I will be the first person to put my hands up and say that I don’t read that many books about war and the people during those times. Maybe it’s because I know they’re going to be sad and I’m not fully ready for that, as I like to read to escape from the sadness. However, on saying that, I do always devour Heather Morris’ books, regardless of how sad they are, which is usually a given when I go into reading her books, possibly because of how her books are based on real events and real people, which hits a little more while reading them. They are always well written and drag me into the story and the characters lives and emotions almost instantly, with her translating people’s stories and lives into something so compelling, that you can tell that it’s done with care and a load of research. This one was no different!!

Unlike Heather Morris’ previous books, where I had gone into them knowing about the events that surrounded the characters (eg. the nazi concentration camps), I went into this book not knowing about the events within. I don’t know if it’s because I was learning new things while reading it, but I did find it a little bit more difficult to get into it and a little difficult to distinguish between the characters. However, once I did get into their stories, I flew through the book so quickly, that I would have liked it to have been longer.

It was such an emotional and well written book that felt a little short for some reason, possibly because I read it so quickly, because I would have liked more or as stated above, because it took me a little while to get into it. I did prefer her previous works, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy this book, if enjoy is the right word to use when describing this book and topics within, because it’s still a highly rated book.

The events that took place seemed a little repetitive after a while, which only adds to the mundane and repetitive nature of the women in these camps. The misery was echoed throughout the pages with even the longing for the simple things in life that we can easily take for granted, such as a banana, leaving a desperate feeling while reading. Although there was so much misery and heartbreak within these pages, there was also the power of hope and how important the smallest flutter of hope can be in such an awful situation. From the simple act of singing, having something to do, can add something that is so much more powerful than anyone could imagine and how this can spread from person to person.

Set during WW2, this book tells the story of female prisoners of war captured by the Japanese following the sinking of the boat which is supposed to take them to safety from the perils of Singapore. It is very reminiscent of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's War, tracing the everyday lives of those interned in the camps, drawing from stories told to the inmates relatives. Whilst at times I didn't like the writing style and found the book very sad, I would still give it a solid 4 stars - I knew nothing of the lives of women captured by the Japanese before reading this book. I now have a far better understanding of what they have gone through and again Heather Morris's book makes me glad that I live in a different time and different place to that described in the book. It is a story that has stayed with me several weeks later - which is not always the case.

What a fabulous story about women caught up in WW2 in Malaysia and Singapore. I say story but it is a fictionalisation of several women who were interred together. A story of women’s strength, sisterhood, overcoming adversity under the most difficult circumstances.

Nesta, an Australian Army nurse and her team, sisters Nora and Ena are on a boat to escape the advancing Japanese forces. Their boat gets sunk but they manage to get ashore where they get captured.

It follows the women and their treatment by the Japanese in the prison camp, how they make the best of things during a very difficult time. It made me laugh, it made me cry. But I am so glad I read this book and learnt about these women’s life.

Firstly, I have been to Auschwitz and seen the horror of what occurred and the results left behind. I have read lots of stories since visiting Auschwitz and have a different mindset reading these now. It is now 2023 and each time I read a book about this point in history, I am always transported back to when I first visited Auschwitz and I am always just as shocked reading the details every time. I believe it is always important to remember this point in history. Hence, we know what extreme hate looks like, what humanity is capable of, what humans are capable of and how we can avoid this ever happening again.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I am always nervous to start a Heather Morris book, because I know that I will not want to put it down & that it will leave me both moved & yearning to find out more!

This was no exception.

Set in Singapore and Indonesia during WW2, this fiction-based-on-fact story tells of a group of Australian nurses who were evacuated from Singapore & found themselves stranded in Indonesia following the sinking of their ship the Vyner Brooke.
In Indonesia, they found themselves living with, and caring for, a group of women & children, of mostly British & Dutch descent ina POW camp. The story centres primarily on a nurse, Nesta James, two sisters Norah & Ena and June, the little girl they rescued from the sea, but the book is both a tribute to these women & a testament to the bravery and resilience shown by all the POWs.
As the women adapt to life in captivity, they tend the sick, create a choir to bring moments of joy to their days, produce a newspaper to share stories with their fellow captives and do whatever is needed to survive in the brutal regime as prisoners of the Japanese army. Not all of the women survive and the stories of the losses are heartbreaking yet the way the remaining women dealt with them, digging graves, creating markers, honouring the memories, was poignant.
The writing was sensitive, emotional and like all of Heather’s other books, brings a forgotten story to the wider world.

I have read the other books a written by this author and enjoyed her retelling of what was horrific events.

I knew less about what happened under the Japanese so found the book both interesting and distressing to know what was experienced by people who ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time and spent the war in captivity..

WOW! This book tells the story of women prisoners of war in WWII. I do enjoy reading historical books about war and found this really interesting. A reminder that it wasn’t just men who were taken as prisoners and that women also experienced suffering and pain due to being prisoners of war. A harrowing but insightful read full of hope and perseverance.

Wow, what a story.
Those of us who remember Tenko (I was young, it left an impression) know that it wasn't just British men and soldiers who were imprisoned by the Japanese across south east Asia during the Second World War, they took women and children too, placing them into camps in appalling conditions. The story of the Australian nurses and British women captured after attempting to escape from Singapore, is a tale that simply has to be told - their courage, their resilience, their audacity, and their eventual fates should be remembered and celebrated.
I had no idea that the same fate landed on the Dutch men and women of Indonesia, too - but of course it did, that whole region was colonialised at that time, and not just by the British. It's a reminder we need to be less presumptuous in our beliefs.
The only reason I am not giving this a full five stars is that I struggle with the writing style of the author, and the words she places in the mouths of her characters. While everything that happened really did happen, the dialogue has a falsity to it I can't get past; a little too Hallmark movie, for me.

This tells the story of the women in the Japanese Prisoner of War Camps during WWII. The women suffered the most appalling living conditions and treatment, but found the strength to cope with whatever was thrown at them. I enjoyed reading the story, and learning more about what those women had to endure, but for me, The Tattooist of Auschwitz was a better read. I just felt that this story, although really important, didn't have a much depth. But worth recommending.

A powerful, gripping tale told by women who suffered through the horrors of WW2. Although Sisters Under the Rising Sun was a harrowing read at times, it serves as an important reminder of endurance, hope and defiance even in the bleakest of times.

Whilst most stories about World War 2 are centered in Europe, this story of women’s survival and resilience in a Japanese prison camp gave an accurate portrayal of their time in captivity and how important community is in times of hardship. Few stories describe the pain of Singaporean women refugees during the war and through Sisters under the rising Sun, Heather Morris shone a light on a part of history that is often forgotten. This book is a hard read but takes readers on a emotional journey during the protagonists’ 3 and a half years in captivity.

Raw, emotional and thoroughly gripping. As well as a great read, this is a real reminder of what women also suffered in WW2 and also how the human spirit can endure. So incredibly well written, I am now planning on reading more by this wonderful author

Wow - another brilliant novel by Heather Morris. It is heartbreaking & uplifting in equal measure. It is all the more poignant because it is in essence a true story - a story of the horrors for women in internment in Malaya during the 2nd World War. The suffering and pain is real as is the strength of the women involved and the ‘sisterhood’ that helped them (sadly not all) survive. A must read book.

I have read all of the Heather Morris books and have thoroughly been drawn into and loved them all.. Her writing style is exquisite and she really helps you to live in the moment and understand the true traumas of what individuals went through during World War 2. I especially enjoyed Sisters Under the Rising Sun & felt very connected to Norah & Nesta. This book made me cry several times as you relive their reality and by the of the book I was sobbing. Well done on another masterfully written encounter Heather. Its so important that we remember what others went through to enable us to live the lives we do today. My own Nana was in a Concentration Camp during the War and her family lost so much. My Nana is sadly no longer with us and passed just before her 100th Birthday after not being able to see her family for 2 years because of Covid. I wish I had the skills to keep her story alive too in the written form.

A harrowing and heartbreaking WW2 narrative written with tenderness and sensitivity. As the sexond world war encroaches on Singapore, musician Nora sends her only child Sally away on a ship, hopefully to safety as she stays behind to tend to her ill husband. Their own ship suffers an air bombing and they are shipwrecked. After a perilous 24hrs at sea, she and fellow shipwreckees are rounded up by Japanese soldiers and marched to a POW camp. Nora, a nurse called Nesta, her sister Ena, and a band of stoical and determined women form a support for each other amongst the atrocities suffered at the hands of the soldiers. They form a troupe of nurses to tend to the sick, they create a choir to bring moments of relief and beautiful anthems that form a balm for the soul against their harrowing experiences, even if it is only temporary, and they create a newspaper to share birthdays and key information with their fellow captives. This is a story of sheer strength and will tonsurvive even in the darkest of times. One ofmy favourite reads of 2023 #sistersundertherisingsun #heathermorris #netgalley #historicalfiction

A fantastic read which fans of Heather Morris will love! Although weary to go into this because I enjoyed the Tattooist of Auschwitz so much, Morris proved her master storytelling blended with fact in this great historical fiction novel which is a refreshing look at the genre

This is an amazing book. Set in the Japanese prisoner of war camps in the second world war, it elicits all the emotions as you follow their battle to survive. I was continually amazed at the generosity and resilience of the women in appalling circumstances. Definitely recommended.

This is a gruelling read at times, but testament to the horrors of war, which we all must learn from.

I have to admit it took me some time to really get absorbed in the book and it’s not in my opinion as good as the Tattooist of Auschwitz, but never the less, it’s a very enlightening, if dark, read. I knew very little about WW1 in Indonesia and both setting and female POW perspectives made for an interesting and rather eye opening read. Heather Morris blends fact and fiction in a way that only exceptional writers can.

Impossible to read this without bringing tears to the eyes, but there are moments of joy in this too.

3.75 stars

Sisters under the Rising Sun is another engaging slice of historical fiction from Heather Morris, focussing on the pacific theatre during World War II and specifically Singapore's internment of westerners by the Japanese.

The book focusses primarily on groups of women - a group of Australian nurses, some Dutch Nuns and a pair of sisters fleeing Singapore. These bands of 'sisters' create a community to survive both the horrors that they have seen and the horrors that they endure.

Morris explores a less trodden narrative of WW2 historical fiction, illuminating the tribulations of this diverse group, treated as prisoners of war, with her usual captivating style. If you enjoyed her other books you will certainly enjoy this one, ultimately celebrating the enduring of the human spirit.

I’ve been a fan of Heather Morris’ writing since The Tattooist of Auschwitz, and this book certainly disappoint in terms of her ability to write a heartbreaking yet inspiring story. Her trademark blend of fact and fiction is truly perfect and an excellent way for readers to connect with characters. I did feel that there were perhaps too many characters and I know everyone deserves to have their story told, but in this case less may have been more. There were times when I wanted to know more about their lives in the camps and that it was a bit rushed. Overall an interesting read about a part of history I knew nothing about! I rounded my review to 3.75 as I’m very undecided on what to rate it.