March 9, 2020
Brookes takes inspiration from a British POW’s account of his time being held by the Nazis in this page-turning story of love and survival. In the summer of 1944, five British military prisoners from the Lamsdorf POW camp arrive under guard to assist with the harvest on a family farm in Vražné, in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. One of the prisoners, bombardier Bill King, catches the eye of Izzy, the family’s unmarried daughter, and they fall in love. With Bill scheduled to return to the POW camp once the work is finished, he and Izzy plot to run away and join Izzy’s father and older brother with anti-German partisans. A sympathetic priest marries the couple; then Izzy cuts her hair and dons men’s clothes to attract less attention as she and Bill set out to find the resistance. Instead, they’re captured by German troops and sent to Lamsdorf, with Izzy still posing as a man. As Soviet forces rapidly gain ground, Izzy, Bill, and the rest of the prisoners are forced to march west during the bitter winter, a journey that tests their will to survive and threatens to separate the couple. Brookes demonstrates a fine command of historical circumstances and events but skimps on character development amid the nonstop action. In a crowded field of WWII fiction, this one doesn’t stick out.
April 24, 2020
DEBUT Izabela, a Czech farm girl, mourns the loss of what life could have been if the Nazis had never come to her country when she meets Bill, a British soldier and POW sent to work her farm for the German war effort. With a disdain for the impossible, the pair courts and marries in secret. They run away to join the Resistance, with Izzy traveling as a man, but are soon captured. Izzy is assumed to be a mute, shell-shocked soldier, and both she and Bill are moved to a POW camp where their trial begins. They must survive the grueling conditions, work, and marches of the POWs because if their secret is exposed, they would both lose their lives. VERDICT In her debut novel, former BBC British journalist Brookes weaves meticulous historical research seamlessly into the plot, transporting readers into war-torn Europe. The story offers an untold viewpoint, the pain, horror, and fortitude of an idealistic young woman in impossible circumstances. It proves that there is no environment too harsh to prevent love from blossoming. Recommended for readers of romance and historical fiction.--Heidi Uphoff, Albuquerque, NM
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