Book: Prisoner Of Night And Fog by Anne Blackman

Published April 2014 by Balzer + Bray|305 pages

Where I Got It: the Nook store

Series: Prisoner Of Night And Fog #1

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

You can find Prisoner Of Night And Fog on goodreads

Goodreads Summary: 

A gripping historical thriller set in 1930s Munich, Prisoner of Night and Fog is the evocative story of an ordinary girl faced with an extraordinary choice in Hitler’s Germany. Fans of Code Name Verity will love this novel full of romance, danger, and intrigue!

Gretchen Müller grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her uncle Dolf—who has kept her family cherished and protected from that side of society ever since her father sacrificed his life for Dolf’s years ago. Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler. And Gretchen follows his every command.

When she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen, who claims that her father was actually murdered by an unknown comrade, Gretchen doesn’t know what to believe. She soon discovers that beyond her sheltered view lies a world full of shadowy secrets and disturbing violence.

As Gretchen’s investigations lead her to question the motives and loyalties of her dearest friends and her closest family, she must determine her own allegiances—even if her choices could get her and Daniel killed.

What I Thought:

Prisoner Of Night And Fog is a book I’ve wanted to read for a while, and I’m glad I finally read it!  I really liked it.

One of the things that I loved about this book, and what I think sets it apart from a lot of 1930’s/WW2 historical fiction, is that it’s about a girl who’s super close to Hitler.  I feel like that’s pretty unique, because it seems like so many books set during this time aren’t from the perspective of a girl who see Hitler as an uncle-type person, and who grew up so close to the Nazi Party.  I really liked seeing his rise to power through Gretchen’s eyes, and how she saw him and what he stood for change so much over the course of the book. Especially as she learned what really happened the day her father died and how she couldn’t turn to him for help after things went horribly wrong with her brother.  I liked that her beliefs changed by the end of the book, and while it seemed like they changed awfully fast, it also made sense for this story.

I also liked how her life and Daniel’s life intersected with history.  It made the history seem so much more real because you felt for these characters and saw what things were like for them.

I didn’t quite feel their romance- we know so much about Gretchen, and it her story we see in this book, but I also felt like I didn’t really get to know Daniel enough to be fully invested.  Still, I liked that he played a role in helping Gretchen challenge her beliefs about the world around her.  I especially like it because it’s set during a time when things were changing so fast in Germany, and things got to what we see in World War 2.

The fact that there’s something very inner circle about this book…it makes it stand out to me, because I feel like it’s not something we see.  It’s a very different perspective, and I really liked that.  Which I think is obvious by now, because I feel like that’s all I can talk about.

I’m actually glad that this is the first in a series, because I want to know what is in store for Gretchen and Daniel, with everything that happened.

I also loved the author’s note and the end, and that Blackman even included a short bibliography.  It’s really great, because she directs to books where you can learn more.  Plus, it felt like she really knew the historical details, and did a lot of research.  It really showed throughout the book.

Let’s Rate It:

I really liked Prisoner Of Night And Fog, especially because I feel like we get a perspective we don’t normally get with Nazi Germany.  I didn’t love the romance, but I’m hoping I warm up to it in the other books, because I feel like there’s a lot of cute and potential in terms of the romance.  Prisoner Of Night And Fog gets 4 stars.