This was the first book I have read that began in Spain. I had never heard of Guernica and Germany's part in destroying that beautiful town. [The more WWII stories I read, the more I believe there are so many more stories worth telling.] Ms. Robards' description of the bombing of that town was so realistic. I could hear the planes, the screams, smell the smoke from the fires that erupted and feel the weight of concrete on Sibi's body. As the story unfolds and emotions become raw, the feeling of throat-clogging fear and desperation all are made to come to life. The characters are real and heartbreaking.
I shall read any future books written by this author. ( )

The Girl from Guernica, Karen Robards, author; Nancy Peterson, narrator
Blending fact with fiction, the novel begins in 1937, in Guernica, Spain. Marina Helinger with her four daughters, Magrit, Johanna, Luiza, and Sibil, had left both Germany and her scientist husband in Berlin, Germany, and she had moved back home to her birthplace, where she believed she would be happier.
However, Civil War was raging in Spain, at that time, and although it was believed that they would not be attacked, they were wrong. They were attacked, but not by revolutionaries. Francisco Franco had used the German Condor Legion to attack the unarmed and defenseless civilians of Guernica. The incessant and merciless bombing destroyed most of the town, killing many, and among the dead were Marina and Luiza Helinger.
Sibi, the eldest daughter at 17, and her six-year-old sister Margrit, were trapped in a shelter when the building collapsed. They were dug out and rescued by an American Soldier who worked at the American Embassy in Spain. Together, he and his fellow soldiers, continued on to rescue Jo, who was badly injured, as well as their little dog Ruby, all while running from a fire that was consuming everything in sight. Captain James Griffin, had been assessing conditions in Guernica after the attack, and luckily, he had heard Sibi’s voice from under the rubble. Otherwise, they would all have likely died.
Sibi had always accompanied her father, Dr. Helinger, to work, and he had explained everything about his work designing rockets and airplane engines to her. She loved Science and Math, and like a sponge, she had absorbed the knowledge. She knew that the planes that had bombed the town were German. How she handled that knowledge would determine if they lived or died, because the girls were taken to Berlin, to live with their scientist father. Pablo Picasso had created a painting immortalizing the Guernica massacre, and that had enraged Hitler. So, in order to convince the world of Germany’s innocence, regarding the horrific and barbaric attack, Sibi, as a survivor of the attack, was forced to lie and give public statements denying Germany’s involvement. The quiet threat to hurt her family was always there to keep her in line. Dr. Helinger was a member of the Nazi Party, but actually, he only loved the country and his work, not the Nazis.
Soon, World War II began. Sibi’s father was working for the government to develop a super weapon, a rocket that could not be traced or shot down. Rockets had not been forbidden by the agreements made after the First World War had ended in Germany’s defeat. As Hitler’s Thousand-Year Reich flourished, Sibi was in a unique position to act as a spy to sabotage Germany’s war effort. She accompanied her father to work every day, and she worked alongside him, assisting him in developing this weapon. In her capacity as a spy, known as Rolf, she passed information to Griff, known as Annie. She and her family were in grave danger because of her actions, and soon the situation became more dangerous. They were all in terrible danger and must find a way to escape.
In a narrative that is easy to understand and follow, the author has managed to present a pretty fair description of the history and of the war years. However, it feels a bit juvenile, as if it belongs on the shelves in the Young Adult section, to give young readers a palatable introduction to that heinous time period. Many of the scenes seemed contrived and unrealistic. The romantic aspect was charming, but it stretched credulity, as do many of the other events in the book, that while based in history are made up out of whole cloth. The idea that a teenager would be trusted to engage in work that was top secret, alongside her father, stretched the imagination, especially in such a barbaric regime with a megalomaniac at its head and sadistic officers who supported him always present.
I had never actually read about Guernica and had never heard of the meeting referred to as Eureka, so the book did have many redeeming features educationally, if the reader is willing to take the introduction of new facts and explore their origins. The ending was like a fairytale which would bring smiles to many lips but doubt to many others. Even the many rescues required the suspension of disbelief. Still, it was a new approach to that period of time that “will live in infamy” along with the atrocities that were committed by the many countries that descended into “the tenth circle of hell”. In the overall scheme of things, the depravity and brutality of human monsters briefly existed, but even that period of time was too long. They were, thankfully, defeated with the defeat of The Third Reich. ( )

This is one of my favorite WWll stories that I have read. I loved learning about what happened in Guernica through the eyes of Sibi. Sibi and her sisters are fantastic characters. I also really liked Griff. This story made me laugh and cry. I could not put this book down. I received a copy of this book from Harlequin for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will. ( )

Sibi, her sisters and her mother have been in Guernica, Spain visiting family for quite a while. Sibi has been wanting to return to Germany because a civil war is raging around them. Her mother refuses. She is happy back home. This decision changes all of their lives.

Sibi is a young lady which stole my heart. After the tragedy at Guernica, she had to step up and be everything to her sisters. Then there is Griff! He actually saved Sibi in Guernica from a collapsed building. So, you can guess these two have a past and a future!

I love the history in this book. I had never heard about the attack on Guernica. I certainly didn’t know that the Germans did it! So, this book really had me researching! And if y’all follow this blog you know that I love a book that has me looking stuff up!

Now, that being said…I did feel this book was too long. This novel could’ve been shortened by maybe 50 pages. And the first half of the book was more captivating than the second half. And that could be because I was more fascinated with the Guernica section. This novel does have a little bit of everything…romance, war, espionage. I mean, what’s not to like!

Need a new take on a WWII novel…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review. ( )

Karen Robards’ riveting new historical novel, The Girl From Guernica, takes the reader inside the horror of the Spanish civil war in April 1937 when the residents of the small town of Guernica in Spain are terrorized by an air raid that drops bombs on the city setting it ablaze. Residents who try to flee are shot dead in the streets.

Sixteen year old Sibi wakes up trapped under the rubble of a building and is rescued by Griff, an American military attaché . Sibi tells Griff that the planes were German planes, a fact she knows because her German father helped design them. When Sibi tells a reporter the same thing, that the planes were German not Spanish as thought, that leads to trouble for Sibi.

Sibi’s father comes to Spain to take her and her sisters back to their home in Berlin where he continues his work on rockets. When the Nazi leaders read the reporter’s account of German planes bombing Guernica, suspicion falls on Sibi as the person who spoke to the reporter.

In order to save her family, Sibi lies and becomes a tool of propaganda for the Nazis. She is forced to speak to reporters and make filmed statements stating that it was Spanish planes who reigned terror on their own countrymen.

When Griff reconnects with Sibi, she offers to spy on her father and his colleagues for the Allies. Griff reluctantly agrees, knowing that Sibi will be putting her life in danger, but as Sibi says, her life is already in danger.

The Girl From Guernica is a riveting, thrilling novel. Robards doesn’t let up on the tension from the horror of the bombing of Guernica to Sibi’s meetings with Nazi leaders to her attempts to get information to Griff to the suspenseful conclusion, and my heart was in my throat the entire time.

As someone who knew little about Guernica outside of the famous Pablo Picasso painting of the same name, I found the premise of the story fascinating. Sibi and her family are characters that work their way into your heart as you root for them to survive “by whatever means necessary.” Fans of WWII historical fiction like The Nightingale and All The World You Cannot See will want to put The Girl From Guernica on their TBR list.

Thanks to Harlequin Books for putting me on their Fall 2022 Historical Fiction Blog Tour. ( )