Loved this book. Lots of interesting information to digest. This is a great read for anyone who loves to read about history. Very well written

This has been sitting on my kindle for since May and I've yet to open it. Nothing is motivating me to, so I'm giving the book a generic 3 star rating as it's my fault and not the authors.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this arc!

This was such a beautiful and moving story, everything about it was amazing from start to finish. I believe we are so lucky that people and their families are willing to share their stories in hope that it doesn’t happen again

Thank you to Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK for the arc of The Nine by Gwen Strauss.

This follows the TRUE STORY of 9 young women who end up escaping a concentration camp in World war 2 and it tells you the stories of how each of them got their and their escapes. This is a haunting and emotional story of what they went through before, during and even years after the escape. I'd say if you love reading about this paticular subject or love historical fiction then i would say to read, you wont be failed of a great book!

5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

An inspiring tale told by the great niece of one the brave resistance fighters this book is about. I can’t say the style of writing appealed to me much as it was a little confused but the subject matter deserves to be told again as it seems the previous books by some of the women have slipped under the radar.

Gosh, that was powerful.

This is the true story about nine young women brought together under the most heinous of situations but who, together, show the power of friendship amongst the shadow of human depravity and the light of the kindness of strangers.

The book follows each of the nine before, during and after the WWII and whilst this ensured a complete picture was formed it did jump a bit between different times, people and different places which made it difficult to follow and, I think, detracted from the flow somewhat. Despite this, I got a real sense of the personalities and characters of each of the women and it was really interesting to read about the plight of political prisoners and captured resistance fighters during this time period.

By the very nature of this book and it's subject matter, it is not an easy read however the resilience, bravery and courage of these young women deserves to be told and should be told. I also feel that, done sensitively, this could work well on the big screen which would bring this amazing story to the masses.

Thank you to Bonnier Books UK / Manilla Press and NetGalley for my copy in return for an unbiased and unedited review.

This is a story about women prisoners who have been taken to camps for being part of the resistance. It is no spoiler to say that this is their life and how they escape from the clutches of Nazi Germany. The story has been composed by the great niece of one of the women which I think gives a lovely personal touch to the account. I have read so many books about these camps from the point of view of Jewish people as I find this era of history fascinating. However, this book provided something much different. It gave an alternative view of the camp as the experience the nine faced was vastly different in places to that of the Jewish prisoners in the camp. I enjoyed getting to know the women and seeing how they coped, in very different ways, was interesting. It was also good to hear about what happened after the escape in more detail than perhaps would have been known for some others who managed to flee the Nazis. A must read for any historical fiction fans of this time period!

This book has haunted me and will stay with me for some time. The heartbreaking story of nine women, political prisoners from France, Spain and the Netherlands. Taken to Ravensbruck towards the end of the war, their strength, resilience, and love for each other is astonishing in the face of such cruelty by their captors. Women's stories from WW2 are rarely heard and the unique experience of women, some mothers, already with little voice or power is humbling. If i hadn't already known that they all survived their terrible death march, I'm not sure I could have read on. Their race against time to reach the front before they were killed is unimaginable, their bravery awe inspiring. I found their post war stories very sad, survivors were to a degree shamed and disbelieved. Their own families not always welcoming and their children brought up in silence. Everyone should read this book

Well, this book was certainly moving, I can’t believe what these poor women had to endure! And the fact that they were all younger than me, I know I could never be as strong or brave as they were.

I feel like the author managed to convey each one of their personalities through the book and really highlighted how close the ordeal made them. I felt throughout the whole story, though I don’t feel I can say I felt alongside them, as I could never really begin to imagine what they went through mentally and physically. I learnt a lot more about the treatment of women, especially after the war and how escaping the camps didn’t necessarily mean freedom.

At times I felt like there was too much information packed into the book, I was more interested in the journey of the women rather than knowing all the place names, family of family names, etc. but I can see how that would be interesting to others. Additionally, it was very frustrating reading an e-book if I did want to check one of the references.

Overall, a very well written account that reveals the hope, sorrow, courage, tenacity, friendship, and love shared between the nine. One line that really stood out for me was “A more truthful account would recognise that women have had to bear the burden of war far more than has been acknowledged”.

This is an important and unusual story which deserves to be told. So much to do with war is from the male perspective and the role of women is often misunderstood and greatly underestimated. Gwen Strauss delivers a detailed and often heartbreaking portrayal of nine individuals. Their bravery is almost beyond imagination and I’m pleased that this book helps later generations to appreciate just how much was given in the name of fighting for freedom.

I didn’t find the book easy to read. It’s a strange blend of conversation, which is clearly imagined and reads like fiction and a viewpoint that keeps switching. It doesn’t flow well and the writing, overall, is rather flat. However, the subjects are interesting and I persevered because I wanted to hear their tale. It’s a rather generous three stars because of the subject.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

This book takes you on an incredible, heart breaking journey of resilience between unlikely friends thrown together in the worst circumstances.
I liked that it's sensitively told without shying away from the most difficult parts of the stories of 'The Nine', a fine skill. I found the chapter structure a little confusing at times and it made the story feel a bit disjointed in places, but otherwise, a great book. The descriptions of the people the women met on their journey are so vivid that you can feel the fear - it really takes you right along with them.