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A review by jenbsbooks
The Berlin Sisters by Soraya M. Lane
3.25
I liked this ... I'm just not sure if I'll even remember reading it. There are so many WW2 stories out there, I've read a lot. Nothing really stands out here.
This was 3rd person/past tense ... three POVs ... Ava the main, it's her POV for the first four chapters. At Chapter 5, we switch to Eliana (a Jew) in a memory (Nov10, 1938). I wished the POVs and dates/locations were included in the Table of Contents. Not every chapter had headers with info, but I really appreciate being able to see it all (the chapters, any headings with POVs, dates, locations) at a glance and to use for reference if re-reading, looking for something specific. Chapter 8, the POV switches to Hanna and we stay with her for a few chapters, then it moved between the three girls and their personal stories/perspectives.
I was listening to the audio version (included in KindleUnlimited, read and listen) and with all my stops and starts ... I'd really struggle remembering whose POV we were in. All the "voices" were the same, in the writing and narration (single narrator, which was fine as it was 3rd person, but different narrators might have made the distinction between the girls sections feel more real).
There were "Anne Frank" similarities ... hidden in an attic, the discussion of how it started, with the Jews not being allowed on buses or in swimming pools. One has to wonder (and thought it might have been "innocently" mentioned as people took over the homes and belongings of Jews who had fled ... weren't they afraid of these same "cooties" then? Definitely applied according to priorities. The indoctrination of the young was addressed. I don't know that I'd heard Hitler was pushing vegetarianism (here it was mentioned possibly to prepare people for the lack of meat and such).
I just never fully accepted Ava's complete change of heart, it seemed so "easy" (had she believed before or not?) Most of her actions didn't feel realistic. I never really got pulled in, emotionally connected to the characters. I didn't really care for the ending.
There was a rape, and some consensual sex - I laughed a little as it came up they "had been to bed" ... I guess either my mind drifted or it was very closed door/implied, because I totally missed it! No language (proFanity). The "taste of alcohol on his breath" ... unfortunately so true, and yuck.
The title is a little blah, I like more of a connection than such an obvious/simple statement. Narrator was Sarah Zimmerman - familiar voice (Echo of Old Books, A Fire Sparkling, The Last Correspondent, The Chalky Sea, The Recipe for Hope) ... basic "American" accent, when you might think it would be a "German/American" accent. Not really something I dwelled on as the "accent" wasn't an accent to me (just normal) but I think I would have struggled if it had been a British accent (an accent for me, but one that didn't fit/match, which this would be for UK audiences).
This was 3rd person/past tense ... three POVs ... Ava the main, it's her POV for the first four chapters. At Chapter 5, we switch to Eliana (a Jew) in a memory (Nov10, 1938). I wished the POVs and dates/locations were included in the Table of Contents. Not every chapter had headers with info, but I really appreciate being able to see it all (the chapters, any headings with POVs, dates, locations) at a glance and to use for reference if re-reading, looking for something specific. Chapter 8, the POV switches to Hanna and we stay with her for a few chapters, then it moved between the three girls and their personal stories/perspectives.
I was listening to the audio version (included in KindleUnlimited, read and listen) and with all my stops and starts ... I'd really struggle remembering whose POV we were in. All the "voices" were the same, in the writing and narration (single narrator, which was fine as it was 3rd person, but different narrators might have made the distinction between the girls sections feel more real).
There were "Anne Frank" similarities ... hidden in an attic, the discussion of how it started, with the Jews not being allowed on buses or in swimming pools. One has to wonder (and thought it might have been "innocently" mentioned as people took over the homes and belongings of Jews who had fled ... weren't they afraid of these same "cooties" then? Definitely applied according to priorities. The indoctrination of the young was addressed. I don't know that I'd heard Hitler was pushing vegetarianism (here it was mentioned possibly to prepare people for the lack of meat and such).
I just never fully accepted Ava's complete change of heart, it seemed so "easy" (had she believed before or not?) Most of her actions didn't feel realistic. I never really got pulled in, emotionally connected to the characters. I didn't really care for the ending.
There was a rape, and some consensual sex - I laughed a little as it came up they "had been to bed" ... I guess either my mind drifted or it was very closed door/implied, because I totally missed it! No language (proFanity). The "taste of alcohol on his breath" ... unfortunately so true, and yuck.
The title is a little blah, I like more of a connection than such an obvious/simple statement. Narrator was Sarah Zimmerman - familiar voice (Echo of Old Books, A Fire Sparkling, The Last Correspondent, The Chalky Sea, The Recipe for Hope) ... basic "American" accent, when you might think it would be a "German/American" accent. Not really something I dwelled on as the "accent" wasn't an accent to me (just normal) but I think I would have struggled if it had been a British accent (an accent for me, but one that didn't fit/match, which this would be for UK audiences).