Author: Tatiana de Rosnay
Genre: Adult (and YA) historical fiction
Pages: 293
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Challenges: Reading from my Shelves (I will donate to my school library)
FTC Disclosure: I received this book as a gift
Summary (from the inside flap of the book): Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten-year-old girl, is taken with her parents by the French police as they go door-to-door arresting Jewish families in the middle of the night. Desperate to protect her younger brother, Sarah locks him in a bedroom cupboard--their secret hiding place--and promises to come back for him as soon as they are released.
Sixty years later: Sarah's story intertwines with that of Julia Jarmond, an American journalist investigating the roundup. In her research, Julia stumbles onto a trail of secrets that link her to Sarah, and to questions about her own romantic future.
Sixty years later: Sarah's story intertwines with that of Julia Jarmond, an American journalist investigating the roundup. In her research, Julia stumbles onto a trail of secrets that link her to Sarah, and to questions about her own romantic future.
Review: This is such a good book! I have been reading quite a bit about it around the blogosphere and since it is Holocaust Remembrance week I thought it was fitting to read it now. I am so glad that I did. It pulled me in from the beginning and didn't let go.
The chapters in this book alternate between Sarah's story of abduction by the French police and subsequent deportation with her parents to the Velodrome de Hiver (stadium in Paris) and Julia's story of historical and self discovery. Both stories are compelling on their own, but together they are most powerful. Sarah, at ten, is old enough to understand and communicate, yet young enough to pull at our hearts. Julia is middle-aged and able to feel empathy, sympathy, and to understand the impact her investigation may have on those around her. Both are on a journeys that will impact themselves and generations to come.
The history doesn't feel like history because the story is so well told. Even though I had an idea of what was coming for much of the story, it was still compelling and, when I was wrong, the story seemed so right. There is no nice, easy ending for either Julia or Sarah and that is the way it should be. A happy ending would have felt fake. That is not to say that there isn't hope in this book because there definitely is.
The chapters in this book alternate between Sarah's story of abduction by the French police and subsequent deportation with her parents to the Velodrome de Hiver (stadium in Paris) and Julia's story of historical and self discovery. Both stories are compelling on their own, but together they are most powerful. Sarah, at ten, is old enough to understand and communicate, yet young enough to pull at our hearts. Julia is middle-aged and able to feel empathy, sympathy, and to understand the impact her investigation may have on those around her. Both are on a journeys that will impact themselves and generations to come.
The history doesn't feel like history because the story is so well told. Even though I had an idea of what was coming for much of the story, it was still compelling and, when I was wrong, the story seemed so right. There is no nice, easy ending for either Julia or Sarah and that is the way it should be. A happy ending would have felt fake. That is not to say that there isn't hope in this book because there definitely is.
Geography Connection:
(photo credit for left photo)
Click to see my updated Google Map. Although I have read a ton about the Holocuast, none of the books I've read have been set in France so this was a nice change for me. Here are some books that are Holocaust related that I have read and reviewed:
- The Wave by Todd Strasser
- Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
- The Violin of Auschwitz by Maria Angels Anglada
- Anne Frank (the graphic novel) by Sid Jacobson
- Hitler's Canary by Sandy Toksvig
- The Mascot by Mark Kurzem
