In my opinion the cover of this book seems to portray more of romantic war novel, but it is definitely NOT that type of novel, so don’t let the cover put you off. Daughters of the Occupation is a deeply researched, terrifying, and well-written account of what it was like to be Jewish in Latvia during WW2. While the novel is historical fiction, it is heavily based on fact, and Shelly Sanders does an amazing job recounting the horrific actions of the Nazis in Latvia. There are many books highlighting the atrocities in other countries, but this is the first time that I have read more about the recent history of Latvia, and I could not put this book down.

Jumping between Sarah in the mid 1970’s, and her grandmother Miriam, during the WW2 years, we learn about the awful choices Miriam had to make in order to survive, and how deep trauma and secrets can create rifts that may not be able to be healed, despite similar lived experiences. I really loved how true to life Sanders’ descriptions are: especially as she delves behind the scenes in Soviet Latvia. This is such a good book about WW2 in Latvia, and hopefully it will help more people understand better what happened in these Soviet-occupied countries before and after WW2.