heartbreaking story of Dalia and her family as they are plunged into the unfair and totally gut wrenching world of 1943. A place where religion was seen as a death threat and people in power saw stripes instead of people.

Dalia’s husband was seen as a hero for his actions during the Great war but for his family it only meant one thing. A time bomb that was ready to detonate in the most unfair, unjust, disturbing ways that left my heart bleeding on the pages of the book. While Dalia struggles to come to terms with her new life. We also meet the amazing Jordanna, Dalia's daughter, her fire for life, fuelled by and for her younger sister Lilli, which burns bravely as both of their childhood innocence is ripped away from them without any explanation.

Everyone knows what happened during the reign of Hitler and while there are stories out there that have tugged at our heartstrings, Shari puts into detail the grief and utter horror of what being a family looked like and felt like during these inhumane times. It also hosts one issue I feel many Auschwitz stories don't have. It shines a light on the guilty issue of the many people who took part in the death camps that didn't go on trial and didn't have to pay for their actions. Those who stood by and watched, took part in the breaking down of others' souls but then fled when the Soviets came. Shari’s beautiful way with words delicately unravels the atrocities associated with Nazi Germany from a point of view that hasn’t been explored.

This story.. It's heartbreaking but it really needed to be told.

A huge thank you to Shari J. Ryan, Bookouture, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and relay my honest feedback.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and author Shari J Ryan for the arc!

Guys. My heart is not ok. The emotions that ran rampant in this book is off the charts! Heartbreaking to heartwarming and everything in between with an epilogue that is beyond words! Historical fiction lovers … this is a must-read for you! And if you don’t think hist fic is your thing … it’s because you haven’t found this book yet!

This is a WW2 historical fiction story of a Jewish family torn apart during a bombing in Germany. It’s a beautifully written story of the hardships they suffered. It’s emotional, gripping and so sad. A must-read.

I'm reviewing this via NetGalley, as part of a tour with Bookouture.

The book follows the Bergmann family from Hamburg, who are torn apart during WWII. I found that from the beginning, something about the storytelling seemed intense and raw, and this continued throughout. That alone made me feel an emotional connection with the characters.

The narrative alternates between Dalia and her fifteen-year-old daughter, Jordanna, and I connected with both narratives in different ways. I felt Dalia's anguish and fear for the safety of her children. Thinking about Jordanna and her siblings, I thought about how valuable and precious youth is, and I felt a kind of sorrow, thinking about how they would be changed by their experiences.

This was an emotional read, but I enjoyed following these characters and their journey. If you like WWII novels, you should give this a try.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and to the author, for the opportunity to read and review this.

A beautiful but heartbreaking story of a family shattered by war.
Dalia and Jordanna are the main narrators in the chapters but Max, Lilli, Alfie, and Leo are integral figures as well.
This family is put through the wringer and some endure better than others.
Keep the tissues handy because there are several scenes where you’re sure to get choked up.
The message of the book is love continues in any continuum.

In this complex and fascinating World War II historical fiction novel, readers follow a Polish Jewish family as their world is turned upside down in 1943 when they are rounded up and separated on their way to Auschwitz and other concentration camps in Poland. Separated from her parents, brother, and brother’s friend, Jordanna spends her time and effort on keeping her baby sister alive and keeping the Nazis from discovering that they are Jewish. At Auschwitz, their mother Dalia tries to keep her faith in her family and her husband’s ability to save their children, but when another prisoner asks her to join the secret resistance, she decides to take her survival into her own hands. The alternating perspectives add to the tension and isolation of the novel and the emotional intensity of the novel. Jordanna and Dalia, as well as the rest of their family, are complex and sympathetic narrators whose emotional storylines are the heart of this novel. The novel is deeply emotional and harrowing with its descriptions of Auschwitz and the horrors of the concentration camps, but Ryan balances the seriousness with the personal narratives incredibly well over the course of this powerful and emotional new historical fiction book.

🌟🌟🌟🌟
Thank you Bookouture for inviting me to be part of the Books on Tour for “The Family Behind the Walls” by Shari J. Ryan.
Dalia’s family gets separated during an air raid in Germany. She is sent as a nurse to Auschwitz while three of her children are sent to a work home for orphans, Little Auschwitz, to have them learn to be “German”. Ms. Ryan does not shy away from the horrors of the concentration camps. This is a heart wrenching yet hopeful story. I finished this book yesterday, which was Holocaust Remembrance Day. I consider it a big responsibility to honor the memory of the innocent people who perished under the Nazi regime. We must never forget nor allow such hate to penetrate our world again.
I am looking forward to more books by Shari Ryan. Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#TheFamilyBehindTheWalls #ShariJRyan #NetGalley #Bookouture #BooksOnTour #BookLove #Bookstagram #NewBook #ILoveBooks #BooksSetDuringWWII

With World War II raging on across Europe, Jordanna knows her life will never be the same.  How will she ever survive this horrible war?

She clings to her siblings and they are forced to work in a camp for Polish orphans.  But she holds on to the hope that  they aren’t orphans, one day their father Leo and their mother Dalia will return for them.

Their mother, Dalia was taken to  Auschwitz, where she is forced to work in the fields.  She doesn’t know where her husband Leo ended up and she has no idea where her three children were taken.  She wonders if she will ever see her family again.  She is offered the opportunity to join the secret resistance.  She knows the dangers of working for the resistance but it is a risk she is willing to take to be able to save her family.  

The Family Behind The Walls, written by author Shari J. Ryan, is a heartbreaking story of never giving up hope in the darkest time of life.   The physical torture that people endured during the war is unimaginable.  The risks people took to survive is amazing to me.

This emotional story left me heartbroken and the tears that ran down my face were like a river.  I couldn’t put this book down until the very end.  This story saturated my heart like none other.  I highly recommend this phenomenal read.

ARC REVIEW

Shari J. Ryan, you have broken me. This book is the first for a long time, that has reduced me to tears and had me going back over it in my mind for weeks after I finished reading. The story is told from both Jordanna (the daughter) and Dahli (the mother), with a dual point of view running side by side.
Reading the soul shattering journey of both characters was deeply emotional. Heartbreaking to see a family literally forn apart from one another, and neither side knowing what has become of the other.
Truly a book that immersed me into the story and kept its hooks in me long after. Thank you @netgalley , @bookouture and @authorsharijryan for yet another solid 5 Star read

27th January 2025 marks 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet army. So it feels entirely appropriate that I read this book today, which also coincides with it's publication.

The Family Behind The Walls is a multi POV story of love, resilience and survival. Mainly told by Dalia in Auschwitz and her daughter Jordanna in Lodz, this story will tug at the heartstrings.

Shari has written some fantastic, strong and brave characters in this book. Of course they are fictional people, but their stories could quite easily be true.

One line really stood out to me, which was Dalia's thought about Auschwitz.
"Hate is the only contagious disease that's killed more people here than typhus."
Hate was the driver of the Holocaust. But love and hope (mostly) overcame.

The Family Behind the Walls by Shari J. Ryan follows the Bergmann family during WW2. Dalia, Leo and their children Max, Jordanna and Lilli along with adoptive son of sorts Alfie are torn apart thanks to the restrictions, rules and atrocities forced upon the Jewish population by Hitler. The book opens with an impressive and hard hitting introduction when the infamous firestorm of the German city of Hamburg occurs in July 1943. Escaping from their home amidst the chaos of an air raid the family find themselves sheltering in a bunker. Up until this point they have escaped deportation and persecution although the laws enacted by Hitler have deeply affected their everyday lives. As they cower in terror with other families, German soldiers arrive and take Leo and Dalia to tend to those who have been injured and to gather bodies. The family had immunity from deportation as although he was Polish and Jewish he had fought for the Germans in the Great War and is recognised for his achievements and services to Germany. But all that doesn’t matter now and four years into the war things are about to be irrevocably changed forever.

The opening chapters detailing the firestorm and its repercussions were incredible and harrowing. Such awful images were created in my mind through the descriptions and they will stay with you long after you have read the final page. No gruesome detail was spared and it really hit home how Hamburg was destroyed on that night and how so many people lost their lives. This set the reader up for what I hoped was going to be a great book after such a fantastic start. Yes, it was a good read overall but I found parts of the story lagged and their seemed to be some repetition and I felt as if I had previously read stories that were similar and perhaps I wasn’t as shocked at some aspects as I ought to have been. But the themes that were developed were explored well and you do come to root for the family and hope that they can all be reunited.

The chapters alternate between Jordanna and Dalia and once I knew this was the pattern of the book I soon settled into its rhythm. Although at times I wish the pace would have been a bit quicker particularly in the first half as I felt after the intense, explosive start there was a lull until the different camps were reached. After being separated from her children, Dalia soon finds herself alone in Hamburg as Leo went to help people but did not return. For Dalia, family is everything and she has a strong, loving and unbreakable bond with Leo. She has raised her children well offering sound advice and encouragement to Jordanna being the eldest daughter and Jordanna heeds these nuggets of wisdom throughout the testing times ahead.

Dalia soon finds herself rounded up by the Nazi’s and put on a cattle train. But in her heart and soul all she wants is to be reunited with her husband and children. This motivation is what keeps her pressing on through what can only be classed as an endurance test as she reaches the gates of Auschwitz. I thought to have escaped incarceration for so long into the war and then for this to happen to her and her family was beyond cruel. All this for one man’s aim to pursue German racial purity. Such brutality and anti-semitic feeling should never have been allowed to gather such force.

All of us are familiar with what occurred in Auschwitz and Shari J. Ryan did an excellent job of describing the conditions and the rules and regulations the prisoners had to live by. Hard labour, exhaustion, starvation and inhumane living conditions made up a new existence for Dalia. Every innocent human being was denied basic simple human freedoms. Dalia clings to is hope and this becomes a very important word for every character. Look for hope even if it’s something that you can’t see because it will keep you strong in the most desperate of times. For that is all she has and if she relinquishes her grip on this feeling she will simply crumble and become another victim of the regime.

Dalia had nursed during the Great War and so is sent to work in the infirmary. The author provided the reader with brilliant descriptions of the conditions there Dalia and her fellow nurses had to battle with. With so few resources available to them they did their best to tend to those in the last throes of life with few surviving the diseases that were rife throughout the camp. There is one particular incident involving Dalia and her work at the infirmary and it became very personal for her. This was heart-breaking to read and I was hoping for an alternative outcome but realistically what occurred probably would have happened at the time. But it only spurred her on to become involved in resistance work. One line in particular really struck a chord with me where it was said that people who have nothing can still give so much of themselves and that is what Dalia does as she continues to cling to hope and the belief that she can survive and persist through this desolation and hard labour. She was strong, brave and courageous and above all else everything she did and persevered through was all for her family.

The walls of the title are what harbour the family from finding each other. Emotional as well as physical walls. Emerging from the bunker Max, Jordanna, Lilli and Alfie find themselves looking at a scene straight out of hell and soon they too are taken away for deportation. Alfie is suffering from hearing loss as a result of being too close to a bomb when it exploded and over the course of the book himself and Jordanna rely on the Morse code as a form of communication as taught to them by Leo. The children soon find themselves in Little Auschwitz in a ghetto for juvenile criminals and orphaned children in the Polish city of Lodz. Max, the eldest, is separated from them and a further separation occurs between Alfie and the two girls. Jordanna has to become the mother figure to 8 year old Lilli. A role she wishes she didn’t have to undertake but she would do anything for her siblings and similar to Dalia all she wants is to search for her parents. The children are put working at physical labour. Tasks which they should not have to do. Their childhood and innocence is being stripped from them as war has meant their usual daily carefree lives are but a distant memory.

The details of the Lodz ghetto were realistic and hard hitting and the deprivation the children were suffering was clear for the reader to see as they go through such distressing and appalling experiences. Jordanna toils away in the potato fields where she meets Alfie once again and another element to the story began to unravel. I’ll have to be honest what occurred, I know it was necessary to allow further plots to develop in the later half of the book but it just seemed too unrealistic to me that this could happen. Yes, it’s what every prisoner in a concentration camp would have wanted to happen but did it really? If it did, I doubt there was a very high success rate. But said strand of which I am purposefully being vague about opened different opportunities for the children’s story to develop. It was heart-breaking and I wished there could have been another alternative. I felt Jordanna, Alfie and Lilli’s story petered off before coming to the surface in the final few chapters. The months passed and I felt there were times when the author didn’t know what to do with them but then as the Soviets started to make their way through Germany things changed again. There is a scene near to the end where Lilli although still very young gives an impassioned speech which had me realising she was perhaps the best character in the book. Her words were incredible and she said what so many others could not.It was only a page or two but it certainly made an impact.

The Family Behind the Walls is a powerful read and despite some of the issues I have mentioned up above I am glad that I read it and the story of the Bergmann’s has given me a deeper appreciation, understanding and compassion for all those who lost their lives. The epilogue was brilliant and those last few words well that really says it all.

This is a difficult but important read.
As the saying goes, there is no honor among thieves. The Nazi’’s made up their own rules of how Jewish a person could be and still be protected, but only for so long.
The main characters in this story is a mother and daughter, left to fight their own separate battles under Nazi occupation.
Learn about details of WWII that may be new to you.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

This is quite a harrowing read as you can imagine given it’s genre. It’s non stop story telling told from 3 perspectives, mainly that of Mother Dalia and her Daughter Jordanna.
It all starts off in an apartment in Hamburg. Leo a former WWI veteran has special immunity from being treated like all other Jewish people in Germany, this protects his family too, his wife Dalia, son Max and daughters Jordanna and Lilli. A young lad called Alfie is also thrown into the mix, thanks to the horrors of the war and air raids.
One horrendous night of bombings leaves the family torn in all directions. It’s hardly fathomable that things like this happened, amid all of this they still hunted down the Jews, with no regard if they were tearing families apart.
The children eventually find themselves separated from one another. Now in Poland in concentration camps, the fight is on to survive with the hope of reuniting with each other. Will they survive to feel that loving embrace they are dreaming of?
There are heart stopping and stomach-churning moments, laced with hope and determination.
A recommended read.

Leo and Dalia Bergmann lived in Germany at the start of WWII, with their children Jordanna, Max, and Lilly. Along with Alfie, Max’s best friend, the family is separated and sent to prison camps where they fight to reunite.


This was a beautifully told story from the dual perspective of the mom Dalia and Jordanna. During the chaos, the family is separated. Jordanna, Alfie, and Lilly are together but they are separated from the others. The story is heartbreaking as they make their way back to each other. It’s a story of family love, resilience, and determination to survive during the most horrific of times. Leo, the father was a WWI veteran and had taught his children many lessons he learned during that time about how he had survived. I look forward to reading more by this author.


Thanks to @bookouture, @netgalley, and the author for this arc.

4.5★s

It was 1943 in Germany when the Bergman family were cruelly separated. Their apartment in Hamburg was in danger of becoming a fireball, and although the nearby shelter was full, they squeezed in. But it didn't take the Nazis long to drag them out - first Dalia and Leo, then their children, Max, Jordanna, Lilli and Alfie. Dalia ended up in Auschwitz, while Jordanna, Lilli and Alfie were at a Polish camp for orphans. Leo and Max went in different directions - all heartbroken and wondering if they would ever see each other again. Jordanna and her siblings were worked hard, with little to no food. Exhausted, hungry - it was hard to keep hope in their hearts, but they tried to.

Dalia worked in the infirmary in Auschwitz, where she became robotic, watching the prisoners die one by one. With little to no medical supplies, it was a cruel and sick joke that no one except the Nazis were laughing about. When Dalia joined the camp's inside resistance, it gave her a modicum of hope, but also put her in dreadful danger. Dalia's hope was to see her family again, to reunite with hugs and kisses, but she had no clue whether it would happen or not...

The Family Behind the Walls is another well written holocaust story by Shari J. Ryan. Written in the voices of Dalia and Jordanna, the heartbreak was devastating, the actions of the Germans once again horrifying. Recommended to fans of the genre.

With thanks to NetGalley & Bookouture for my digital ARC to read and review.

While this story is a work of fiction, the author has first hand interest in the history of this era and also has first hand knowledge of the events that transpired during the Holocaust through family members who were there. When I read Shari's historical fiction, I understand that they ARE fictional but with roots grounded in the realities that were forced on the Jewish people. These stories (which are most definitely the author's sweet spot in storytelling) take me there and completely immerse me in the horrific details of that time in history and keep me in goosebumps throughout. While there can never be a truly happy ending because of what they go through, there is a story of true survival and strength.

A family torn apart during ww2. The book was heartbreaking, but with glimmer of hope. The characters were strong. I just wanted more depth in some parts of the book. Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion