I think Mandy Robotham's writing style suits me. It's comforting, in a way, and makes it easy to read her books in one go.

The shorter chapters are exactly what I needed today. I did take a few small breaks even though I kept saying "okay, only one more chapter and then I'll take a break" and then one turned to ten...

The Girl Behind the Wall tells the story of two sisters, twins, who found themselves on opposite sides of the Berlin Wall due to some unfortunate circumstances.

Jutta is free on the western side while Karin is trapped on the eastern side with seemingly no way back. But Jutta isn't giving up. She's determined to bring her sister home and when there's a will, there's a way. But what if Karin doesn't want to go back?

The start was a bit slow. It picks up when Karin is trying to establish a life for herself on the other side, but it gets even better later, when Jutta finds "her way".

I liked both sisters and their love for each other as well as for their love interests, Otto and Danny. Both romances were very wholesome (if we exclude that one time Karin was scared and did a silly thing) which is always welcome.

I wish we saw more of the side characters / family members because it was hard to care about them.

The story was a little unbelievable in parts. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll leave it at that. But overall, it was interesting.

I haven't read a book set during the construction of the Wall, from what I can remember, so it was nice to see something new.

I think the author managed to capture the atmosphere well. And the fear too.

There's a slight whodunit element, and I honestly didn't guess who it was, even though I noticed the person. I also enjoyed the, how do I word this...rescue with the car, and the pre rescue part too.

I have an issue with the ending. The last chapter ends abruptly, and even though the epilogue is satisfying, there's room for more.

I'd recommend this to all historical book fans who want to experience divided Berlin through a good novel.

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I enjoy alot of historical fiction and i love reading events that isnt published much so when I saw that this story had to do with the berlin wall i had to read it.

I loved The German Midwife and this story definitely didnt disappoint.

As i said above I have never read a historical fiction about the Berlin wall and I learned so much about the families seperated during this time.

A very fast paced story and the writing wad top notch.

Definitely recommend. Thank you netgalley and the publsher for allowing me to read this story in exchange for an honest review.

My thoughts and opinions are my own.

A story of twin sisters finding themselves on either side of the Berlin wall captures the inner turmoil of the people during a historical event. For those of us, who were not born during the time and have no clue about what happened, this is a good story.

With “The Girl Behind the Wall”, Mandy Robotham is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors, and I can’t wait to see what comes next!
Mandy’s sensitive understanding of what can only have been a heartbreaking time for so many as “The Wall” came into existence shines through, as we meet Jutta and Karin, twin sisters who through no fault of their own, became victims on a day when the city of Berlin became not one but two, as did the twins.
While weaving a wonderful storyline full of love and anxiety, the book also highlights many of the political issues thrust upon the inhabitants of both sides of the Wall, and of the sacrifices made on both sides of the Wall by so many in an effort to keep in contact with their loved ones on the other side, while at the same time maintaining some level of normalcy in their new lives.
I loved this book. I particularly loved the ending – definitely not what I expected. It left me wanting to learn more about this period in our history and I am looking forward to learning more.
Thank you Mandy for a beautiful book, and to Netgalley/Avon & Harper Collins Publishers for allowing me to read an pre-release copy.

I wanted to love this one but it felt like something was missing. You know when you read a book set in a place you know well and you never quite believe the story because things happen that just couldn’t happen because of the setting/geography/time. Well I had that feeling all the way through. It felt like the author just wanted to write this book without having done the research to back it up and the whole thing didn’t feel genuine. I’m not an expert on post war Berlin but I do know a fair bit a lot of the book just didn’t sit right even though I enjoyed it well enough to finish it.

Two sisters are separated bij the Berlin wall and try to find a way back to each other.
What I Loved
I've never read a book about the wall and the subject is very interesting. The writing style made the book easy and quick to read.
What I didn't Love
It was hard to really connect to the characters. I felt that there where to many time jumps to really feel the dispair and loneliness of the sisters.
Conclusiin
Great subject, but didn't really work for me.

This book spans the years in Berlin, from 1961 to 1989. Karin and her beloved twin Jutta are separated by circumstances when the Berlin Wall is erected, literally overnight, with Karin trapped in the East.
The first part of the book focuses on Jutta and how bereft she and her family are at Karin’s disappearance, and lack of knowledge as to what has happened to her. There is a lot of angst- ridden introspection from Jutta, and her going round in circles trying to find out information about Karin’s welfare.
The book is written in very short chapters, sometimes jumping several years at a time. I found the whole premise of Jutta and her ability to get through the wall at her hidden spot, whenever she decided to go, sometimes on a weekly basis, just very hard to believe.
I lived through this period, being 13 years old when the Wall went up. I vividly recall the horror of frequent TV news reports of poor souls caught on the barbed wire, dead or injured, between the two sides of the Wall in No Mans Land, having been shot by East German soldiers. The East German soldiers were continuously patrolling looking for possible crossing places, and possible defectors. They were utterly ruthless.
I could have overlooked this if the story itself was more convincing. There is very little characterisation of the main players, I got no sense of them, so it was difficult to relate to them, or care about them. The pacing is poor, the flow of the narrative is destroyed by the jumping ahead in time, and from East to West as each of the sisters is featured. I got no sense of place, or of the prevailing conditions at the time, or of the huge contrast between life in the East and in the West.
I previously read The Berlin Girl by this author, it is an amazing book, and I gave it a well-deserved five- star review. It has all the aspects that are missing from this Berlin story, possibly because this one has been much less researched by comparison? I am so disappointed, it’s hard to believe this book has been written by the same author.
I cared so little about these people that I skim- read to the end, just to finish the book.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this title. I so wish I could have liked it more.

Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.

The author tells the story of identical twin sisters, Jutta and Karin, each of whom ends up on different sides of the Berlin Wall when one of the girls has a medical emergency while in the East. It was fascinating to read about a time in history of which I had little knowledge of and storyline was tense, keeping me engaged until the end. A well-researched book full of historical details which I would definitely recommend.

I love Mandy Robotham! This is my second book from Robotham (the first was The Berlin Girl), and I loved this one just as much. The writing is always so beautiful and detailed, and these two books have wonderful characters. In The Girl Behind the Wall, we follow twins Jutta and Karin as they are separated by the Berlin Wall. Jutta remains in the West, while Karin is stuck in the East. Jutta stumbles upon an unknown portal to the East, where she tries to find her sister and bring her back home. To her surprise, Karin does not want to return to the West as she has fallen in love and wants to stay. The two sisters manage to see each other via the portal, but their luck runs out when Jutta is captured while in the East. This book is filled with heartbreak, resilience, romance, and strength. Thank you, NetGalley!

I have been loving all of Mandy Robotham's books and this one for didn't disappoint. I have never read a historical fiction about the Berlin wall, how fascinating it was to learn about the families who were separated during tuis time! I felt like I flew through this book and was desperate to find out what happened with the 2 sisters.

I would highly recommend it! Thanks Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Name: The Girl Behind the Wall
Author: Mandy Robotham
Expected Publication: July 6th, 2021
Genre: Historical Fiction
4 Stars

Review:
The Girl Behind the Wall is a very different historical fiction novel that tackles life in Germany post the World War II where it is divided into East and West suddenly by a Wall. A Wall suddenly divides Berlin into two and families are torn apart. People need passes to visit East Germany but Stasi decide whether to accept them or not. This novel is about one such family where twins Jutta and Karin are suddenly separated. Karin is stuck in East Germany and Jutta is trying to get her out of there.
This novel is a good paced, unique story which I have not read before. I was barely 9 yrs old when the Berlin Wall came down so don't remember it much and this novel gave me a perspective about the life during communism. Highly recommend this novel.

3.5 stars
This book is set in Berlin at the time that the Berlin Wall was erected. Karin and Jutta are identical twins, and are caught on opposite sides of the wall after Karin unexpectedly needs an appendectomy while in East Berlin and is in the hospital there when the city is divided. Jutta and her family are devastated, and Jutta is relentless in her attempts to enter into East Berlin. One day she finds a secret passageway and takes the risk to see her sister.
It was very interesting to learn more about the time in history when the Wall was built. The book is told from the view of each sister & produced some good anxiety as Jutta pushed her luck to get across the wall or contact her sister. I saw the time changes at the beginning of each chapter, but didn't have the energy to track how much time was actually passing between each chapter. I thought that the ending was a bit abrupt.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and author Mandy Robotham for the advanced copy of the book. This is my honest opinion of it:

On the 13th of August 1961 Jutta wakes up in the middle of the night to witness the first closing off of West Berlin from the east, with barbed wire and armed men, and eventually with a much dreaded wall.
The scariest thing about this is that her twin sister and soulmate, Karin, is currently in the hospital on the eastern side. Karin ends up stuck in the GDR and Jutta is desperate to find a way to her, which, surprisingly she does.

I really wanted to read this book and I really really wanted to like it. I wish there were more books about this period! I have heard stories from friends who grew up in the USSR and MAN! THERE IS SO MUCH TO WRITE ABOUT!
So... This book was a total miss for me.
I found the story unbelievable to begin with. I know that hundreds of people got across the wall, but only as a one off, never to return (at least not before 1989).
I did find the story interesting from a historic point of view, and I'm glad it sent me to do some research of my own into that crazy, difficult time.
I wish I could feel more for the characters, but honestly - I felt nothing.

I really struggled with this book. It is written in parts and the first part is written more as a history lesson on how the Berlin Wall was put up. It didn’t really flow either and jumped about a bit. It concentrates more on the twin in the West and not really too much in the East. Unfortunately I found it a bit unbelievable as well. Very disappointing.

Mandy Robotham is one of the best historical fiction authors I’ve come across. Like her other books, The Girl Behind the Wall is filled with so much emotion. I found myself thinking of the family in the book as real people I loved. If you read only one book this year, make sure it’s this one!

Many thanks to Netgalley, Avon books and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this advanced electronic copy for my review and comment.

After losing two wars and living through the 1948 blockade Berliners are now just coming to realise how their lives are about to change once again. With the continuing loss of intellectuals, professionals and engineers to the west, the Soviets have started their wall to divide East Germany from West Germany. The wall has most of the immediate population in Berlin transfixed in disbelief, the realisation of the beginning of the concrete barrier and guards brings panic. Many families are going to be divided. Many who work and live on opposite sides are going to be badly impacted.

The main characters for this read are a family of six, Gerda, husband Oskar and son Hugo along with Jutta and Karin and their mother Ruth. Jutta and Karin, identical twins, and their mother had come to live with their aunt and uncle when their father was killed at the very end of the war.

Jutta and Karin have never been apart, they do everything together. As identical twins they are joined emotionally and they can read each other's minds. Karin is in hospital in East Berlin at the time the wall's construction begins which escalates at a rapid pace. The family is desperate to find out about her welfare. Applications are rushed through with help from some of Jutta's and Hugo's contacts but access is denied again and again. It's not until the end that the reason for the denied access is revealed. Ruth is on the verge of a breakdown, Gerda tries to keep her calm, the stronger of the two women. Jutta has only Hugo, a reporter that she can confide in and who can source information. This is a terrible time in particular for Ruth after losing her husband right at the end of the war and later on her having to scratch through the rubble of destroyed buildings for anything that would give her the means to feed her family and now this wall with one of her daughter's on the wrong side of it.

Karin in hospital is not out of the woods with an infection occurring from her operation. She is fortunate that her doctor understands her fears and reassures her that she will be looked after. Her anxiety is escalating as she hasn't had any word from her family and doesn't understand why Jutta at least hasn't visited. By the time Karin is well, it's obvious that she will not be allowed to return to her family in West Berlin. However her doctor and his wife have agreed to have her stay with them. She is given a job as a cleaner in the hospital and it's here that she meets a young, very patriotic East German, Otto, who will in time cause a great deal of angst for Karin and Jutta.

The frustration for Jutta and her family is causing increased grief, unable to make contact by any means with Karin, no mail is getting through and telephone wires have been cut. While Jutta tries to avoid the Wall, one day she feels particularly drawn to it and to her shock and surprise she discovers a chinc in its construction due to the positioning of the road and buildings where they have been bricked up. After moving the wire she discovers a gap and through the sound of a displaced cat with its new litter of kittens she has her "Alice and the White Rabbit moment" falling her way through a labyrinth of doorways and deserted buildings and her way into East Berlin.

From here on the read really picks up pace, events move quickly and the book is hard to put down, the tension of risk played out by Jutta, the risk of spies, the Stasi who are everywhere in unmarked cars.

Jutta goes to the hospital where Karin had been and through sheer luck her doctor recognises Jutta's voice, so similar to that of her sister's. He quickly takes Jutta aside, does a double take at the resemblance and then organises for Karin to come. There's no hugging or crying with relief, the moment is tense and formal, nothing to betray them. Karin is now in full knowledge of risks everywhere, people being dragged off and disappearing and she warns Jutta. They meet at Karin's favourite coffee shop whenever Jutta returns but at some point someone starts watching.

The situation with Otto comes into play as he and Karin are now in a relationship but after all Jutta has done in risking her life illegally coming over the border Karin does not want to return to the west. Otto will not leave his parents and he has a good job with the government and is an idealistic Communist. Jutta is having increased problems with her mother and Gerda. Gerda in particular knows something is going on but Jutta is tight lipped until the time she makes them aware of their plan to swap identities. Jutta will change her appearance to that of Karin who will come to visit them.

Jutta, while relieved at being able to see her sister, is emotionally drained at Karin's decision. However, her life changes for the better on meeting an American soldier who comes to her rescue when she is picked up and imprisoned by the Stasi in a rather bizarre and daring manner, borrowing his high ranking Uncle's uniform.

Historical fiction is quickly becoming my go to read. I enjoyed this book very much. I’m new to this author but will be on lookout for any other titles available! Thanks to publisher and NetGalley for this read.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I enjoyed this, different from what I normally read but found it really interesting. Enjoyed the storyline and also the characters.

I hate to say that I couldn't follow this book very well. I am not sure why, I felt it was a little slow and I just couldn't connect to the characters and the storyline like I can with other books.

What a wonderful read! The storyline was well thought out and kept my interest throughout the book. The last few chapters pleasantly surprised me and I would definitely recommend this book.