The Silent Unseen: A Novel of World War II

Amanda McCrina

Apr 2022 · Macmillan Young Listeners · Narrated by Laura Jennings

About this audiobook

A mesmerizing historical audiobook of suspense and intrigue about a teenage girl who risks everything to save her missing brother.

Poland, July 1944. Sixteen-year-old Maria is making her way home after years of forced labor in Nazi Germany, only to find her village destroyed and her parents killed in a war between the Polish Resistance and Ukrainian nationalists. To Maria’s shock, the local Resistance unit is commanded by her older brother, Tomek—who she thought was dead. He is now a “Silent Unseen,” a special-operations agent with an audacious plan to resist a new and even more dangerous enemy sweeping in from the East.

When Tomek disappears, Maria is determined to find him, but the only person who might be able to help is a young Ukrainian prisoner and the last person Maria trusts—even as she feels a growing connection to him that she can’t resist.

Tightly woven, relentlessly intense, The Silent Unseen depicts an explosive entanglement of loyalty, lies, and love during wartime, from Amanda McCrina, the acclaimed author of Traitor, a debut hailed by Elizabeth Wein as “Alive with detail and vivid with insight . . . a piercing and bittersweet story.”

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Ratings and reviews

A story of war in all it's horrible cruelty. Heartbreaking and tragic it tells the story of the struggle between several different groups during the war in Poland. I didn't know there were so many different ones fighting against each other. It appears there was the German's, the Soviets, the resistance, The Polish Army, and the SOE trained agents known as the Silent Unseen. The time is 1944, the place is Poland. Maria is returning home after spending some years doing forced labor in Nazi Germany. She finds her home has been destroyed during the war. She saves the life of a boy her age at a farm house and they are captured by a group of fighters. She learns he is the enemy and is taken prisoner. She finds her brother she was looking for is the leader. Then Tomak goes on a journey to try and make peace with another group and does not come back. Maria needs to journey to find him, but the only person that can help her is the young prisoner. This is a book of what war does to people, how it destroys homes, people and lives. It show the ugly of the war and the courage of those living in that time in history. How a person will do or say almost anything to save a loved one. I listened to the audio book and the narrator was excellent. The quality of the sound and the settings were very well described and the story was told in a way that I could understand. It is so sad in parts and happy in others. I loved the ending. It was an interesting book about the war in Poland and the Normandy landing of the allies. I did enjoy the book and I would recommend it. Thanks to Amanda McCrina for writing a great story, to Laura Jennings for an excellent narration, to Macmillan Audio for publishing it and to NetGalley for making it available to me.

The Silent Unseen by Amanda McCrina is a gripping WWII novel. The author wrote the book with the setting of Poland/Urkraine/Russia area. The characters were remarkable with their devotion to country and family and need to survive. I really enjoyed how the author brought the area to light in this book. Typically I hear stories of other areas in Europe, and I appreciated this new view and perspective. Laura Jennings was fantastic performing the book. She gave the characters distinguishable voices, and I could envision so many details and know who was speaking. The accents she gave the characters sounded authentic to my ears. Thank you #NetGalley and #Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to this pre-release audiobook! I loved it!

About the author

Amanda McCrina is a writer, historian, and bookseller. She holds a degree in history and political science from the University of West Georgia. Her novels include Traitor, The Silent Unseen—named a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year 2022—and I'll Tell You No Lies, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. She lives outside Nashville, Tennessee.