Every day brings you closer to starvation, but you might be unlucky and caught in a roundup of slave labor. You might even be randomly shot. This is Warsaw under German occupation.
Zofia Nowak, eighteen, imagined a starkly different future when she graduated from high school. Gradually she and her friends adapt to the hellish conditions by helping each other and committing themselves to the preservation of the Polish culture that is being systematically eradicated by the Nazis. The Warsaw Library becomes a symbol of free expression, culture, and art in the face of book burning and hatred.
Zofia and her friends expand their “anti-Hitler Book Club” into a full-fledged clandestine library of banned books. Autocrats always fear books, especially those that might challenge their accepted mythology. The books Zofia delivers provide inspiration as well as a diversion.
The systematic arrest and murder of professors, doctors, scientists, and any other potential leaders the Germans display barbarity that is all more horrific for its rational, organized approach. Without leaders, the people of Warsaw are subjected to an ever-tightening vice of restrictions and privations enforced by murder. Then the planned extermination of the Jews begins.
First comes the armbands, followed by forced relocation into the ghetto, followed by more intense crowding of the now-walled-off ghetto. Poles who have the temerity to object are shot.
Zofia, now in the Resistance, was to smuggle Jews out of the ghetto to safe houses. These safe houses were only safe for a short period. If the Germans caught a resident sheltering as Jew, the Germans murdered every resident of the building. Nevertheless, she continued until she fought for 63 days against the German occupiers in the Warsaw Uprising in the summer of 1944.
There is little of the dashing resistance fighter in Martin’s story. It’s hard, dirty, and ultimately fails, but the spirit of those who fought shines brightly.

This is a well-written, emotional story of incredible bravery by woman who live in Warsaw, Poland. Zofia does whatever she can to save her friend and books banned by the Nazis.

You truly get a sense of the time and emotions of the characters. A page turner. Well done.

This was a great book, but it dragged a little in the middle, which was surprising to me because of the tension and what was going on in the Warsaw Ghetto.

The story is about a girl and her friends who have formed a book club that reads books that are banned by Hitler. They were able to sustain this club, even though one of their members was a Jewish girl and was banished to the ghetto by the Nazis, while another was shot while trying to run from an airplane that just open-fired on a crowd.

The books that were banned were considered classics and often there was just one copy to share among the four or five of them. I do need to mention that Zofia, our heroine, was a worker in a library along with some secondary characters and between her, Darek, and a few others, they managed to save so many books that were treasures, even through the throes of bombings, invasion, and Nazi ideas. It seemed impossible at times and they all went to great lengths to secure these reads and hold them for future generations.

I have to admit that I didn't give this a thought. I've read many books about this era in time and it never occurred to me that somebody had to save the literature. It's a legacy. I believe this story is fiction, but there's always truth in fiction. Zofia did everything possible to not only save the books, but to save people. She was in some seriously dangerous situations and had to do things that she wasn't comfortable doing. but when your way of life is being decimated in front of your very eyes, you're going to do whatever is necessary to save it, even if it includes becoming a freedom fighter, using a gun, hurt someone who means to hurt you...the sky is the limit when everything you've ever loved or known is at stake.

This book is an exploration of human resilience, desperation, and survival of the fittest. There are parts that are raw and gritty that made me cringe. It is a time of war, but the there wasn't a whole lot of blood and guts as there could have been, which was fine with me. I didn't need a play-by-play to understand what was going on.

Anybody who loves books will appreciate this story. As I mentioned above, I had never given this topic a thought, but it is so relevant. The characters in the book were protecting history and that's always important.

1939, Warsaw, Poland. Zofia Nowak and Janina Steinman were best friends. They saw each other daily and shared their love of books, especially their participation in the anti-Hitler book club, determined to read books on a banned list. As the hardships became even more personal to Zofia, there was no time to grieve the loss of loved ones or complain of hardships. There was only time to work in the library, save books, help Janina and her family, comfort as many patrons as possible with books, and as Syrenka serving in the Gray Ranks, an underground resistance group.

Within the horror, persecution, and hardships of the heart-wrenching story, there are heartwarming moments of friendship, love, and shared experiences. Above all, it is a gripping story of bravery and courage, kindness and thoughtfulness, resilience and fortitude, and commitment to actions putting the welfare of others before self.

The "Author Note" adds specifics of history that reveal not only meticulous research but, more importantly, the individuals that risked their lives, sacrificed beyond measure, and worked courageously against the horror and persecution of the time.

Thank you to Madeline Martin, Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book.

The Keeper of Hidden Books
Last night I finished reading Madeline Martin’s latest novel The Keeper of Hidden Books on Netgalley. The Keeper of Hidden Books takes place in World War II Poland and the main characters are two best friends Zofia and Janina both young women who have the most important thing in common, books! Everything changes when the Nazi’s invade Poland. They loot and destroy Warsaw the capital and Zofia and Janina know that now books are in danger. Zofia does everything she can to save her best friend, other people in need as well. Zofia’s biggest act of defiance is having a secret book club reading books that Hitler and his thugs are trying to destroy, as well as hiding the books in a secret warehouse.

Pros
What makes this book important is it touches on something that many don’t talk about, the destroying of books. What non-book readers don’t understand is, once you destroy a book you destroy a culture and that’s why Zofia and her friends are so desperate to save the books the Nazis want burned. I also was surprised at some of the books the Nazis wanted burned. I’m sure it may surprise you too. I also liked how the book covered that it wasn’t just the Jews who suffered but the Nazis wanted to kill off other groups of people as well including the Poles. I also like all the characters, there wasn’t one who I disliked.

Cons
I didn’t want it to end. Though that’s the thing with stories is that they make an impact on us as well as entertaining us.

Overall
If you enjoy historical fiction novels, books about books and the power of storytelling this book is for you. I just think it is sad that this is all too relevant now with people wanting books banned. The most important lesson we can learn from this is, we must learn from history so we don’t repeat it. Thank you Madeline Martin for this important reminder, I also can’t wait to do this mini Q&A with you on this book, and why this topic is important. Thank you Netgalley for this early copy for review, if you don’t have Netgalley pre-order this gem which comes out on August 1st.

Moving story about two young girls in Poland during WWII who fight to save their country and its literature from Nazi destruction. Although it strained credibility at times, the authors notes at the end were very informative about the real-life heroes who fought to preserve Poland and its culture.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and author, Madeline Martin, for granting me an advance copy of the The Keeper of Hidden Books in a return for my honest opinions.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genre and I absolutely love books. This book is about the occupation of the Nazis's in Warsaw during WWII.

It depicts the courage, strength and determination of the human spirit to persevere.

The friendships and love and protection the characters display for one another is inspiring. The factual depiction of books ability to bring hope, courage, build a bond between individuals and inspire them to persevere is wonderfully depicted.

Highly recommend.

I loved Madeline Martin's previous book, and was so excited to read this one - and I was not disappointed! Ms. Martin is brilliant, and leaves no historical stone unturned. Her latest is another example for why her books are so unputdownable - fascinating characters, excellent writing, and a plot that keeps you turning the pages. She is at the top of her game with this newest book, and I loved every second of it. I will definitely be ordering a paper copy to have on hand. If you love fiction, especially WWII - then you absolutely must read Madeline Martin and all of her books, including this one.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very descriptive and it was very good. I had a great reading experience with this book. I thought that it was written beautifully.
I just reviewed The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin. #TheKeeperofHiddenBooks #NetGalley
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This extraordinary book spoke to me on several different levels. As historical fiction, it showed the remarkable pride the Polish people took in their culture. They cherished it, never taking it for granted. It also showed how they resisted the Nazis, in all aspects of their lives, long before the Uprising in 1944. Most of us know quite a bit about the French resistance but the Polish resistance was simply incredible, even in the face of losing millions of people.

The strength of the Polish women of all ages in this story is inspiring. I was particularly touched by the older women who were determined not to let the younger women give up, no matter the adversities or the deadly consequences for themselves.

And then there are the hidden books, those banned by the Nazis. As more and more books were banned, the Poles became more determined to read them, even at the risk of death. As a retired teacher, I loved the books chosen by the book club and how they saw themselves in them. We also see the merit of rereading books as Zofia reread All Quiet on the Western Front and had an epiphany. She understood why Hitler had banned so many books..."books inspired free thought & empathy, an overall understanding & acceptance of everyone." I live in a state where books are being banned in schools. The similarities between this book and the book banning happening now couldn't be more frightening.

Madeline Martin cleverly includes historical figures with her fictitious ones which had me stopping to do some research many times. Although my heart was broken frequently while reading this, I was left with immense respect for the Polish people and appreciation for their many cultural contributions. I loved it.

I'm grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the ARC.