The Girl Behind the Wall: A novel

The Girl Behind the Wall tells the story of family, love, and survival when two sisters are separated following the building of the Berlin Wall. While Karin recovers from an unexpected surgery in East Berlin, her twin sister Jutta watches as a permanent barrier divides their beloved city. Now stuck in East Berlin, Karin must learn to live under the constraints of Soviet rule. Determined to rescue her sister, Jutta risks her own life to find Karin and sneak her back over to free Berlin.

Mandy Robotham is able to capture the chaos and despair that many people experienced when separated from friends and family due to the Berlin Wall. Told from the alternating perspectives of the sisters, we watch as they adjust to their new lives. Despite the distress the wall causes each sister, they still manage to find love with men they would have never met without it. Karin must decide whether to stay with the man she loves or return to the family she’s always loved.

I really enjoyed how Robotham developed characters from all perspectives, but the lack of dialogue made the book seem a bit slow. I still recommend it for historical fiction fans.