Kate is a spirted young woman who finds herself an orphan after the murder of her diplomat father several years before and now a victim of bombing and air raid alarms that take the life of her mother and aunt. She is befriended by Claire, a kind doctor, who nurses her back to health and takes her in. This is a great story of friendship, loss, and courage amidst the backdrop of WWII. I didn't find the story all that unique and read as very similar to another historical fiction book that I had previously read, but nonetheless, it was a good example of inner strength. Thanks to Kurt Palka, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this e-arc.

I’m going with 4 stars for this book because it was honestly well written. These historical fiction are my favorite genre to read right now. But I couldn’t develop a connection with Kate or Claire. I wanted to and waited the whole book but it just wasn’t for me.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

I wanted to like the book.
Unfortunately, the book is not for me. I could not make a connection with the characters and the pacing of the book felt off.


I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

If I knew how good this book was going to be I would have started it earlier. It is engrossing and at times, exciting. This book has all the characteristics one wants in a novel - interesting locales and circumstances, likeable characters (except for one in particular), a well designed plot and different circumstances with intersect with each other which doesn't betray surprises in advance. The author takes time with the personality of each character and setting. My only gripe is with the ending. I think the story should have been continued just a bit.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book which I enjoyed. I intend to seek out the author's other books now.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy.
I just couldn't get into this book. I do love to read books in the time period. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

Kate's Life

Kate Henderson is a strong woman but life deals her some powerful blows. She survives them and she strives to create a life for herself as she waits for her boyfriend to finish flight school. WWII is raging and it is a tough go for everyone.

The worse is when Dr. Claire's husband Thomas comes back from the war in a mentally damaged condition. Kate, now orphaned, is living with Dr. Claire when Thomas returns. As his violence continues Claire must make a choice between Kate and Thomas.

War is an evil and horrible event. In a perfect world there would be no more war.

The men coming back from WWII were damaged, some physically and some mentally. Those with mental disabilities were often no able to function in society and many marriages were lost because of it. For some the horrors of war never left them.

This is a story of two women, Claire and Kate. Both alone, both struggling to make a life for themselves in a time of war and afterwards. They grew to be great friends and helped each other in life.

It was definitely a time of trial and a time where courage and perseverance was needed by all. These two women showed great courage in the face of danger.

It was a great story and I enjoyed reading the book. I would recommend it.

Thanks to Kurt Palka for writing a great story, to Penguin Random House Canada for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy to read and review.

<b>Note:</b> I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley.

Kate Henderson is an energetic and spirited young woman. As a trained paramedic and ambulance driver she does her work courageously and with determination, even though underneath she is still wrestling with grief after witnessing the shooting death of her diplomat father seven years earlier. Her father's murder was never properly investigated and it remains unsolved.

Kate's life is drastically interrupted once more when she wakes up one night to the sound of the air raid alarm and the terror whistles of a bomb's stabilizers screaming toward the roof of her house. In the explosion, her mother and her aunt die; Kate survives, but she is injured.

Her house is gone as well, and after her time in the hospital, Claire Giroux, a kind doctor and family friend, invites Kate to live with her as she recuperates. This arrangement works well for them until a few months later when Claire's husband comes home from the war. Within days the lives of both women are drastically changed, and events are set in motion, both in England and in Canada, that challenge Kate and Claire to their limits.

I thought the first part of the book really had the intrigue and momentum that I was looking for in a good World War II story, however, when Claire's husband comes into the mix the story falls flat. The pull of the writing no longer holds in my opinion as a reader. Both Kate and Claire become shells of the people that they could have been.

Read if you like: Post WW2 fiction
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Kate has some traumatic experiences before and during the war. Her father is murdered and her mother and aunt are killed in the Blitz. Kate is injured in the bomb and works hard to get well after. Kate struggles to transition to post war life.
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Overall, it was an interesting book full of lots of plot points, but I couldn’t connect with the characters. I love a good character driven novel, so that’s something that’s important to me! I wanted to get to know Kate a bit more!
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CW: death of a parent, domestic abuse, injury, car accident, war, and violence.

This book was an interesting look at World-War 2. I found the topic to be different from what we're used to when reading about historical fiction and war. But I did find it to be rather alot in one go. Too many things were happening in one go. The writing was beautiful and the idea was good, but i couldnt catch a break due to all the plot twists! Overall a good read.

Reading this book was like picking a jellybean from a bowl without looking…you never knew what to expect! Sometimes you got a black jellybean (argh) and other times you got an orange one (yum). While there were sections of this multiple genre-spanning book I loved, there were more sections that had me scratching my head as to why they were included. I also noted several times the veering away from the show-don’t-tell guidelines and wondered if I’d have connected better to Kate had I seen more of her actions rather than been told about them. Overall, a good trim, some tweaking of pacing issues and a tad more character development would make this a more satisfying read for me.

I’m aware that this is a CBC-recommended author and an established Canadian author and I’m willing to try another book on his back list. This one, however, wasn’t for me.

I was gifted this advance copy by Kurt Palka, Penguin Random House Canada, McClelland & Stewart, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

3.5 rounded up to 4 as I am still thinking about the book.

The Orphan Girl slowly pulls you in to the story of Kate and Claire.

The place is London and it is nearing the end of Word War II.

Kate still recovering from the shooting of her father , a diplomat, now has to contend with the drastic results of her home being bombed.

Luckily Claire takes her in but things change and not for the better when Claire's husband returns.

You see how difficult it is to return to life after War.

This is a story of not only survival but one of courage and friendship.

The Orphan Girl is well worth the read and historical fiction fans will love it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins, Penguin Random House Canada, McClelland & Stewart for an interesting and informative read.

I enjoyed that this story focused on some of the emotional effects of war. I had some problems with the pacing and dialogue. There were also some things the stuck out as historically inaccurate.

Kate is a paramedic serving in London at the end of the Second World War when her house is hit by a bomb. She survives, but her mother does not. Kate moves in with a friend, Claire, and together they become a family. When Claire’s husband, Thomas, returns from serving in the war, their happiness dissolves. As Kate tries to find her way in the post-war world, she attempts to unravel a mystery surrounding her father and two of his friends; find a job; and solidify her love life.

While I went into this book excited about the premise, it ended up not resonating with me. I think this book was about too much and at the same time, about nothing at all. It was historical fiction about the Second World War, a Cold War spy novel, the story of an abusive relationship, and the story of a woman trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. It even included a trip to Canada—which added nothing to the plot at all. If you completely deleted that part of the story, the narrative doesn’t change one bit. Because this novel was trying to do so much, it was too difficult to connect to the characters, and the writing felt wooden and emotionless.

This is not a novel I would recommend to someone looking for a WWII historical fiction novel, or even a spy novel (especially since that part of the plot seemed to go nowhere at all). It also left many questions unanswered—is there supposed to be a second novel in this series to answer some of these questions, or are they just plot holes? Of that I am not certain.

Included this title in the July installment of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer magazine. (see review at link)

Kate often wondered what had happened to her friend David after seeing him leave with two strangers. Should she worry? Should she destroy David's manuscript as he asked? When bombs leveled Kate's home killing her mother and aunt and injuring herself, she must find a new place to live. But living with her friend Claire will prove to be a challenge when Claire's husband comes home with a serious case of PTSD. The story is a bit rambling at times and disjointed. Not what I expected.

This story was very captivating and made me think. It was very interesting to see how soldiers post WW2 fit back in with the world around them.

I am addicted to WW2 historical fiction, especially those that take place in England. I use the stories as away to discuss with my mom what she went through during those dreadful times. This story opened up so many new conversations. This story shared issues that I didn't think about happening back then. It just wasn't talked about.

We frequently hear about PTSD today. Yet, I don't recall studying about soldiers suffering mental issues after fighting in WW2 in my history classes. The men came home from war, and women had to go back to the home has been a common theme. Yet, I don't recall hearing how many that returned could not hold down the job and women had to go back into the workforce. The Orphan Girl goes into detail of some of those struggles.

When I think of Orphans, I always think of young children. The Orphan Girl reminded me that age doesn't matter. The loss of one's parents makes you an orphan at any age. Kate become an orphan the minute the bomb landed on her home. She was lucky enough to find someone to give her a home. Through Kate and Claire, the woman that takes her in, the author tells a story of life in WW2 England.

As a work of fiction; I don't expect everything to be true. I don't expect to believe everything as fact. There were many things that helped me become captivated with the story. I knew many issues were exaggerated, extreme.

That being said, I am grateful to the author for adding to my knowledge of WW2. I now understand why my great uncle always worked the nightshift and said the sun needed to shine for him to sleep. Thanks to the author, my mom and I had some amazing conversations about things we had never talked about before.

During WWII Kate Henderson is still struggling with the murder of her diplomat father in the months before the war began. Witnessing his death and being unable to save him drove her to join the ambulance corps after she graduated high school.

Now in 1945, she’s been instructed by a family friend that if he dies or disappears she’s to burn his notes and manuscripts in his hidden room. And in the next pages he’s forcible hauled off in front of Kate.

Abruptly the action also starts to follow Claire, a doctor who was an acquaintance of Kate’s mother, and we’re told about her difficult marriage and losses. Kate goes to live with her during the war after her home is bombed.

Lot of exposition in the beginning and choppy character introductions made it hard to jump in and get to know Kate and her circumstances. We’re told she’s adept at reading people and that she’s smart and special and other things about her, but we experience little of her thoughts ourselves. Even when a bomb is dropped on her house and her mother dies, there are no feelings evoked or inward reflections.

There were an unbelievable amount of phone calls, even transatlantic ones, at a time when very few British individuals were on the phone. There seemed to be an odd intent to shift the action unnecessarily to Canada that slowed down an already dull story.

The dialogue was rambling and every character sounded exactly the same. The writing is simplistic and the pacing slow. Everything is told to us rather than shown. This book was a recitation of events with no character development. I only kept reading because I felt obligated to finish in order to review it.