Saturday, September 27, 2014

Review: The Other Girl by Pam Jenoff





Kindle Edition
Expected publication: September 1st 2014 by Harlequin MIRA

From Goodreads:

One woman's determination to protect a child from the dangers of war will force her to face those lurking closer to home…

Life in rural Poland during WWII brings a new set of challenges to Maria, estranged from her own family and left alone with her in-laws after her husband is sent to the front. For a young, newly pregnant wife, the days are especially cold, the nights unexpectedly lonely. The discovery of a girl hiding in the barn changes everything—Hannah is fleeing the German police who are taking Jews like her to special camps. Ignoring the risk to her own life and that of her unborn child, Maria is compelled to help. But in these dark days, no one can be trusted, and soon Maria finds her courage tested in ways she never expected and herself facing truths about her own family that the quiet village has kept buried for years…


The Other Girl is comprised of just 24 pages but this novella is still a good introduction to the
 likeable characters and the feel of the story set against the backdrop of WWII. I greatly admired Maria and felt so sad for Hannah as they are both just trying to live their lives as normally as possible. Of course, during wartime, this is not always doable.


Even in such limited pages, Jenoff did a wonderful job with the main character of Maria. I could really feel her indecision, fear and determination. This novella is a companion story to Jenoff's  The Winter Guest. 3***


Pam Jenoff is the author of numerous historical novels. She can be found on her Goodreads page.


Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by Harlequin MIRA/Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

3 comments:

  1. Have still to get to this author.

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  2. Thanks for the recommendation, Kaye!

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  3. I'm glad I read The Winter Guest first. I really enjoyed this novella, but I really wish it had been longer.

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