A heartbreaking yet wonderful story of bravery and hope.
"It's the worst time in humanity and yet there is still light in the darkness" is a quote in the book that stayed with me long after I'd turned the last page.
A dual timeline novel of Lizzie in the present day having had her hopes of being a mother quashed again, and Zofia living in Warsaw Poland during WW2.
The 2 stories merge seamlessly throughout the book, Zofia's actions and feelings of responsibility resonated throughout.
A hard story to read at times but beautifully written with empathy

We know about the Nazi determination to wipe out the Jews of Europe. We know about the Warsaw Ghetto but this fictional story, based on the true story of Irena Sendler, takes us inside the Polish Resistance as they try to rescue as many children as possible from the present horrors of the Ghetto and the coming atrocity of Treblinka. Told in dual timeline, the present and Warsaw in Winter 1942, and from the POV’s of the two main protagonists. Sympathetically written this is a poignant and moving story that has clearly been well researched.

Briefly, Lizzie, living in present day Seattle, is aware of her Polish ancestry, but one day aimlessly browsing in the attic she comes across an old photo which stirs her interest. As a result she travels to Warsaw to try and find out more about her family. In 1942 Zofia in introduced to Irene Sendler and agrees to help provide food and medicine to families in the ghetto and help children escape.

Brilliantly told as Lizzie searches for two people in particular and whilst this is not an easy read in places I found it incredibly moving. It is amazing how some people are able to draw on incredible inner strength at times of immense horror. A shocking but immensely powerful and readable story about three wonderful strong women, very enjoyable read.

Daughters of Warsaw is a well written compelling story. Giving the point of view from a Polish citizen and how she interacts with people in the Ghetto and do all that she can to save as many people as possible. I enjoyed the story tremendously.

Dual timeline historical fiction story of two women. Zofia who fights with the resistance in war torn Warsaw in the 1940s by helping rescue children from the Warsaw Ghetto, and Lizzie struggling with her inability to have a child in present day Seattle.
A heartbreaking story of family told through the lives of the two women who find courage when they believe all hope is gone.

I'm not sure if this book is a true story or not but quite honestly it could be or simply the story of hundreds of people caught up in the second world war. Modern day Lizzie is at rock bottom. Her failure to carry a baby through pregnancy has torn her to pieces. She goes home to her family home for comfort but even there is is lost.. Then she finds a photograph of her great grand mother with a group of women from the ghetto of Warsaw all those years before. Driven by a desire to know more she travels to Warsaw and there with the help of a guide she finds out more. The story also follows that of her ancestor, Zofia as she fights to stay alive as well as trying to save jewish children from the war torn ghetto. A very moving story with a beautiful ending.

As War World II begins and slips into Poland, the Warsaw Ghetto is built up and everything is stripped from the Polish Jewish community. Wanting to help, Sofia joins the resistance and begins to live a double life. As she gets deeper with the group, she helps Irena Sendler and becomes one of the key people who helped sneak hundreds of children out of the ghetto. Fast forward to present day, Lizzie returns back to her childhood home as she reels with having another miscarriage and not sure what to do with her life and marriage. After finding a hidden picture of her great-grandmother, Lizzie takes off on a journey to find the truth of her past. She just doesn’t know how much it would uncover about her family’s past and her own courageousness.

You know it’s a good one when you find yourself choking up at the end. This was a heartbreaking story of one family and how the war had affected them for many generations. This was gripping and you couldn’t help but cherry Sofia on through her journey. If you are looking for a historical fiction about courageous women, put this one on the list. You won’t be disappointed.

1942, Warsaw
Young Zofia finds herself leading a double life when she is enlisted to help the fearless Irena Sendler save hundreds of Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto.
Every night, Zofia risks her life to shepherd the children to safety. But when the worst happens, she is forced to make her riskiest journey yet to keep Irena’s mission alive.

Now, Seattle
After yet another miscarriage, heartbroken Lizzie returns to the comfort of her childhood home, where she stumbles upon a hidden photograph of her great-grandmother among a mysterious group of people.
On a quest to discover more, Lizzie uncovers a buried past darker and more dangerous than she could ever have imagined…

This is an interesting read, a story told across two time lines which can often be confusing but in this, it works well. It’s a tale of misery and deprivation but of great bravery and sacrifice. Based on truth, it’s beautifully written with just the right amount of description of something most of us do really want to know about. The selflessness of the Polish resistance is beyond measure. Couple that with the separate timeline of a woman lost, looking for a purpose and finding it in an old black and white photograph. Which sends her off on a journey of discovery. It has a terrific twist in the tail. A great read.

""Daughters of Warsaw" is a great dual timeline novel about the courage and fortitude of the Polish people during WW2.
When Lizzie suffers yet another miscarriage she decides that it would be a good idea to spend some time apart from her husband. Returning to her parent's home she comes across some old photos which lead her to investigate her heritage as a distraction from her grief.
Meanwhile, in 1942 Warsaw Zofia is working for the Welfare Department and, like all the other local inhabitants, struggling to survive on the meagre rations allowed by the occupying Nazis. At the beginning she doesn't realise how relatively well-off she is.
Maria Frances has written a moving and very readable novel about difficult times. Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

I really enjoyed this piece of historical fiction set during the 1940’s in Warsaw, Poland, and present day Seattle.

In Warsaw, we have Sofia who is working in the social welfare department and through a colleague begins to work for the resistance. But does so without telling her parents or her sister. She risks her life going into the Jewish ghetto bringing in medicine and bringing out children.

Concurrently we have Lizzie who has suffered with another miscarriage and has returned to her parents home to get away from her normal day to day. While there she finds a picture of her great grandmother and it leads her to investigate.

I don’t want to spoil anything as there are twists and turns to come in the story. Please pick this one up if this is your favorite genre too!

We meet Zofia in 1942 Warsaw as she works during the day at the Social Welfare Department and helps rescue children from the Warsaw Ghetto after work.

She risks her life and the life of her family as she works for The Resistance, but she says it is worth it if only one life can be saved.

We then meet Lizzie, the great granddaughter of Zofia present day who is heartbroken after yet another miscarriage. She goes to her childhood home and finds photos of her grandmother hidden in a trunk in the attic.

The photos peak her curiosity about her ancestry, and she begins a mission to find out what her great grandmother did during the war. She finds out secrets and about the dangerous life led by her grandmother.

DAUGHTERS OF WARSAW is a marvelous read with strong female characters and cements how people were willing to help others even if their lives were in danger during this dark times in history,

Beautiful writing and a pull-you-in story line that introduces us to Irena Sendler who worked as a nurse in the Polish Underground and saved Jewish children. 5/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed the dual timeline here, and it was a beautifully told story. I feel as though the WWII historical fiction genre can become stale at times, but this story was not that way. I have read and done school reports on Irena Sendler, so I was familiar with her as a fictionalized character, which was a nice addition. The stories, whether fictionalized or true-to-life, of those who smuggled Jews out of the ghetto are just mind-blowing. To have that amount of strength, resilience, and grit is something that is hard to fathom. Great read, I will definitely recommend!

This is a wonderful read. With so many titles out there about WWII and Jewish ghettos during that time, the story still remains original due to its switch between present and past perspectives.

Omg this book made me cry. I already knew about the polish jewish ghetto, but it still destroys me, people getting slowly starved, people getting tortured. People giving away their children, for a chance for them to.survive. it was a heart wrenching book bit with glimmer of hope.
Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion

1942, Warsaw. Sofia works at the Social Welfare Department, through a colleague she’s introduced to Irena Sendler, and she rescues hundreds of Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto. Sofia wants to help, she decides to not tell her parents and sister to keep them safe, and they come up with clever ways for Sofia to enter the ghetto, what she witnesses is truly horrific and shocking and the hard for her to accept she can’t help everyone. Sofia risks her life taking in medicine, a little food and taking children out to safety in a variety of ingenious and well planned ways.

Present time, Seattle. Lizzie suffers another miscarriage, she returns home to Seattle to stay with her parents, and she feels like a failure and she needs some time to think and compose herself. Lizzie is in her parent’s attic when she finds a photo of her great-grandmother, she’s with a group of children and dressed as a nurse? Lizzie decides to visit her grandmother Magda in her nursing home, to ask her if she knows why her mother was dressed as a nurse and what happened in Poland during the Second World War and unfortunately her grandmother is confused.


A dual timeline story told from the two main women characters points of view and both are from the same family, generations apart and it's about each finding the courage to keep on going, when a times it seems too hard and difficult.

Lizzie searches on the internet, she contacts a woman called Roksana and she’s a reporter in Warsaw and has written several articles and a photo book on wartime ghettos. Roksana replies and she’s very interested in her family’s story, she thinks Lizzie should visit Warsaw and together they will try to uncover her great-grandmothers past and it’s more dangerous than they could ever have imagined.

Roksana takes Lizzie to see what’s left of the Warsaw Ghetto, one building and a small section of the wall, Jewish men were forced to build it and enclose themselves and their loved ones in cramped, squalid and inhumane living conditions.

I received a digital copy of Daughters of Warsaw by Maria Frances from Avon Books UK and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The debut novel is an emotional story about Warsaw, it being invaded by the Germans, the Polish resistance, helping Jewish children escape the ghetto, hardship, afterwards people immigrated to other countries, many didn’t share what happened to them with their family and they had no idea.

The narrative also looks at Lizzie’s struggle with infertility, miscarriage to Alex and how desperately she wants to become a mother, the strain it puts on her marriage, through her journey to find about her great-grandmother and she discovers that mothering comes in many forms and ways. Four and a half stars from me, and a well written debut novel by Ms. Frances and I'm sure she will have a successful career as an author.

Maria Frances' Daughters of Warsaw is my first introduce to her work. I was intrigued from the start. Five stars.

I’ve always loved books which are set in Ww2 and having recently visited Poland this story was very powerful to me. Told from 2 different time periods, Poland during Ww2 and Seattle in the present day.

When Lizzie who lives in Seattle finds an old photograph of her great great grandmother she is curious to find out more about her and her connections to Poland. What she discovers is how Zofia has a hidden past one steeped in the secret Underground Resistance, helping save Jewish children from the horrors of the ghetto.

The heroic actions of the Underground Resistance and the dangers they faced were explored with such accuracy it made me marvel at their actions. Having visited the Jewish quarters in krakow it is unimaginable how not so long ago they were ghettos full of starving, terrified and sick people.

The two timelines were brought together beautifully, leaving me wanting to know how Zofia managed to travel to America and how her past had shaped her future

Full of bravery, courage, determination and family bonds this book pulled at my heartstrings. A story and time we must never forget and the brave people who put their own lives at risk to help others. It made me thankful for the life and time I live in. This book is a must read for anyone who loves historical fiction .

An emotional and enjoyable historical fiction, that was a little slow in parts but still packed a punch. I wish there was more focus on the history element rather than present day, but I did still have a good time reading this. It has all the elements of a classic, well researched WWII novel, and was a great Saturday evening read.

Told in parallel timelines: present day Seattle and WWll Warsaw The Daughters of Warsaw tells the story of the heroic actions of the women and men who worked with the incredible Irena Sendler to save the lives the children from the Warsaw Ghetto, it highlights one women’s story.

Maria Frances’s historical fiction novel depicted the true horrors of life in the ghetto, resistance fighters, and choices people had to make. It is a heartbreaking book is about love, connections, bravery, courage, and determination.

Thank you #netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A gorgeous story told in two different timelines - Warsaw, Poland during WW2, and the present day. It’s a story of family history and knowing that you belong as well as a courageous fight against the Germans to save as many Jewish children as possible. It was easy to read, had great relatable characters in both timelines and had a lovely ending which made me smile. I will be looking out for more books by this author. Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Daughters of Warsaw is a tribute to Irena Sendler of Żegota, a section of the Polish Underground Resistance who directed the efforts to rescue Jewish children from the Warsaw ghettos.
Told in dual timelines, 1942/43 and present day, it is a well written, well researched heart breaking story of courage, compassion. bravery and the horrors of world war two in Poland.
This book will appeal to readers of historical fiction, particularly world war two.
Highly recommended.