The book “ The Girl Who Survived: Based on a True Story, an Utterly Unputdownable and Heart-wrenching World War 2 Page-turner” by Ellie Midwood is a true story about a German Jewish woman. She falls in love with a man she’s suppose to hate. It’s based in Germany in the 1941 during World War II. The intended audience is 13 years old and up. ( )

“I didn’t want romance. I only wanted a normal life.”

I don’t think I could give this story enough praise!

Rich with historical accuracy and vivid emotions, this is a love story for the ages. With beautiful writing, Miss Midwood is able to create an atmosphere in her story that is both tragic and compelling. The characters are very real which makes the story even harder to put down.

Set in the era of World War II, the main character of this story is sent to live in a Minsk Ghetto. Life is hard and death seems to be around every corner. What she doesn’t expect though is despite all the darkness there is still love and hope waiting to be experienced.
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Ilse Stein and her family are Germans in 1941. That is, until the rights of the German Jews are stripped, leaving them without land, without a home. Ilse and her sisters are transported to the Minsk Ghetto. The trip was difficult and they are left with nothing in the Minsk winter. Determined that her and her sister will survive, Ilse works diligently at the tasks given to her by the people who took everything away. While in the Ghetto Ilse befriends Rivka, a member of the underground resistance. Ilse begins to take part in small acts of resistance to help their survival. However, after a massacre of most of their work group performed by the SS, hope seems lost. A Luftwaffe officer, Willy Shultz takes over the group and shows favor toward Ilse. Willy does everything he can to keep them together and offers Ilse food and clothing to take back to the girls. As Ilse and Willy spend time together, their affection grows. However, the situation they are in has tremendous consequences for their emotions. Ilse and Willy must find out how to navigate much more than their feelings for each other as the war rages on and their futures become unclear.

Based on a true story, No Woman's Land is an emotional historical romance. Right from the beginning, the slow spread of hate and anti-Antisemitism is shown through Ilse's eyes. The writing shows the gradual but deliberate spread of hate and how easily it caught on and and became normalized to make an entire people were made to feel less than others and eventually kill them off. Unfortunately, this is still a good lesson for today. As Ilse watches what is happening around her, she is upset at being treated differently, but feels thankful at times that she isn't treated as poorly as other Jews. Once Ilse and her family were moved out of their homes, the writing very accurately portrayed what people went through in transport and in the Ghetto. The pogroms in the Ghettos were bloody, violent and senseless. Ilse, Willy and Rivka showed tremendous strength and hope through the worst of times. I was fascinated to learn about the amazing members of the Resistance within the Ghetto and the surrounding towns as well as the German soldiers who used their power to help where they could. Ilse and Willy's love grew gradually in the darkest of times and in the sweetest of ways; the effortless writing conveyed the magnitude of the many emotions seamlessly. Overall, No Woman's Land is an astounding story of hope, bravery, resistance, resilience and love.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )