Member Review

★★★★ 4.5 stars

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Imogen Matthews' inspiring tale of THE HIDDEN VILLAGE.

Upon reading the premise for THE HIDDEN VILLAGE I immediately became intrigued as it offered something a little different than your usual Holocaust stories. The author was inspired by her own Dutch family's tales of their personal experiences during wartime Holland and though based on actual events, it is otherwise entirely fictional.

A compelling tale, THE HIDDEN VILLAGE comes across as an easy read for young adults to understand which is what I particularly liked as it wasn't bogged down with historical facts that tend to lose me in the quagmire. It was written in an easy to understand way featuring all young children and adults as the main perspectives.

It is not clear which year what year it is when the story begins, as with most books of this genre, so it is therefore left to the reader's imagination. It starts of with the innocence of childhood as Sofie, a young Jewish Dutch girl, grumbles about the teacher overlooking her abilities despite her topping her class in a maths test. She is too busy harbouring a resentment for Oscar with whom she shares a teenage affection and flits between being annoyed with him and being in love with him. Her best friend Liesbeth nudges her playfully which only makes Sofie frown more.

Oscar is the same age as Sofie and though he is not Jewish, he and his family do not welcome the Nazi occupation. His father Max is strict but reasonably fair as he works for the underground movement in helping to keep those in danger from the Germans safe. His mother Sara is English and while she is not involved in the underground she silently supports it. No one wants or welcomes a Nazi regime in Holland. And while Oscar yearns to see more of Sofie, circumstances soon make that impossible.

Then there is Oscar's 11 year old brother Jan, a young tearaway who gets himself into mischief with his two friends Nico and Lex. Together they roam the woods, despite being told countless times by his mother not to, looking for fun and adventure. Fate brings fallen pilots to their den in the woods as Jan endeavours to help the airmen. And while the woods are not teeming with Germans yet, they could be and so Jan brings the pilot home to keep him safe. Was that a wise move? Jan didn't care because now he was playing a part in a big adventure and for him it was exciting.

Then when the net closes in and Germans begin to steal the Jews away, forbidding them any birthright or privilege, the villagers know the time has come when they must hide them. And so plans are made...

A secret purpose-built village deep in the Veluwe woods called Berkenhout. There dozens of persecuted people, mostly Jews, were sheltered in the underground huts that soon became home for them. They were helped by a community of men, women and children from the nearby village who gather food and other necessities for all those who were hidden there. The need for secrecy was paramount and instilled in anyone who knew of its existence...for a betrayal could cost many of them their lives.

Sofie was one of the first to be hidden in Berkenhout where she moved in with a family of strangers who soon became a second family to her. Her own parents went to a Dutch family who only had room for two of them, thereby paving the way for Sofie to live in Berkenhout. There she learnt how to cook under surrogate mum Corrie's guidance and even set up a little school alongside Laura, another girl her age who was from Ghent in Belgium. Together they taught the younger children and created activities to keep them occupied. It was not an easy life but it was one they adapted to. And all the while, Sofie longed to see Oscar and spend a few moments alone with him.

Oscar and his family worked tirelessly with others to keep Berkenhout and its inhabitants secret and safe. Even Sofie's best friend Liesbeth helped with gathering supplies for the village. Jan longed to be privy to whatever secrets were being kept from him and his yearning to help often put them in danger. Berkenhout must remain secret; its inhabitants kept safe.

But little did they know that trouble was a lot closer than they thought...

The easy style of this story made it an enjoyable quick read I devoured in a day. I wondered how on earth you could hide an entire village from discovery but the people of this village did just that to all intents and purposes. And that's what compelled me to read this story as it didn't read like any other Holocaust tale I have come across. I have read many Auschwitz like stories and after a while they all become too similar...so I was after something similar but different. And THE HIDDEN VILLAGE is just that.

The sheer terror at being discovered by the Germans is felt upon the pages - by both adults and children alike. Such as when Jan hides in the woods from the Nazi officers he encounters. So it was difficult to appreciate their courage as well as their fears in helping those in this hidden village.

I thoroughly enjoyed THE HIDDEN VILLAGE but I do however have one complaint. The ending. The story was unfolding at a perfect pace with the reveal of a major event when suddenly the last chapter jumps twenty years to a whole other era and I felt like...what just happened? It felt rushed and unexplained and it almost leaves the reader feeling a little bit cheated having invested so much in getting to know the characters. I don't even know what happened to some of them. And one explanation from Henk Hauer was just unbelievable. Just no. Maybe we'll get more answers in the sequel "Hidden in the Shadows" ...

Despite this, THE HIDDEN VILLAGE is a thoroughly engrossing read and a very easy one at that. Perfect for fans of historical fiction, particularly those surrounding the Holocaust and the underground movement working against the Nazi regime.

I would like to thank #ImogenMatthews, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheHiddenVillage in exchange for an honest review.