Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for my copy of The Girl Behind The Wall in exchange for an honest review.

I previously read The Berlin Girl by Mandy Robotham, also thanks to Avon and NetGalley, and absolutely loved it. I’ve always been a fan of historical fiction, particularly one based around WWI and WWII, and The Berlin Girl was definitely up there in my favourites, so I had very high expectations for The Girl Behind The Wall, and it met every single one of them!

From the very first chapter, you are immediately thrown in to the pure emotion of the story, and the reality of what many families truly had to go through during this time. To be honest, the construction of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent events is something that I don’t know a great deal about, so I learnt quite a lot from this book, but it’s definitely something I want to do more research in to. This made the story all the more interesting for me.

Jutta and Karin are both brilliant characters. Both are exceptionally brave, and are willing to risk their lives for the people they love most. Jutta’s determination to reach her sister is incredible, she will go to any length to be with her, and that kind of love and loyalty is so beautiful, it’s an unbreakable bond. Every time Jutta ventured over the wall, I was on the edge of my seat, with my heart in my mouth. I was absolutely terrified for her, and desperate for her trip to be successful.

The romantic aspects of both Jutta and Karin’s lives are worked in to the rest of the story so seamlessly that neither of them take anything away from the more serious and emotional side of the book, which is something I really liked. And as someone who isn’t a huge fan of romance, it actually made the love stories much more enjoyable, because even those came with dangers, and possible ramifications.

Towards the end of the book, the story took a few turns that I hadn’t really expected, but which made it feel even more real. Those final chapters really pulled at my heartstrings, and brought tears to my eyes. Knowing that many people went through similar situations in real life made it all the more emotional, and it’s something that most of us will never truly be able to understand.

This book was everything I had wanted it to be and more. It was intense, heart wrenching, and impossible to put down. Mandy Robotham is a brilliant writer, and I can not wait to read more from her in the future!

I give The Girl Behind The Wall a 5 star rating!

Beautifully written and absorbing. We don’t always think of the families and how the the affected their lives.. The characters are like able , you’ll not want to put it down! Definitely one to read.

The Girl Behind The Wall is a great book depicting Ww2 in Germany. It showed how families were living. I enjoyed the story as it showed historical events.

There has obviously been a lot of research done and it makes for an authentic historical setting. I really enjoyed it and went through a range of emotions while reading.

Twin sisters separated by a wall dividing Berlin. Will they stay or make whatever sacrifices needed to bring their family together again?

I found many parallels in this story to current events in 2022. Brutal regimes often make lightning decisions - in this case, separating a city within days - while the world simply watches. These decisions often cause great pain within families and how they make decisions for the rest of their lives.

I enjoyed the stories of the twins, but often found their choices frustrating and hard to understand. It seems to me one would always choose freedom, but life is not that simple. There were times when the plot was incredibly slow and repetitive, but then it would ramp up too quickly with resolutions that were a bit too tidy. Overall, it was a fascinating look at life during a painfully split Germany.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Imagine being separated from your sister when a “the Berlin wall” is erected overnight. One sister has a medical emergency and ends up in East Berlin, while your family is in the West. Your sister is your identical twin? The doctor thinks the sister in the East won’t have a problem going back to the West.

August 1961 when Berliners wake up to no outside communication including mail and phone privileges. I love how the novel focuses on the erection of the wall, the difficulties people on both sides had to endure. This novel explores the time frame from 1961 until the demolition in 1989. I was in Germany when the wall was taken down. I later went to Belin and had a chance to tour both sides and heard about so many unimaginable events and escape plans of the people from the east. Some made it back, and other obviously did not.
Everyone had to make sacrifices. Do the sisters reunite? Do they each survive? This novel is absolutely fascinating a must read if you are interested in the Berlin Wall and Historical Fiction. #thegirlbehindthewall, #mandyrobotham, #bookreview, #bookstagram, #booksconnectus, #stamperlady50

I loved reading this book, the history of the Wall and the divide has always fascinated me. Loved the main two characters. Beautifully written and utterly absorbing.

While the subject matter of the afternath of WWII as told through the losing side is not one I’ve seen in literature often, and it was what made me pick up the book. Ultimately I didn’t feel a connection to the characters or invested in their relationships so ultimately I DNF’d about halfway.

The Girl Behind the Wall by Mandy Robotham is a very enjoyable read. I enjoyed every bit of it, finding it difficult to put down. It gives a good insight into what life may have been like for families seperated by the rise of the Berlin Wall.

The book shines a light on the courage and strength shown by women during the years of the construction of the Berlin Wall.

This book touches, on a personal level when we think about barriers to our freedoms at the moment. Though our restrictions are nothing like the challenges faced in this book.

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

The premise of this book is a family drama after Germany had been separated but before the stricter regulations had been enforced. Living in Berlin it still was quite common to cross borders as you would within a lot of areas of the world today and one of our twin main characters did go to east Berlin for an errand/assignment. She ends up having to stay over night in a hospital and when she wakes up, she is not allowed to leave East Berlin anymore.
We keep following the two, their relationship, and the political minefield they were navigating.

I enjoyed how this book touched on most of the aspects I would have liked for them to touch on. This easily could have become a trashing of communism and East Germany trashing which this book really seems to attempt not to fall into. The only thing that I have to fault was that I felt the loophole they used in the book to communicate and do what they did felt absurd and unbelievable. I cannot believe the Stasi not noticing what they used - but I am also not a historical expert so I might be wrong on this.

This aside it still was a really good book of which I enjoyed the writing style, the characters and their inner conflict that seemed to attempt to shine a light on more than one side of history. We had understandable reasons for both sides. I would have wished for a little bit more of a deeper understanding as to why people liked the GDR and their rules. It is mostly shown as "this is awful" but then you do meet a few characters who are fully behind it, but it does not fully get explained why. I think that this is the biggest missed opportunity this book had.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Heart wrenching, heart breaking, however you want to phrase it, this book had it. I should have known from the Kleenex I grabbed before the third chapter, I might be emotional with this one. But it really delivered on the writing and story. Will definitely be looking for more of this author!

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

This was an emotional story about twin sisters separated by the Berlin Wall. I liked that we got both sisters' perspective, we see their struggles and challenges.

Perfect for historical fiction fans

I had great expectation from this book, but the writing fell flat and didn't really captivate me. overall an okay read

The Girl Behind the Wall by Mandy Robotham is a great novel about the time before and during there being the Berlin Wall.. Karin and Jutta are twin sisters living in Germany.. They live a quiet, simple life, until the wall goes up. Karin & Jutta find themselves on different sides of the wall. Karin is alone on the one side and Jutta and the rest of the family is on the other side. East Berlin is under Russian rule and things are totally different. The Berlin Wall in the beginning, had escape portions but quickly the wall got taller and tighter and escape is nearly impossible. A doctor takes pity on Karin and saves her from the real East Berlin. She works hard and hopes things will change soon. Jutta on the other hand is constantly trying to find ways to get through/around the wall. She happens to find a way and the sisters lives change again. They can see each other and try to plan for Karin to escape.. But Karin is in love and wants to ask her boyfriend to come with her.. I read this book quickly and really liked the story being told by each sisters perspective. Will Karen escape? Will someone catch them and their passage? Can the ladies come back together and be able to be with their boyfriends? I suggest you give this one a read, to find out all these answers.. If you like Historical Fiction like I do, I am sure you will enjoy it.

I loved this book centered around the Berlin Wall. The premise of having twins separated by the wall that literally went up overnight was very compelling. I loved the exploration of the internal and external struggles both sisters went through over the years the book spans. Definitely interested in reading more from this author now.

This was an amazing read. Full of thrill, suspense and immense courage from Jutta. The story is of her and her twin sister and the challenges they faced when the wall went up between east and West Berlin.

The author, Mandy Robotham, does a wonderful job at writing historical fiction books. I have never read anything about the Berlin Wall, so I was looking forward to learning more about this time period. I enjoyed having the viewpoint of Jutta and Karin. The author does a great job of presenting them as normal individuals who are vulnerable and you like them and their approachability. I did not find the style of writing appealing. However, it was emotional to read how the Berlin Wall affected families in many ways.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

I studied history in college and it amazes me of how much I still don’t know! The Girl Behind the Wall tells the story of twin sisters who are separated when the Berlin Wall is abruptly constructed in 1961. Overnight, Karin is separated from her family and trapped under Soviet rule.

Things I enjoyed:
- Learning about a new period in history.
- Reading about Jutta and Karin’s twin bond. (I’m expecting twin girls within the month).

Honestly, the first 30% of this book dragged for me! I just couldn’t get into the story. But I kept trying and eventually I enjoyed this one. I did feel like it read a little to “light” for such a dramatic and heartbreaking situation. Plus- I needed to suspend belief a LOT while reading The Girl Behind the Wall.

All in all, three stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really beautiful and touching novel with some excellent characters that will stay with me for a while. The writing style was easy to read and was really emotive