The Girl with the Red Hair
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By Buzzy Jackson
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1 review
The greatest hero of the Second World War . . . is a girl you’ve never heard of
The blazing debut novel based on the unsung true story of Hannie Schaft, a young-woman-turned-Dutch-Resistance-fighter in Nazi-occupied Netherlands
‘Inspiring, empowering, and timely, compellingly detailed and impressively researched, but better still, it’s an immersive story of a terrifying warren of history through which our guide is the sort of hero we all need right now: relatable and resolute and absolutely right’ Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS
‘An intriguing story that keeps you captivated till the end. A true hero!’ 5***** READER REVIEW
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1940, Amsterdam.
You’re nineteen years old. The war has stolen your future and your country is under siege. The people you love are no longer safe.
Will you stand aside as the menace of Nazi evil tightens its grip on your homeland? Or do you unleash your fury, joining forces with your enemies’ enemies, plotting to strike?
Because if not you, then who?
You’re drawn deep into a web of plots, disguises and assassinations. The Resistance trained you for this. You flash your enemies a smile and beckon them closer.
Little do they know you’ve grown used to the weight of a gun in your hand.
Soon, they will all know your name . . .
__________
A tale of formidable defiance told through the eyes of a young heroine so notorious that Hitler himself personally ordered for her capture. Buzzy Jackson’s debut is an unputdownable novel of love, loyalty, and the limits we confront when our deepest values are tested.
‘The Girl with the Red Hair brings Hannie alive and I finished it in almost one gulp! What an amazing, inspiring, true-life hero she was . . . An engrossing read’ Gwen Strauss, author of THE NINE
‘An inspiring book with an immense amount of research. One of those books that will be with me for a long time’ 5***** READER REVIEW
‘A mixture of emotions, from feeling hopeful to a pit of your stomach fear, from heart-warming to heartbreaking. A book I want on my bookshelf to pass down the generations’ 5***** READER REVIEW
Reviews
The Girl With The Red Hair - Buzzy Jackson
This is the incredible true story of a shy young student who becomes a daring heroine of the Resistance during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands. It's simply written and a little slow at the beginning during the scene setting: However once Johanna Schaft takes on a new identity as Hannie and becomes an active member of the Resistance the pace picks up.
This fictional account gives a realistic and vivid portrayal of life under occupation during the Second World War. The hunger, the starvation, the brutal reprisals and the terrifying reality for Jewish people and other victims of the Nazis is powerfully evoked. There are also some awful torture scenes. The extreme violence is contrasted with the romance Hannie shares with a fellow member of the Resistance and the love she feels for her family and her Jewish friends who are in hiding and also the love and solidarity she feels with the other women and men who are in the Resistance.
This is a riveting read and the story of courageous Hannie Schaft deserves to be better known.
