*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.
Title: The Girl From The Resistance
Author: Imogen Matthews
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★★
1941, Nazi-occupied Holland. Trudi can hear the
muffled sobs of two heartbroken little girls as they peer wide-eyed from their
hiding place behind the bookcase. Rosy and Louisa’s parents have been dragged
away by soldiers. Now Trudi is the only one who can keep them safe…
When Nazis break down the front door of
eighteen-year-old Trudi’s home and seize the Jewish couple hiding in her
attic, she’s devastated, and is suddenly solely responsible for their two
innocent children. The whispered rumours about the resistance are her
only hope. A man called Frans and his cousin Piet risk their lives
every day, helping scared and abandoned Jewish children escape into the
countryside. Under the cover of night she races to beg for their help.
When the girls are offered a safe house, Trudi is
relieved. But with soldiers on every corner of the cobbled streets, getting
there will be extremely dangerous… she must dress up in a German nurse’s
uniform and convince anyone who asks that she is transporting two children to
hospital.
Trudi will have to give up everything to protect Rosy and
Louisa. She will have to lie to her friends and family, and learn to fire a
weapon that could take someone’s life. The only consolation is Piet’s dark eyes
and handsome face as he stands beside her helping to plan her next steps.
But Trudi suspects someone close to her told the Nazis about the hiding place in the attic, and they’ll stop at nothing to make sure the girls do not escape…
The Girl From The Resistance is the first instalment of the
new ‘The Dutch Girls’ series from author Imogen Matthews. It is an inspiring
story about the bravery of the Dutch resistance putting their lives at risk to help
others escape Nazi persecution.
The narrative follows Trudi as she joins the resistance and
starts to complete a range of different jobs for them. Some of the chapters were
slower paced as Trudi takes on some of the more day-to-day resistance work such
as messenger work but I enjoyed this aspect as it showcased how important even
the more mundane and less risky tasks were to contributing to the resistance
efforts. The second half of the novel is more fast-paced and action-packed and
had me on the edge of my seat. The story flowed well overall and it was an easy
read, easy to finish in just a single sitting.
I was excited to see that this was the start of a new series
and would be interested to see if the books would be standalone stories or if
we’d see a return to the stories of Trudi or one of the other characters featured
in The Girl From The Resistance. I’d be particularly keen to return to Rosy and
Louisa’s story as they were fantastic characters.
I did struggle to warm to Trudi as a protagonist which was a
shame. Her naivety and willingness to divulge the secrets of her resistance work
to people she had only just met and didn’t know if she could trust was frustrating
to say the least. We did see good character development from her however as she
completed more work for the resistance and grew in confidence and maturity.
My overall feeling is that the story would have been stronger
if everything had been explored in more depth. We’re introduced to many characters
but find out very little about them. For example, Piet, who plays a large role
in the plot, is introduced and it’s clear that Trudi has an initial attraction
to him but we’re not given any context as to why as we learn very little about
him.
Overall, The Girl From The Resistance is an enjoyable and
easy to read historical fiction novel and the start of a potentially exciting
new series. The Dutch resistance is a fascinating aspect of World War Two
history and I look forward to seeing where Imogen Matthews takes the rest of
her series.
