Sunday, April 23, 2023

THE POLISH DAUGHTER

MY THOUGHTS:


Poland, 1944: As the war rages on across Europe, so many lives have been changed forever.  This brutal time has torn apart families never to be put back together again.  Julia’s father is a high-ranking Polish Officer who moved his family out of Warsaw to keep them safe.  But when he is missing in action, Julia returns to Warsaw to not just fight for the resistance but to also search for her father.  Soon Julia returns to her home and she is trapped in the streets by the Nazis.  They are grabbing people and whisking them away.  Julia recognizes her childhood sweetheart Nikolaj dressed in his Nazi uniform, but how could that be?  How could Nikolaj be with the Germans during this horrible war?  But when she has an opportunity to talk with him alone, he explains to her that he is a resistance spy posing as a German officer.  She wonders if it’s the truth and can she trust him.


Gosia Nealon is an exceptional author that writes well beyond her years.   

This Polish Daughter is the third installment in The Secret Resistance Series.  I loved this book, I think it was my most favorite of the series.  The courage and sacrifice of people during this horrible time, always amazes me.  I was enthralled with this story from the beginning to the very last page.  It was impossible to put the book down and as I turned each page I found myself on the edge of my seat.  As my heart rate quickened I was so emotional, and couldn’t hold back the tears.  I was inspired by this heartbreaking story and I highly recommend it.  

Rating: 5 out of 5.

DESCRIPTION:

THE POLISH DAUGHTER

Author: Gosia Nealon 
Publisher:  Bookouture
Publication Date: April 21, 2023
Pages: 288 
Buy on Amazon 


Poland, 1944: Armed men line the streets and herd us forward as they pull people from the crowd. My heart pounds as I hear a familiar cry. They have my best friend. I desperately push through to her, to save her. But we are too densely packed in. I can’t hold back my sobs as she disappears from sight. I am too late…

When war broke out, 
Julia’s father, a high-ranking Polish officer, took her from Warsaw to keep her safe. Now her father is missing in action, Julia has returned home to find him and fight for the resistance—but the city is more dangerous than she ever thought it could be.

When she is trapped in the ghetto, Nazis shoving people into the streets all around her, Julia can only watch in horror as her dearest friend is dragged away. It seems 
she is about to suffer the same awful fate, until her childhood sweetheart, Nikolaj, appears in enemy uniform and stops the guards with one word.

Surely the boy Julia remembers would never side with the Germans? In the safety of his private room, he explains he is a resistance spy within the ranks of Nazi officers. But the longer he keeps her in the barracks, surrounded by his soldiers, the more Julia grows uneasy about the man she once knew…

Half-Jewish and with her father a wanted man, 
how safe can she be behind enemy lines? And, not knowing who to trust, will she ever be able to reunite with her captured friend, and her beloved father—or will the war tear them apart forever?

ABOUT GOSIA NEALON

While Gosia Nealon is a proud New Yorker, she was born and raised in Poland. Her journey to the Big Apple revealed a wealth of cultural differences, but also the values that connect us all. Like the fierce desire to protect family, find love, and ultimately, discover who we are and why we’re here. 

Gosia’s award-winning short stories have always delved into life’s biggest questions, but it was the drama, sacrifice, and tragedy of WWII that led her to pen her debut novel, which won a gold medal in the 2022 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY).  Growing up in Poland, Gosia heard many firsthand accounts of the war, told from a perspective rarely captured in mainstream literature. She was compelled to breathe life into two young people falling in love in the midst of the most terrifying conflict of our time. When Gosia isn’t tapping away at her laptop, she’s often walking the streets of New York. With her husband and two young sons in tow, they search for the most succulent pierogi, transporting them back to the cobbled streets of her childhood.


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