Scan barcode
florih's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Police brutality, Grief, War, Genocide, Hate crime, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia
Minor: Cancer and Death of parent
brookey8888's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, War, Suicide, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Police brutality, Abortion, Antisemitism, Miscarriage, Murder, Violence, Car accident, Death, Gaslighting, Infertility, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Child death, and Confinement
jennabarry3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Suicide, and War
Minor: Car accident
katsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
“How was it possible that entire lives could change, could be destroyed, and that streets and buildings remained the same"
“The eyes of a woman in the face of a ten-year-old girl.”
"...It's not easy to bring back the past. There are unpleasant surprises. The truth is harder than ignorance”
I enjoyed this book as much as I did the first time I read it. Sarah's perspective was definitely more compelling than Julia's. It absolutely breaks your heart. Be ready to have your heart literally ripped out. I thought the writing was fairly good. It kept me engaged and interested which is surprising because I remembered one of the major impactful moments of the novel. However, I was really surprised because that moment happened about 60% of the way through the novel. I think it speaks to the weakness of Julia's perspective that I couldn't recall much about it. In fact, by the last 50 pages or so, I was just really hoping things would wrap up. While I found Julia's POV interesting, it wasn't nearly as impactful or compelling as Sarah's. Really, I think the fact that Julia and Sarah's stories were told next to each other made Julia's seem superfluous and pale in comparison. For context, I recognize and really appreciate the commentary about France's role in the Holocaust. Often in history, they are painted as victims because of the ocupation but that completely dismisses the active role the French government and French police took in rounding up as many Jews as they could and deporting them to concentration camps and the underlying systemic Anti-Semitism that made it easy to do so. And unlike Germany, this is not a history that is actively talked about and taught. The author made it clear that most French people are woefully uninformed and apathetic to the role their country played in the extermination of French Jews. So I can see the parallel the author was drawing to Julia and her apathy to her husband while at the same time being so invested in telling Sarah's story. I appreciated the dissonance and how it complicated the character. However, I still felt like Julia was so focused on what she wanted out of the story of the Vel d'hiv and how it would serve her. She flew across the Atlantic twice to pursue the story and just surprised the families with no thought to how it would affect any of them. She was so concerned with making sure her family was forgiven that it felt like she dehumanized the victims in a different way. Like they only served the purpose of giving her own life purpose. I'm not sure any of these ramblings make sense but overall, I enjoyed most of my time reading this book and would probably reccomend.
Graphic: Antisemitism, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Infertility, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion, Car accident, Death of parent, Dementia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Suicide
heatherdavies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
However I felt by the end Julia's story just kept lugging along, I feel like we didnt need several chapters of her just floating around waiting to hear from William.
I also personally dont enjoy when writers make children sound more mature than they may be. In Sarah's case it felt necessary and reflected the unimaginable things she had to endure. In Zoë's case, she had the voice of an adult as a privileged 11 year old, trying to coax her mother to share her secrets with her - this didnt feel realistic to me.
Graphic: Antisemitism, Child death, Death, Genocide, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Pregnancy, and Suicide