The Minsk ghetto should never have existed and it was not where Elena Bruskina, a young Jewish Russian woman, ever imagined that she and her mother would find themselves. After the Nazis invaded Russia her father and brother vanished. Then her sister was executed and her mother was murdered. Elena escaped the ghetto and joined an elite group. She enrolled in the Red Army's Central Women's Sniper Training School. This was not a program for the faint of heart and it was there that she became part of a group of women willing to fight to the death to defend their country even though their personal reasons might be different from one another. Even when the war ended Elena found her other skills were needed. She was fluent in German and Stalin wanted Hitler captured. She was to help find him. Would it be a Jewish woman who actually did this?
Based on the lives of real women who served as snipers and interpreters during World War II and actual events, THE NIGHT SPARROW, by Shelly Sanders, brings to the foreground a piece of history that was not well publicized. Impeccably researched and detailed, the author brings to readers an incredible story of courage, immeasurable loss and camaraderie. From the battlefields to the ruins of the countryside and towns, to the hellhole of Berlin, and finally home to Moscow every scene is vividly depicted. Nothing is left to the imagination and that is the power of this story. Important and memorable, THE NIGHT SPARROW is well worth reading. Highly recommended.
For fans of Kate Quinn and The Nightingale, a gripping story of a young Jewish girl who joins an elite Russian sniper unit and embarks on a mission targeting the highest prize of World War II: Adolph Hitler.
With the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, Elena Bruskina’s world collapses. The ambitious university student and her Jewish family are quickly forced into the Minsk ghetto where thousands are immediately murdered, including her father and brother. Then her younger sister is publicly executed on false charges and her mother is shot. Alone with her grief, Elena escapes the ghetto, determined to avenge her family’s deaths.
Heading to Moscow, she enrolls in the Red Army’s newly created Central Women’s Sniper Training School. After rigorous training, she becomes a member of an all-female sniper platoon, a community of brave young women willing to give their lives to defend their country. Then Elena is chosen for a secret mission—a daring and highly dangerous plan to capture the face of evil itself: Hitler.
Inspired by the real-life female snipers and interpreters in the Red Army during World War II, The Night Sparrow is a portrait of friendship, resilience, courage, and sacrifice under extraordinary circumstances.
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