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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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:
Yes
This one has three storylines, each featuring a strong female character and ultimately focused on the dangers of censorship.
We meet Althea, an American writer, as she travels to Germany as part of an exchange program. She’s in Berlin in 1933 and things are heating up politically. At first, she is sympathetic to her German hosts until she sees the much darker side of their actions.
Then we meet Hannah in Paris a few years later. She’s German, trying to escape the war. However, Paris isn’t far enough away and the darkness creeps into her life there as well. She loves books and works at the German Library of Burned Books.
And finally, there is Vivian in New York in 1944. She recently lost her husband at war and a senator is threatening her program to send books to the men at war in Europe. She mounts a campaign to keep the program going, organizing a big event to get public sentiment on her side
The three women’s stories and lives interconnect, they are all trying to make a difference amidst the chaos of WWII. I did enjoy this one, but I struggled a bit to keep the timelines straight - maybe because I listened to this an audiobook? But I think even reading it might have been a bit confusing as it was not in any chronological order.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
relaxing
sad
medium-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:
Yes
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
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
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought the premise of the story was good. Although there are a lot of historical novels set in Nazi Germany leading up to WW2, this had a different rake - focusing on the burning of the books. However I found it hard to follow at times having 3 different time periods with the main characters crossing each period.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Antisemitism
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Beautiful, and I wanted to finish so badly. I needed to know what was happening and who would do what and how. The stories these three women had were so wonderful. I relationships and friendships were written so well, I wanted to meet everyone.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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