I've read a lot of WWII historical fiction, though it's been a while since I've read a book based in Warsaw. I really liked the parts about hiding the books, but I think the author was trying to do too much in this book, and the story was disjointed at times. I think it would have worked better if she had focused on a year of the war instead of trying to tell the story of Warsaw throughout the whole war. That said, it was still an interesting read.

I loved this book, like everything else I’ve read by Madeline Martin. A book about books, how can you go wrong?
Zofia and Janina are determined to save books from the Nazis. They did what they could to hide books, and kept plenty of books stocked in their underground library. They even had a book club during the air raids that kept book lovers, even the children, occupied and gave them something positive to look forward to when they’re forced underground. The characters were beautifully written. I felt so connected and invested in their lives and loved their determination in protecting the books.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for my ARC of this wonderful book.

Wow. I genuinely enjoyed this wonderful story of WWII Poland and the power of people bound together by a love of books. In a rare and unexpected twist, I think I enjoyed the information learned in the epilogue as much as I enjoyed the book itself!

The Keeper of Hidden Books is a well-crafted novel that succeeds in transporting readers to a time of turmoil and triumph. It’s a heart-wrenching yet hopeful story that I would recommend to anyone interested in historical fiction or the enduring power of literature.

In conclusion, Madeline Martin’s The Keeper of Hidden Books is a notable addition to the genre, deserving of its accolades and recognition as a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Historical Fiction1. It’s a story that resonates with the reader long after the last page is turned.

This book for me had a slow start. Once I got into the book I found that I enjoyed it. I would recommend to someone who is looking for a cozy read.

This was a WWII book about books, the love of them, and how war can tear people apart. It was well researched and well written, and I liked the story but didn't quite love it. 4 stars.

Actually 3.5 stars, but don't get me started on 1/2 star ratings!!! I recently discovered an affinity for historical fiction and I always love a book about the love of books and reading. Something just fell a little flat for me with this one. That's not to say it wasn't good, because it really was, and I am so glad I read it. There is so much to be learned about that time in history. I am usually moved to tears and the subject matter stirs big feelings in me, and this time that didn't happen. Again, I really enjoyed it and I think many will love it.

Zofia Nowak and her friends love to read, but in Warsaw in August 1939, reading is becoming a radical activity. With a Nazi invasion imminent, Zofia and her friends scramble to read as many Hitler-banned books as they can before they’re confiscated. When the inevitable invasion arrives, Zofia and her father hide banned books beneath the floorboards in their apartment, hoping to preserve them for a time when Poland might be free again. But when her father, a physician, is dragged off to prison along with so many of Warsaw’s intellectual elite and her best friend, Janina, is confined to the Jewish ghetto, Zofia realizes she must join the resistance against the Nazis.

As the Nazis seek to control the Polish people by controlling the ideas they have access to, Zofia and a few other librarians find stealthy ways to continue getting books into hands and education into minds. As the crackdown against the Jewish people intensifies, Zofia puts her new skills to work squirreling away not only banned books but also Jews she’s helped smuggle out of the ghetto.

Martin has penned a novel that is both heartbreaking and timely. Through Zofia’s eyes, readers experience the agonizing separation of families at the hands of the Nazis and the anger that so many Poles had to tamp down in order to survive. Martin captures the fear that so many families must have felt as friends and neighbors disappeared and there was no way to know who might be next. And through it all, Zofia recognizes the hope and love her beloved stash of hidden books represents and understands that love is precisely why Hitler wanted the books stamped out. Because, as Zofia reflects, “Books inspired free thought and empathy, an overall understanding and acceptance of everyone.” Highly recommended.

Author Madeline Martin has written a meticulously researched historical fiction book that is set in Poland and begins prior to the Nazi occupation of Warsaw in 1939. The book basically follows the plight of 2 girls, Zofia and Janina and we experience the horrors of Nazi occupation through their eyes, as well as what these teenage girls go through in their attempt to preserve the books and literature of Warsaw. With Janina we also experience her travails since she is Jewish and is eventually relegated to the Jewish ghetto and all the horrors that it entailed. The book is packed with historical detail including the fact that the Germans attempted to rob the Polish people of their culture and their books. They rid their libraries, bookstores and any other location that books could be found of books that were written by Polish authors and made sure that the only books that were available were written by Germans or approved books by English authors. There is a plucky group of women who endeavored to hide books that preserved the Polish language and culture, and Janina was even able to have a Jewish library in the ghetto, right under the noses of the Nazis. This is a book that will educate the reader, as well as giving us a small glimpse of the horrors of World War 2 which were most likely happening in every occupied country during that time. The book is easy to read, the characters are well defined and the plot is based on real events. Martin is a prodigious author and has now focused her attention on historical fiction for her last three books and chooses topics that most of us are unaware of and which are fascinating stories. I must admit that as I read this book I learned so much about the situation in Warsaw and the fact that the library remained open despite all the bombing and all the destruction of the books, and the lengths that people went to in order to maintain and preserve The literary culture of Poland.

A lovely read - historical fiction with a focus on love of literature. Well told, good pacing - would recommend.

AMAZING! I love all of Martin's books and will continue to buy anything she writes! I love a book about people who love books as much as myself, and to top it off it is a historical fiction book (Which I absolutely LOVE!) The writing, the characters, the plot---everything was amazing and absolutely fantastic about this book. You can really tell that the author did her work with conducting a lot of research in order to write this book, and her writing and the storytelling are some of her absolute BEST! I adored this book!

Sorry to say as much as I wanted to love this book, i often found my mind drifting away from the task. Perhaps it was the writing style though I tend to think it was me coupled with the holidays.

It is always sad to read of the atrocities other purported onto people which of course is continuing today and it is a book like this that reminds us that humans can be quite cruel, heartless, and evil.

Thank you to Madeline Martin and NetGalley for a copy off this story which has already published.

This was a beautifully written story, although I found it dragged in certain parts. It was both heartbreaking and inspiring and clearly reminds us the horrors of book banning and censorship.
3.5 stars

The Keeper of Hidden Books is the story of Zofia living in Warsaw as it is invaded during WWII as Poland is invaded and the Warsaw Library system is being forced to destroy books.

I could not put this book down, following Zofia's journey as her country is invaded, her friends are under attack and everything is unknown. I love the way that Madeline Martin wove her story with history and from a new perspective. Reading about what was happening in the library system and books being banned. I highly recommend this book.

This is a book that I really wanted to love. It's historical fiction which is one of my favorite genres. It centers heavily on the censorship of books which is important to me and also extremely relevant at this moment. It also features the friendship between two women and I am here for all of the girls supporting girls type books. This should've been deep and emotional for me, but yet I felt a little detached from it. This felt like a narrative I've read before. There are. so many great books about saving books from the Nazis during WW2. If this was my first or second book on this subject, I think this would've made much more of an impact. Still a well-written book about an interesting moment in history.

The Nazis have invaded Poland and the people of Warsaw find that the books they long to read are no longer on the library’s shelves. Zofia and Janina are best friends and they love books. They volunteer at the library and are dismayed that classic novels are being taken away. Some library workers are hiding books to preserve them, but it is a dangerous enterprise.

Janina is Jewish and everything gets complicated when she and her family are sent to the ghetto. Zofia is determined to help, but doing so puts her in jeopardy. In the meantime, the attempts to preserve works of literature continues.

What makes this book so appealing is the shared love of books and the covert efforts to preserve them, despite the chaos and imminent threats. Book banning has always been an attempt to control others and keep information limited. Janina and Zofia are at the heart of the plot and their characters develop as the teens are faced with the life-altering challenges of ghetto existence and the Nazis threat. Yet the commitment to preserve and share banned reading material points to the importance of the freedom to read and the impact reading can have on one’s emotional well-being.

Martin used real events to base her book upon. She explains in her notes the details of the real hidden library and the heroic people who ran the clandestine enterprise as well as those who fought with the Polish Underground. The book is timely and will have tremendous appeal with lovers of history and of reading.
3.5*

While I originally attempted this book as n ebook and stopped, I tried again as an audio and thoroughly enjoyed it. A perspective of WWII in Poland and the fight to keep Hilter from destroying literature he deemed unacceptable. The Main character, Zophia plays an integral role in the underground fight to keep Poles having access to books during the Nazi occupation. While the historical subject matter is always heavy, this was a wonderful perspective of the many heros of that time.

I sadly can not get into this book. I’ve loved another of this author’s books… but this one isn’t hooking me like I wanted it to.

The Keeper of Hidden Books.

First, I love that this is based on a true story; highlighting the power o books to bring us together in even the darkest of times, the beauty of friendship and the heart of a people united.

Warsaw, Poland. The story starts early in WW2. Zofia and her Jewish best friend, Janina, have always found comfort in books and each other. As Hitler and the Nazi's dig deeper and take more from the people, both of those things would be challenged.

The one way that Zofia can find to resist the occupation and the brutality was to save the books Hitler was intent on banning and burning. History. Polish writers. Stories of hope. Biographies. Nothing was beyond the reach of the regime. As a librarian, Zofia was in a prime position to slowly and deliberately hide books away from the regime and still get the into the hands of the polish people. She even starts a clandestine book club.

Persecution and hardship digs deeper into Warsaw. First the jews are marked, then they are mocked and, eventually, they are placed in the ghetto and put on trains for "relocation." Zofia continues to find ways to help the Jews, her heart always looking ways to resist and to help her dear friend. Over the years of the war, this takes on various forms until, as liberation draws close, a full scale rebellion breaks out in the city. Zofia and her community fight, literally, to save each other and their culture - including literature - using every means possible.

This was both a tough read and a beautiful read. It took me a long time but I think part of that was because it was so heavy in its content. It covered the span of almost the entire WW2 and, at times, it felt almost as long. I think it probably could have been a tad shorter BUT in doing so, I think some of the reality of living under that kind of brutality for as long as the Polish people did might have been lost.

Martin has a way of writing friendships that feel deep and full of heart; Zofia and Janina was no exception. And then the ending. The last pages at the library had me in tears.

If you didn't believe in the importance and power of stories to bring hope and comfort, you will after reading this one.

With Martin's trademark eye for research and detail, readers will be swept into the world of occupied Poland as Zofia works tirelessly not just to save her country's literature but as a freedom fighter determined to take her country back.

Martin's love of literature shines through in every book and the importance of the freedom to read, to preserve culture and history and also be able to see oneself in the pages of a book makes a strong statement about today's censorship climate without being overbearing. Relationships - between families, friends, and even love - form the spine of this compelling story, and you'll find yourself cheering for Zofia and Janina in their victories as well as mourning their losses with them. Recommended!