Sophie is fleeing Germany with her family & they board the SS St Louis to go to Cuba. While on the boat, she makes friendships of a lifetime with three other women - Rosa, Rachel, & Hannah. After being refused entrance to Cuba, Sophie is somehow able to go Washington DC through a connection of her father. From there you follow her as she learns how to live in a new country & live without the people she loves the most - feeling guilty for how blessed she is for being able to escape the fate her friends & family now face. I could’ve kept reading & following Sophie’s next endeavor. I look forward to reading the next installment of the series following Rosa!

Sophia's Escape

A story of the St. Louis, the last ship to leave Berlin during the reign of the Nazi's. Headed to Cuba it was denied entry at Cuba leaving several thousand Jewish refugees nowhere to go.

This first book in the Emerald Sister series is the story of three young Jewish women that meet on the St. Louis and befriend each other. Sophia, Rachel, Hannah and Rosa. Sophia has an emerald her grandmother gave her. She splits it in four pieces and gives on to each of the girls and keeps the other herself. They promise that they will meet at a cafe named Henri's after the war in Paris.

Sophia gets a chance to go to America and leaves the St. Louis leaving her friends behind. She is excited about going to America, but she is guilty because her family and friends are left behind.

This book is the story of the friendship of the girls and the voyage from Germany to Cuba. It then focuses on Sophia and her time in America. She soon finds her benefactors are not as they seem and is on her own in a strange country. It is the story of how she survives and makes a life for herself while worrying about her friends and family.

It was an interesting book, I liked hearing about the St. Louis and the refugees on board. I am now awaiting the stories of the other girls on the boat.

Thanks to one of my favorite author's Kate Hewitt for bringing the story to life and writing yet another great Historical Fiction Series. Thanks to Bookouture for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy to read and review.

First I must say I read this book a while ago and forgot to review it, When I went to read the second book in the series I remembered and now will do my review.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction adn this book this book didn't disappoint at all. Sophie Weiss boards the SS St Louis to leave Germany to escape the heartache and loss she has suffered at the hands of the Germans. On board she makes friends with Rosa, Hannah and Rachel and but all does not go as smoothly as she had hoped and the friends are separated in the hopes they will reunite in the future.

This is a wow of a read and one that will grip you and take you on a journey of heartache, fear, emotion and so much more. The story and the writing is brilliant, the characters so real and it is the perfect length and pace. It is a book I couldn't put down and couldn't wait to read more of the books in this series.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Girl on the Boat by Kate Hewitt is the first book in the brilliant new The Emerald Sisters series and I loved it. This book is set in Germany in 1939, Germany was allowing a few Jewish people to leave its shores to start a new promising life. Sophie Weiss and her family boards the SS St Louis to the United States, as they have no reason to stay in Germany. The Nazis have taken everything from them, and their only hope is escape. Sophie meets fellow Jewish refugees Rosa, Hannah and Rachel on board, the friendship they form gives Sophie hope that there can be happiness in her future, after all.

This journey to their new life was hard, tiring and long, their worst fears is about to happen, when their boat is refused entry at a port they thought would be safe to go to. Panic and being terrified of being sent back to Europe, the women cling together and desperately wait for news.
Then, at last, word reaches the ship that a friend of Sophie’s father is willing to take her in — but there is only room for her.

Sophie, has something that is so precious with her, quickly she unpicks the lining of her coat, revealing her late mother’s emerald hidden in the lining. She hands a piece of the precious stone to each of her friends, and the women promise to meet in Paris when this nightmare is over.

Watching the SS St Louis grow smaller on the horizon, Sophie’s heart begins to break.

How can she embrace her freedom when those she loves face an unknown fate?

What can she do to help them? Gripping her emerald with a fierce determination, she fixes her eyes on the boat: I will find a way to help you, no matter what…..........

This book is beautifully written and you will be gripped from the beginning till the end.

I highly recommend this book......another 5 star book from Kate.

Big Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this book even though it was harrowing subject matter. The strength of friendship and desperation to survive. Can’t wait to read the next one. Would recommend this book.

A fantastic historical fiction which discusses the SS St Louis ship during World War Two. I can’t wait to read the other books in this series

We follow the story of Sophie Weiss as she travels on the St Louis from Germany with her family hoping to seek refuge in Cuba, only to discover that they may not be allowed to leave the ship. During the journey Sophie has managed to become friendly with Rosa, Rachel and Hannah, this group of friends manage to support each other through the long arduous journey.
When Sophie’s stepmother insists that she leave without them Sophie is devastated at the prospect of possibly never seeing her father and younger brother again.

While I enjoyed the story I found some sections dragged out and actually only deducted a star because about a quarter of the book is taken up with promoting other book by the same author.

Four young women, fleeing Nazi Germany with their various family members, meet on the ill-fated St. Louis en route to a new life in Cuba. Their trip there seems carefree and reminiscent of their pre-war days, albeit with tinges of antisemitism and Nazi oppression. Upon arrival at the port of Cuba, they spend a few days waiting as they are not allowed to depart. Sophie Weiss, one of the girls, is offered a miraculous save – a sponsorship for her, and her alone, to live in Washington DC, with a colleague of her father. Knowing that she will be leaving her friends behind to return to the terror of Europe, she breaks an emerald into four pieces, giving each of the girls one. The four girls then promise to meet at a specific café in Paris in June after the war ends.
The story then follows Sophie through her triumphs and challenges living in Washington, DC, exploring not only the life of a German foreigner but also learning about class, privilege, racial discrimination, heartbreak, intelligence, and espionage. She follows from afar as her friends and family are flung to various parts of Europe, uncertain of their futures and her own.
This is the first in a four-part series, which I imagine will chronicle each girl's experience. Through foreshadowing, we know there will be a meeting at the café in Paris after the war, but not all girls will attend.
In this novel, the author does a beautiful job detailing life in the United States at this precipice of World War Two. I cannot recommend this novel highly enough, and I look forward to reading the other three books in the series.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book and provide feedback. This story is quite slow to start in my opinion but once you get past it, its worth it until the end. I love a good spark to finish the story and read on, but this felt a bit unfinished.

This story is gripping and emotional, inviting readers to imagine the fear and loneliness and hopelessness at so many levels. The story follows a strong young woman, doing her best to look out for her family when everything seems to be against her. It follows her through immigration and the navigation of impossible situations. She has courage and backbone and a willingness to work hard. Whatever it takes for the ones she loves.

This novel peels back the facade of idealism, acknowledging the uglier parts of the 30s and 40s. The parts no one wants to admit to. The ones we'd like to pretend never happened. It calls out the duplicity of patriotism and racism and apathy. Through it all, this is a story of love. Of hope. Of growth. Of one girl growing up to find her place in a brutal, changing world.

This book is definitely part of a series. It leaves some questions unanswered. I think I was expecting it to function as the first of four connected stand-alones, if that makes sense, but it's clear when this book ends that there's still more of the story to be told. Book Two, The Girl With a Secret, releases April 12.

In the first book in a new World War II historical fiction series, readers embark on the St. Louis, a ship sailing from Europe with hundreds of Jewish refugees onboard, including protagonist Sophie, her father and stepmother, little brother Heinrich, and her new friends Rosa, Hannah, and Rachel. When the ship reaches Cuba, however, they get refused entry and everyone is sent back to Europe -- except for Sophie, who makes it to the United States. Readers then follow Sophie as she gets a job and acclimatizes to Washington DC in the years before the US enters World War II. Watching from the sidelines knowing her family and friends are still in potentially dangerous territory with a Nazi state on the rise, Sophie tries to stay in touch with her family and friends while doing her bit in the States. Hewitt’s characters are wonderful, each with a complex backstory that impacts their decisions, and there are a few characters with an air of mystery to them that are sure to be relevant in future books. Location is key, and Hewitt (through the character of Sophie) draws some concerning comparisons between the Nuremberg Laws and segregation that are particularly pertinent to Sophie’s story.

The Girl On The Boat is the first installment of a four part series about four young women who set sail as Jewish refugees on the SS St Louis en route to Cuba. Fleeing Nazi persecution, these women form a unique bond on the journey, one that they promise to never let go of despite not knowing what’s ahead of them.

The first installment is Sophie’s story. She’s fleeing Germany with her father, step mother and little brother. Her life has been somewhat sheltered since the Night of Broken Glass, she has no real friends until she meets Rosa, Hannah and Rachel on board the St Louis. But when Cuba refuses entry to the refugees, Sophie is miraculously granted a reprieve and is allowed to leave the ship thanks to an old friend of her father’s in America. The guilt she leaves with is something she carries on her shoulders every day, especially when there is so much uncertainty for those she cares about. Sophie finds work and friends in a Jewish community center in Washington DC. A chance encounter with a naval employee offers her an opportunity to do more for the war effort and she soon finds herself heading back to Europe undercover.

I throughly enjoyed this story and can’t wait to read the next installment of this series! Thanks so much to NetGalley, Bookouture and Kate Hewitt for an early glimpse at this lovely story!

This book hooks the reader immediately, with the prologue opening in Paris, in June 1946 in a cafe where the four "emerald sisters" had promised each other to meet on this particular date and time. Three of them show up and we learn that one didn't survive the war. No names are given...absolutely brilliant writing!

Next, we said on the SS St. Louis, the doomed ship with 1000 Jews fleeing Germany and it is here that we meet all four young women who will ultimately be the emerald sisters. It's heartbreaking and shameful to read about their voyage. This first book follows Sophie to D.C., one of only a handful of passengers to get off the ship in Havana. She is shocked at the segregation policies in America, as they are so similar to the Jewish restrictions in Germany. I was shocked reading the very same political language being used then by Americans who didn't want to be involved in a war in Europe and the political rhetoric in America today. The America First Committee was virulently anti-Jewish and anti-immigrant, parroting Hitler's hate speech. I was so absorbed in the story that I didn't realize that the book was coming to an end. Since this is only the first book in a new series, it ends in 1942...YIKES! I still don't know who survived so I can't wait to read the next one. You don't want to miss this outstanding book.

Such a heartfelt emotional book! Really enjoyed this and can’t wait for the next
One! Thank you Net Galley

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own

What a well written novel. Not only do we have experience in the St-Louis and mixed emotions and classes on board, but we also have a unique viewpoint of life in America during this time. I enjoyed most of Sophie's experiences and her non-Prejudice mind set to the black community. Great book

I’m thrilled to be a part of the beginning of a new series, #TheEmeraldSisters!

This series will tell the stories of the bravery of four girls planning their lives during the time of the Second World War. Sophie, Rosa, Hannah & Rachel (“four friends forever”) forge an instant bond in difficult times. Book 1 is a wonderful #historicalfiction novel that touches your heartstrings in all the ways, with Sophie’s story just as things are starting to ramp up in the brutal world of World War II. I read it in two days. Several harrowing events happened that were worse than I thought had actually happened during that time, which led me to research myself. Sophie’s story ended and left me very eager to read the next friend’s story.

Thank you, Kate Hewitt, Bookouture, & netgalley for my early copy! All opinions are my own.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Thank you Bookouture for inviting me to be part of the Books on Tour for “The Girl on the Boat” by Kate Hewitt. Kate Hewitt is such a great author- she writes historical fiction just as well as women’s fiction. She is a must read for me!
If you are looking for a book that will tear your heart out but leave you with hope, this book is for you! Sophie is a Jewish girl on her way to Cuba and befriends three women on the ship. This is based on a true story. The Jews were allowed to leave Germany but weren’t allowed to go to any other country. Hitler wanted to show the world that they weren’t welcome anywhere in the world.
I am looking forward to the next book in this series! Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#TheGirlOnTheBoat #KateHewitt #NetGalley #Bookouture #BookLove #BooksSetDuringWWII #Bookstagram #NewBook #ILoveBooks

The persecution of the Jews in Germany was bad enough but even on the boat taking them away from Germany, Sophie and her friends faced taunts. Hoping to reach the safe haven of Cuba, with visas in hand, their hopes were dashed. It was only Sophie who managed to escape with a group of six and go to Washington and make a life for herself there.

The other three girls got dispersed through Belgium, France and England in their search for a permanent home. The promise they made to each other to meet on a particular day was one they all intended to keep, despite whatever was thrown at them.

In this story (I presume sequels will follow) we see Sophie’s life from the time she landed at the Tyler’s mansion to her unceremoniously being kicked out, to the life she found for herself, her love and then the tragic loss followed by a surprising change in career.

Like all WWII stories, each story is unique, heart breaking and precious. This was no exception.

Oh wow, this is such a fast paced, emotional read! So much happened in such a short space of time and I didn’t want to put it down.

Sophie is leaving Germany for Cuba, and then onto New York, onboard the SS St Louis. However, as a German Jew in 1939 travelling with her family and other Jewish people, they are treated horrendously.

The book is based on a true story of how the ship couldn’t dock despite all on board having visa’s and passing medical examinations. It is again another example of how awful it must have been to be Jewish at the time, and that behaviour wasn’t just isolated to Germany.

I loved Sophie as a character! She’s incredibly brave although a bit young and naive, it’s a coming of age story too as we see her grow to play a more proactive part in the war effort. It focuses on some of the more normal things that Sophie missed out on as a child due to the regulations designed to restrict Jewish people’s lives, even something as basic as having friends. It’s a different take on WWII historical fiction that I haven’t read before.

I can’t wait to read the second book and pre-ordered it as soon as I finished!

Thanks so much to @bookouture for the chance to review this lovely book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Girl on the Boat by Kate Hewitt is the first in the Emerald Sisters series which is set initially as the world is on the brink of the outbreak of World War Two and then goes further on to detail the first few years of the war. There is a brief prologue but one with plenty to sink your teeth into sets the scene but it left me with a burning question which only made me want to get on with reading the story.

May 1939 and the world is on the brink of war as Hitler seems determined to continue invading countries and gaining land not to mention the persecution of Jews in Germany has been ramping up with each passing year that he is in power. Sophie Weiss and her family are about to board the cruise liner the SS. St.Louis docked at Hamburg which is carrying thousands of Jewish refugees across the Atlantic to Cuba where they can then make their way onwards to America. The new German society as created by Hitler has no place for Sophie and her family and with visas granted they are hoping for an improved standard of living free from absurd and restrictive laws. All Sophie can dream about is the new and wonderful life that awaits her in America.

Sophie is travelling with her father Josef, stepmother Margarete and five year old brother Heinrich. But for all intents and purposes Sophie is the leader of the family. The one that holds it together when times are tough as her father, a former Jewish lawyer, falls apart following his capture and incarceration for two weeks by the Nazi’s. As they begin their journey across the ocean and adjust to life onboard, Heinrich’s physical and mental state rapidly decline to very dangerous levels as paranoia sets in. But perhaps what he is feeling, saying and believing may very well be true and the panic he feels is justified. Sophie is a fighter and this only truly became apparent I would say in the second half of the book. In some ways she was very naïve that once they were on the boat she felt that things would be ok for her family and their future would be secured in America but the further they travel the more she starts to come to her senses and she realises that prejudice, hatred and anti Semitism follow them where ever they go.

I did feel the sections of the story that focused on the journey over were too long and I was just waiting for them to arrive in order to see what would happen next. Yes,it did serve the purpose of introducing us to three other young women of different backgrounds yet all united with Sophie through their religion but I felt it could have been shorter allowing for other sections of the book to be longer. Sophie makes friends and forms a deep bond with Rosa, who is travelling with her parents but she holds very different opinions from them. She is confident, assured and filled with courage and audacity. Rachel is travelling with her husband Franz who has been recently released from Dachau. He is traumatised and struggles to communicate or exist on a daily basis. Finally, there is Hannah with her sister Lotte who are hoping to reunite with their father in Cuba.

But as they reach Cuban shores things turn from bad to worse as there are delays with disembarking and after weeks they are forced to turn around having never touched foreign soil. But before this occurs Sophie is given the chance to leave thanks to an old acquaintance of her fathers who lives in Washington. Sophie wrestles with her conscience but Margarete forces her to go in the hopes that they will all soon be reunited. An emerald once belonging to her mother is treasured by Sophie and she cracks it into four shards giving each girl one to act as a talisman.The women are separated but agree to meet in Paris in June a year after the war ends. That’s if it ever will and if it does who will be victorious in the fight of good against evil.

When Sophie arrives in Washington she is broken and distraught as she feels immense guilt that she was the one to get off the ship and her family members and friends were left behind. She feels lost and untethered as she now potentially has the life that she has craved but at what cost? Staying with the Tyler’s soon proves not all that she was promised and circumstances change for Sophie and this is where I felt she started to become more independent and the fighter began to emerge from within her. During this time in Washington, I thought the author drew fantastic comparisons between the racial segregation the black community was facing with the similar circumstances the Jewish people were facing in Germany. It wasn’t in your face but well thought out and moulded in well with the overall themes and issues being explored.

Having a good chunk of the book set in America was brilliant because I found I gained a lot of information and a new perspective as to how America viewed the war when it began and how they were very reluctant to join in. When times are tough as they are for Sophie she can’t understand why the U.S is not jumping straight in to assist the British and it made me realise how truly alone the Brits were for a significant time in their fight against Hitler.

There are snatches of information given as to what has happened to Sophie’s family and the other women but I’m glad details were scant as I will wait, although impatiently, for the future books for this to be explored in further detail. Sophie certainly grows and matures throughout the later half of the book and although she goes through a life changing experience I do think she emerges all the better for it as it only served to fuel the fire within her for the next stage of her journey. A role she undertakes is never one I thought she would accept at the start of the book and I was dying to know more and that’s partly why I was disappointed with the abrupt ending.

The Girl on the Boat was a promising start to the Emerald Sisters series but I found it ended very abruptly at the 77% mark when I was reading this on my Kindle. I’m used to books finishing around the 90% mark but I thought this was just a bit too much to finish so early. The overall concept of the book in that the focus will be on four young girls, each assigned to a different place and we will follow their adventures and trials and tribulations during the war years is brilliant and clever. Initially, I thought would each book follow a different girl but the way this one ended now I’m not so sure as there is so much more to learn and discover with Sophie as she has entered a pivotal and exciting yet dangerous time in her life. To be honest, I wanted to read more of this so I was left slightly confused and perplexed as to whether book two will continue off from the very end point of book one or whether Hannah, Rachel or Rosa will be the focus?

There is so much that could potentially happen and there is a lot of scope to play with so I am very eager to see in what direction Kate Hewitt will take things. I also love the fact that given the brief prologue which set the scene for the books as a whole, well there was one statement there that I am dying to know the answers to and circumstances around but I know that I won’t get a definitive answers perhaps right until the very last book and that’s what will keep me coming back to read more about the Emerald Sisters. I really do hope that we get the next instalment at some point this year as I very much felt that the ending left the reader on a precipice of very exciting and treacherous times ahead.