I regularly read books of the WWII genre and this was a very good story. Hetty's family is up and coming in the Reich. Her father is in charge of the newspaper in Leipzig where they live. He's very involved in the Nazi party and their status has been elevated as such. They live in a large house with servants. Hetty and her brother Karl have always been close, especially when their family lived in the less affluent neighborhood, but as he gets more involved in young Nazi groups, eventually joining the Wehrmacht, Hetty finds herself adrift. The world is quickly changing and idealistic Hetty finds she's not sure she likes the direction things are going. Their old friends from the neighborhood like Walter, who once saved Hetty from drowning is a Jew. He's no longer acceptable,but Tomas, whose father is a Communist is accepted, but only after he turns against his father, by informing on him to the Nazi Party. Hetty finds herself inexplicably drawn to Walter against her better judgement. He looks more German than she, with his blonde hair and blue eyes, and she finds herself sneaking away to meet with him as their friendship turns to something more serious. The reader observes Hetty's life as it barrels forward, toward what you know will be a treacherous outcome. You cannot help but close your eyes and hope at the end things will be alright. As I finished the book, I dried the tears from my eyes.

It is the 1930s, pre-war Germany. At the start of the book, we meet twelve-year old Hetty Heinrich, her brother Karl and his best friend Walter. In a few years, the rise of Hitler and the spread of Nazism start to overtake their lives. Hetty’s father is rising in the ranks of the SS and Karl is following in his footsteps. At first, Hetty is taken by the promises of Hitler and vows to also follow in line believing the propaganda. At age sixteen, her friendship with Walter reignites and grows into love. Walter is Jewish and his family is suffering. He educates Hetty about all the lies she’s been told and she quickly learns that everything her family stands for is wrong.

The tender love story between Hetty and Walter reminded me of Romeo and Juliet as all odds were against them. Seeing the rise of Nazism through the eyes of a German girl offers an interesting and different perspective to the WWII oriented books that are generally written. I enjoyed Daughter of the Reich – it has a YA (Young Adult) feel which may serve well to reach younger readers who need to be reminded of this horrible period in history. Worth reading for all ages.

Many thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins/William Morrow and the author for an advance copy.

This book is an excellent read. It takes place in the years just prior to and very beginning of WW2. It is told from the viewpoint of a young German girl who is the daughter of a Nazi officer. She becomes disillusioned by what she was seeing happening to the people around her. She had to learn who to trust and what she needed to do to survive. I really enjoyed this book. It is well written with fleshed out characters. Anyone interested in historical drama should enjoy it immensely..
#netgalley #daughterofthereich #louisefein

Daughter of the Reich-a journal like book that reads smoothly like a novel. Hetty, a young girl, lives through a historically challenging time. Her loyalty is put to the ultimate test. I was completely drawn in to her constant battle between what she believes to be right and what she is told to believe.
Very well written. I would recommend to anyone!

I really enjoyed this story! Daughter of the Reich takes us into the world of a young woman in Leipzig during Hitler’s rise to power. Her family’s circumstances change dramatically during her saga, as do those of her friends.
The characters are believable- they are limited by society’s rules and their circumstances. I wish the author had taken the story farther. I think continuing her story into the Russian occupation and Communist East Germany would have been fascinating. It felt a bit abrupt to stop when it did.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book in advance, Netgalley!

Just. Wow. Historical novels are usually a bore to me and I find it so hard to get into a book. This one, however, was just captivating from the first chapter. Imagine life growing up as a nazi and growing up alongside Jews as best friends. And being confused as a child. Then growing up to a young adult and seeing this person again. And being drawn to them again. How much would you sacrifice and put on the line to rekindle a friendship and a potential love. And a forbidden one at that. Oh and did I mention your dad is a high official in the reich? I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I read an advanced copy of Daughter of the Reich by Louise fien. Omg! I almost stayed up all night reading it. I read lots of war/nazi books but have never read one told from this perspective..told from a young German girls point of view and how her mind changes as the political climate around her changes. The story was amazing and I rushed thru it because I had to find out what happens, yet I really hated for it to end. This book comes out May 12 and I believe everyone should but it on their “tbr” list!

Daughter of the Reich was an interesting view of Hitler's Germany from the inside. The main character is the daughter of a rising SS officer who struggles with love and loss in WWII and the decades that follow.
The story is well written and intensely descriptive.
Although I didn't care for the subject matter, I would love to read other books by Louise Fein. She is a great author.

This was a really beautifully rendered and compelling story set in 1930s Nazi Germany. There is a forbidden romance, many painful references to the holocaust period, and some good tension with the many human crimes and deceptions of the Reich movement. I highly recommend this one, with a hugely satisfying ending. Thank you to #Netgalley for providing me with an ARC copy of this book.

This is a powerful book about the Nazi build-up to WWII. Through the eyes of a child until her teens, the author shows the thoughts and concerns of Hetty. Readers will be able to more clearly understand the brainwashing of Germany's youth as Hitler begins his evil reign. Hetty is caught between lies and the truth. Which will she believe? Highly recommended!!

Not your average WWII story. Told from the point of view of Hetty, who is a young girl at the rise of Hitler’s power. She believes in his rhetoric and hears his voice in her head, however throughout the story we see shifts in her beliefs as she grows and begins to truly see what is happening in her country. This novel started out slow for me, but by the end I could not put it down.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45306333
Daughter of the Reich is a story about Hetty, a young German girl growing up in the years prior to WWII. Her parents Franz, an SS officer with high ambitions, and Helene, a devout believer of Hitler’s plan, shape young Hetty’s early years. Her life is also greatly influenced by her brother Karl and his best friend Walter Keller. Hetty has an obvious crush on Walter, especially after he saves her from drowning. As time goes by, Hetty doesn’t understand why Karl suddenly turns his back on Walter. Then in full display of the entire student body, Walter and another young girl are singled out and forced to endure embarrassment as the school is told that they are both Jews. <br />For a period of time Hetty and Walter lose touch, until the fateful day that they meet again. And the attraction that was once there years ago becomes a full blossomed romance. Through her relationship with Walter, Hetty begins to realize that all she had been told and led to believe by her parents and Hitler was horribly wrong. The author does a very good job of bringing the reader into the horrors of Hitler’s Germany through the pre-war years. I found the characters to be well developed and story well written. <br />#netgalley<br />#thebookclubgirls<br />#harpercollinspublishers
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/61461390-janet-mcclain">View all my reviews</a>

I have mixed emotions about this read. I thought Hetty's inner struggle was interesting, but this book had a juvenile feel to it. Hetty was a younger character than I expected going into this, and the first person point of view made her seem even more childish. I also didn't like the fact that she was not at the age of consent when she was having her relationship with Walter. I did find the ending moving. Thank you to NetGalley for the E-ARC.

Louise Fein's Daughter of the Reich is a thoughtful, well-researched historical fiction novel focusing on an adolescent German girl's transformation from committed Nazi to informal resistance member during the years leading up to the Second World War. While Fein's dialogue is sometimes slightly clunky, the tense, fast-paced plot and well-drawn characters make this book an exciting read. While much World War II historical fiction focuses on the experiences of the victims, Fein succeeds in showing the ways in which the Nazism and its cultural cult was oppressive to both the known victims as well as to ordinary Germans who failed to conform. Of all of the historical fiction I have read about this era--and I have read a great deal of it--Daughter of the Reich is among the most realistic in terms of both the research underlying it and that it does not guarantee its characters happy endings or satisfying resolution. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Book Club Girl and Netgalley for my copy of this book.
The story is told by Hetty, the young daughter of a high ranking Nazi officer in Leipzig, in the 1930s. We see Hetty’s transformation from a good German girl, who loves HItler, and wants nothing but to live for the Reich, to one who questions what she is being told, to one comes to firmly believe that the Nazi’s ideals are not right. She falls in love with a Jewish boy she has known from childhood - and you know that things are not going to work out well for them. The story moved along quickly, with interesting characters, some devoted to the Reich, and Hitler, and others who oppose. I liked the writing style; in the beginning, when Hetty was 14, it was very simple, as a girl that age might write, but progressed as the book went on.

Let me start by saying I loved this book! Huerta was such a quizzical young lady and she didn’t understand how the Jewish people were evil and shouldn’t be allowed to interact with everyone. She had loved Walter for saving her life and he had been her brothers best friend for many years before everything changed. This book was so interesting to see how things could have been and they truly didn’t need to be. I had held out hope for many of the characters and was relieved by the ending. What a touching story!

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.