This is a heart wrenching story of Hetty Heinrich, daughter of a high ranking Nazi officer, and coming to terms with her beliefs. Hetty chooses love with Walter which comes with hardship and survival. A wonderful read, it gave me all the feels! Thank you to the Book Club Girl Early Read Program and Harper Collins Publisher for this beautiful ARC. This is my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader copy.
I wanted to like this book. World War II historical fiction is my favorite genre, and Daughter of the Reich promised to be a different take. At first I enjoyed the jarring pro-Nazi perspective, not because I ascribe to that ideology, but because it was a fresh perspective on a dark time in recent history. I couldn't put the book down! However, as time went on, I never really warmed to Hetty. I found her unlikable and rolled my eyes when she found herself in a predictable situation. Her struggle between her beliefs and her love for Walter became tiresome for me. I did think the resolution of the problem and the ending was clever, yet sad. 3.5 stars, rounded to 4 for the unique viewpoint.

Although this book is one of so many 1930s Germany stories, this one is different because it is told from the perspective of a girl who grows up believing that Hitler was next to God. She wants to faithfully serve the Reich and believes all of the lies about the inferiority of the Jews. The story is about her awakening to the truth and the hardships and heartbreaks that she endures.
I was held captive by this book from the very first page until the last. It is beautifully written, and I will miss the characters!

eARC kindly provided by NetGalley and Book Club Girl.

Historical fiction is rapidly becoming a favourite genre of mine and this book is an excellent example. Hetty's viewpoint is a new one for me, and I was totally immersed in her journey. Heartwarming at times, then heartbreaking, this was a book written with immense care, and the author showed real dedication to preserving the integrity of the real life events and people depicted in this novel.

I will definitely pick up another book by this author and would encourage anyone with an interest in WWII historical fiction to read this wonderful book.

Did not really hold my interest. Subject matter of this book has been redundant...I have been reading books for my various book groups all based in the same time period, same Nazi subject matter. The writing style was rather plain, I didn’t really enjoy reading it and sorry to say would not care to recommend it to my groups/friends.

People Like Us by/Daughter of the Reich Louise Fein is an excellent historical fiction that takes place mostly during the years 1937-1939 Germany.

This novel is unique in that it focuses more on the early years of WWII and from the thought process and inner workings of how indoctrination occurred in German communities. It was fascinating and terrifying to see all of the pieces fall into place to create the atmosphere of terror, blind following, fear, conspiracies, superstition, and anger. Seeing the nuts and bolts of the rising of the Third Reich from Hetty Heinrich’s point of view, a teen that has a father moving up the ranks of the newly formed SS, and a family steep into the blind faith that the newly formed government is their long-desired savior, is so unique that it drew me in from the very beginning. To see how things fell into place, how one fear layered onto another, how propaganda and news outlets were angled and limited, and how schools and families focused on indoctrination, was stunning. We always wonder how the German citizens could have “let it all happen”. While nothing can ever excuse what horror was done to so many people, I can see how brainwashing from a young age, fear of causing trouble if one doesn’t do what is instructed, and full immersion can do to warp young minds, and a culture in general. Having family that perished and were affected by concentration camps, I obviously have a hard time sympathizing, however in Hetty’s case, I think I can.

Yes, Hetty was spoiled, self-centered, and slightly bratty at the beginning of the novel, but she was a teenager and as the novel continues and she finds all of the dark undercurrents, lies, truths, who she can truly trust, and who truly loves her, she is able to mature, grow, and change for the better. It is heartbreaking to see what happens to Hetty, Walter, Erna and her family throughout the book. It is so upsetting to see what happens to the German Jewish citizens through no fault of their own, especially knowing what is to come. Hetty, Walter, and Erna grew so much and were all so brave and selfless in the end.
Without giving anything away, the Epilogue was stunning, and I found myself crying as I finished. Some of the tears were happy tears, but most were for all that was lost and all that were hurt. For my family, and for millions of others’ lives that were permanently changed.

I also enjoyed the author’s note and her family story as well. It gave me another connection to the haunting and beautiful story.

We must learn from the past, not doom ourselves to repeating events, and we must never, ever forget.

An unbelievably stunning novel. I am sure this will be one of my favorites this year.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Head of Zeus/William Morrow for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

Having read so many WWII books lately & with so many on the market, I was not planning on reading any more books of this genre for a while. However, I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this through Net Galley & I am so glad I did.

This book grabbed me from the get-go & I read it in 2 days. Told from the perspective of Hetty Heinrich, daughter of a prominent SS officer, the novel really gave life to what life might have been like in Germany in the years leading up to WWII. It was fascinating to me because the whole rise of Hitler & the Eugenics theory are so inconceivable to me, yet they are eerily prescient to some of the things that are going on in society today...the blaming of "them"; immigrants, Jews, etc. It clearly highlighted how the media could be used to whip people up into a frenzy & how someone like Tomas, who had such a hard & sad life, could be easily manipulated into believing he could become someone important by joining the movement.

Another thing that really stood out in this novel was the very real fact that most Jews could not get out of the country because other countries would not take them. I knew that Anne Frank's family was refused asylum but this novel really drove the point further for me.

A bit of an abrupt ending for me but I understand why it somewhat need to be that way. All in all, it was a very impressive debut for me & I look forward to reading more from this author.

Daughter of the Reich by Louise Fein

Daughter of the Reich takes place in pre-WWII Germany. Hetty Heinrich, narrator and protagonist, lives with her parents and brother in Leipzig. Her father is a prominent SS officer, and Hetty is being fed lies and propaganda about the Jewish people. As the political situation escalates and Hitler’s power becomes greater, life for the Jewish population becomes more dire. Hetty’s brother, Karl, wishes to join the fight as a fighter pilot. Meanwhile, she falls in love with Walter, Karl’s childhood friend, who once saved Hetty from drowning during a family outing. The only problem is, Walter is Jewish.

As the story unfolds, Hetty learns the truth about her father’s position, and begins formulating her own opinions. It is not the Jews who are to blame; the Germans are waging war on hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Hetty must face heartbreaking choices as she develops into a young adult and comes to grips with the crumbling world around her. Who can she trust? Who are the people in her life who actually have integrity?

Although I can’t even begin to imagine the horrific reality of experiencing the Holocaust first-hand, the author does a commendable job of placing the reader in the world of the characters. I could not help but be swept away in Hetty’s emotional experiences. However, the book dragged at times. It could have been about 20% shorter. I also found some aspects of the book predictable, especially one major plot point that ultimately decides the fate of Hetty and the end of the story. The author deftly brings the story to an emotional conclusion. I highly recommend the book to fans of historical fiction with a strong female protagonist.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader’s e-proof.

This book was excellent! In my opinion, the markings of a good novel is whether or not I am immediately invested in the characters. In this case, I definitely was. I also couldn't put this book down. It was definitely a pageturner. I would absolutely recommend this to other historical fiction fans. It took place during World War II. If you like books that take place during that era, this is definitely a book for you. I also think the writing was very well done. The accuracy and the historical details really made this book come alive. I would certainly read another book by this author. Highly Recommended!

This book was another great viewpoint of World War II and the lives of those involved. This is a viewpoint that you don't find in many books, families that are directly involved with Hitler and his Nazi party. I found that it was hard to get into this book at the beginning, it seemed the childhood years were longer than neccesary. Although I understand the author was setting up the scene for readers to understand the family life with a dad as part of the Nazi party and the beginning on the war with the treatment of Jews. Her childhood innocence to what was going on does seem to be an important part of the story. Once I got the middle I was hooked and couldn't put it down. Wonderful story of sadness with sprinkles of hope for humanity. Thank you for the early review copy!