Published By: Michael Joseph
Pages: 464
Released On: 11/05/2023
1940, Amsterdam.
You’re nineteen years old. The war has stolen your future and your country is under siege. The people you love are no longer safe.
Will you stand aside as the menace as Nazi evil tightens its grip on your homeland? Or do you unleash your fury, joining forces with your enemies’ enemies, plotting to strike?
Because if not you, then who?
You’re drawn deep into a web of plots, disguises and assassinations. The Resistance trained you for this. You flash your enemies a smile and beckon them closer.
Little do they know you’ve grown used to the weight of a gun in your hand.
Soon, they will all know your name . . .
*****
Thanks to Michael Joseph for my gifted proof of this title in return for an honest review.
Like most people I imagine, I had never heard of Hannie Schaft, otherwise known as The Girl With the Red Hair, and so immediately started googling. She sounded like such a fantastic person and I’m glad she’s been used as the inspiration for this novel. I also am ashamed to say I didn’t know much about the Netherlands during World War 2, so that was also interesting to read.
It is soooo good. Buzzy has hit just the right tone with the pacing. It’s not too slow that you end up getting bored, but it’s not too fast that you can’t keep up. She gives you enough to get stuck into and keep you hooked, but at a slow enough pace to keep you invested and wanting more. It’s slower at the start and provides us the reasons behind Hannie’s signup to the resistance. It shows us this bravery that this young woman had to help her friends, her family and her country. Buzzy allows us to get to know the characters, to invest in their troubles and rejoice in their triumphs.
It’s quite heavy-going, which for a book set in WW2 shouldn’t really be a surprise, but it’s clear that Buzzy has a respect for her subject choice, because nothing is there just for the sake of it or for entertainment purposes. I know a fiction book at its very heart is a piece of entertainment, so I appreciate that, but there is so much tenderness and respect here that it is just pitch perfect.
I think this would appeal to many different audiences: the history buff, those interested in the war, those interested in Dutch resistance, feminism literature lovers, romance fans, and anyone who wants an enjoyable, thrilling but powerful read.
I have read many war books – WW1 and WW2 – and this is possibly one of the best about the Second World War that I’ve read. It’s hard to put into words why – which as a book review, seems like a problem. But I implore you to read this and hopefully you’ll know what I mean. There aren’t the words to give this the recognition it deserves, it is simply spellbinding.
I appreciate it when a historical author provides sources at the end of the book as it gives me something to follow up on – and believe me, I will definitely be following up on Hannie. She is an inspiration, even 70 odd years later.
It is absolutely thrilling, gripping, and exhilarating. It’s full-on, full of action and adventure, fights, danger, injury and death, but it’s also full of love and compassion, bravery, friendship and love.
I was not aware of Buzzy Jackson before reading this book I am ashamed to say, and so I don’t know what her personal or professional knowledge is of WW2 and Hannie Schaft, but the level of research I imagine went into it is simply astounding. The detail, down to the nitty-gritty is something to admire, and it just shines off every page.
She’s managed to seamlessly weave together the factual parts of Hannie’s life, and the fictional elements that a good book requires, and has produced a book that will stay with the reader long after they’ve closed the last page.
I really think more needs to be known about Hannie and about the war in The Netherlands, as I don’t actually know anyone who said they knew about the specifics, and I think it’s vitally important that their efforts are not forgotten.
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