The Silent Unseen by Amanda McCrina - OPTIONAL

The Silent Unseen by Amanda McCrina, 320 pages. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2022. $19.

Language: PG-13 (78 swears, no ‘f’); Mature Content: PG (kissing); Violence: R (talk of war and labor camps, off-page executions, on-page beatings and gun violence)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

World War II is in its final months and 16yo Maria has left the Nazi labor camp where she has been held to return home to her family. Upon her arrival in her Polish village she finds out that her parents have been killed in a battle between the Polish Resistance and the Ukrainian Nationalists. Shockingly, she is reunited with her brother, whom she believed to be dead, only to discover that he is a leader of the Polish Resistance and a “Silent Unseen”, a special agent sent in by Allied forces to resist the oncoming Russian threat. When her brother disappears, Maria must join forces with a sworn enemy to get him back.

While it is appreciated that a book about World War II is taking on a lesser discussed aspect of the war, the author does not do justice to the task. The myriad of groups and characters introduced quickly become muddled for the reader leading to confusion and frustration. The action is constant and chaotic without ever developing into a convincing or engaging story. There is also a highly unnecessary and awkward romance that is forced into the plot that brings nothing to the story. The ending is abrupt and the reader will find that they are no closer to understanding what or who the Silent Unseen were than when they started the book.

AEB