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ernis's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is a beautiful story, inspired by real events and including character who were real people. I loved most aspects of the novel, but wished that Lily could've either had more appearances or that the story focused entirely on Odile. The story also felt unfinished with Odile, I wanted to know what she did next but we only hear about Lily's plans.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
Minor: Child abuse
frenandjen's review
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Xenophobia, Child abuse, War, Antisemitism, Death, Deportation, Genocide, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Colonisation, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol and Sexual content
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I've been wanting to read this book since I first heard about it, and I am ecstatic that I was able to get a signed copy ! I live in Paris, and I get all my library books from The American Library in Paris, so purchasing this book in a local shop and reading about such familiar places just comforted my soul.
I've known that the ALP has a deep WWII history since I first started going there, and it felt fantastic to learn more. I was pleasantly surprised to find out at the end of the book that most of the characters were real people. I expected the names to be made up, but this was not the case. It really helps to make this book feel even more real.
I have an...interesting relationship with the Historical Fiction genre, as I've disliked most of the books I've read. Going into this one I was a little scared of how I would feel about it, especially after reading the first few chapters, and just feeling "meh" about it. Luckily that quickly changed, and I really enjoyed the main story of Odile.
You can feel the tension and anxiety in the first half of the book as the war begins, and fear of the Germans closing in on the city heightens. The portrayal of people's changing lives, feelings, and thoughts was done quite well. I liked that it was reiterated multiple times that people act rashly, especially under such stressful circumstances, and that no one is perfect.
One thing I could have done without is the multiple timeline/perspectives. I really did not care about Lily in the 1980s timeline, and it didn't feel like it added too much to the story. I though there might be some reveals using her, but there really wasn't. There were also times where I could go 100 pages with only 1 Lily chapter, so it would feel like such an abrupt change, and take me out of the story. There were also several times were we got a chapter from another character's perspective, which most of the time didn't feel needed either. It seemed like the author was trying to give us all of the information, when hearing the story from Odile's perspective was perfectly fine.
I knew going into this that there would be French words peppered throughout, as that always seems to be the case with a book taking place in a non-english speaking country. However, it is done extremely often, and even after living in France for 3 years I had to ask my husband how to pronounce some words and what their definitions were. So if you're going into this with no knowledge of French, prepare to Google some words !
I loved reading all the street names and places that I am familiar with. I felt invested in the story and fell in love with the characters. The ending of Odile's story felt strange and sudden, so the last few chapters of the book were a bit odd for me. As someone who lives in the area and frequents the library this is written about, I definitely think I have a bit of a bias towards liking this book, so those who are not as familiar with the setting might not find as much enjoyment as I did.
I've known that the ALP has a deep WWII history since I first started going there, and it felt fantastic to learn more. I was pleasantly surprised to find out at the end of the book that most of the characters were real people. I expected the names to be made up, but this was not the case. It really helps to make this book feel even more real.
I have an...interesting relationship with the Historical Fiction genre, as I've disliked most of the books I've read. Going into this one I was a little scared of how I would feel about it, especially after reading the first few chapters, and just feeling "meh" about it. Luckily that quickly changed, and I really enjoyed the main story of Odile.
You can feel the tension and anxiety in the first half of the book as the war begins, and fear of the Germans closing in on the city heightens. The portrayal of people's changing lives, feelings, and thoughts was done quite well. I liked that it was reiterated multiple times that people act rashly, especially under such stressful circumstances, and that no one is perfect.
One thing I could have done without is the multiple timeline/perspectives. I really did not care about Lily in the 1980s timeline, and it didn't feel like it added too much to the story. I though there might be some reveals using her, but there really wasn't. There were also times where I could go 100 pages with only 1 Lily chapter, so it would feel like such an abrupt change, and take me out of the story. There were also several times were we got a chapter from another character's perspective, which most of the time didn't feel needed either. It seemed like the author was trying to give us all of the information, when hearing the story from Odile's perspective was perfectly fine.
I knew going into this that there would be French words peppered throughout, as that always seems to be the case with a book taking place in a non-english speaking country. However, it is done extremely often, and even after living in France for 3 years I had to ask my husband how to pronounce some words and what their definitions were. So if you're going into this with no knowledge of French, prepare to Google some words !
I loved reading all the street names and places that I am familiar with. I felt invested in the story and fell in love with the characters. The ending of Odile's story felt strange and sudden, so the last few chapters of the book were a bit odd for me. As someone who lives in the area and frequents the library this is written about, I definitely think I have a bit of a bias towards liking this book, so those who are not as familiar with the setting might not find as much enjoyment as I did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Grief, Hate crime, Bullying, Religious bigotry, and Police brutality
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Infidelity
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
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