Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and author Gosia Nealon for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

Years ago, I worked with a German immigrant who was a child during World War II. She remembered her family risking their lives hiding people, even as her father was forced to fight in the German Army. Not every German was behind the Nazi Party, but they had to tread a line to try to survive as best they could. I found that same theme in The German Next Door.

Before the war in Gdansk, Aneta was a young woman about to be forced into marriage when she met Johann. He’s young and attractive, the exact opposite of the man her stepfather has arranged for her to marry. Wanting the thrill of a love affair, she enters into a relationship with Johann. Several days later, she witnesses him shoot a Polish civilian. Disappointed, she ghosts him.

Years later, we find Aneta in the Polish countryside during the German occupation. She’s gone from a city girl to a villager fairly easily and enjoys her life there, if it wasn’t for the German occupiers. Still, for the most part, her village is ignored by them. Her husband passed away not too long ago, and she is raising her son, Janek, as a single parent living with her irritable mother-in-law. Aneta is also hiding a Jewish doctor and his wife in her barn. When the German occupiers arrive in the village, she’s forced to hide the doctor and his wife in the attic, which is much more cramped than the barn. Aneta panics when she sees that the leader of the occupiers is none other than Johann. Janek looks just like him, and she’s afraid he will want to take the young boy away from her. She sends him off to live with her friend Bronka and her family in a nearby village.

Bronka’s village is soon attacked by a band of German occupiers who take everything that’s not nailed down and burn the village down. The majority of the residents are slaughtered, with Bronka surviving by hiding in the fields with her infant and Janek. When she’s taken to one of the work camps, she manages to find someone who will take Janek and the baby to Aneta.

Aneta now has to juggle taking care of an infant with her own farming chores, as well as trying to keep Johann from finding out Janek is his. As the Soviets and the Allies begin wearing the Germans down, Aneta tries to navigate what it will mean for those she cares about.

The good part about The German Next Door was what it showed life was like in the Polish countryside during the war. Unlike the cities, it seemed like the conflict was passing by the villagers, and they lived a relatively normal life, fearing what might happen. When it comes to their door, it’s worse than they expect.

The relationship between Aneta and Johann was hard for me to root for, even knowing that he wasn’t as terrible as Aneta initially thought. The explanation is logical, and it works to make Johann not such a bad guy, but I still found it hard to like him and root for him. He helps Aneta out, even with a daring attempt to help Bronka escape the work camp, but it felt like he was still not a good guy. Perhaps it’s my own prejudice after all of the years where the Germans were just the enemy during the war. I can acknowledge that not all Germans wanted to serve Hitler, but it’s hard to embrace Johann as a hero.

My other storyline gripe is that we never learn much about Aneta’s life between when she left Johann and where the story picks up in the book. It’s apparent her stepfather sent her away when she was pregnant, his attempts to marry her off thwarted. Aneta meets and marries another man who seems sympathetic to her and is a decent stepfather to Janek. We don’t know much about him, though. I would have liked to have heard more about her life between her two encounters with Johann.

The story was good, though. I read it in just a couple of days since I wanted to know how it would turn out and who would survive. The story kept me interested quite well. The flow was off a bit at times, with time passing quickly versus time passing slowly with more detail. The German Next Door is far from a bad book, and if you like historical fiction, especially if it’s set during World War II, I think you’ll enjoy the book.