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rowiash's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Xenophobia, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Antisemitism, Cancer, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Infidelity
samantha_bt15's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Antisemitism, Death, Murder, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, and Religious bigotry
elisabethshanahan's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, War, Antisemitism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
greenfox's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
At first a cozy way to enter one of the hardest times in our world, which leads to a more comfortable way to face the harsh realities of the period. The mirrored story in the 1980s provides some more current context, but often leaves the reader simply wanting to return to the War.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, War, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Classism, Hate crime, Deportation, Genocide, and Death
ginadapooh's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Cancer, Sexual assault, Rape, Police brutality, Bullying, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Antisemitism, Grief, War, and Toxic friendship
cranewife's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Rape and Bullying
mariasreading's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I almost didn’t finish this book, but I finished it out of pure hate LMAOOO
Before I go onto the review, a summary: Odile is a French librarian working at the American library in Paris during the German occupation. In the 1980s, Odile has moved to Montana and has a curious little neighbor named Lily, who she begins teaching French to and slowly reveals her life story.
Any book that tries to make me sympathize for a Nazi just because he also likes books, or feel sympathetic for a girl who falls for a Nazi? It’s a no for me. (An actual line was: “He wasn’t bad looking, for a Nazi,” and one girl describes a Nazi officer she’s fallen for as: “I need one person to know him, to see how kind he is.” No thanks.)
Technical notes: dual timeline, but it’s very choppy with no real rhythm, and switches randomly to side character POVs that don’t seem to add much. The ending was rushed and I didn’t feel like there was much depth to any of the characters.
Most of all, I felt it was a bit insensitive to the actual plight of people in WWII. At one point, one of the characters posits that if Odile had hidden Anne Frank, Anne would be alive - I think that’s a line that shouldn’t have been crossed, personally.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and War
Slut shaminghouse_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
_lia_reads_'s review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
There are so many books out there about Paris during WWII and this one honestly felt exactly like all of the other ones I’ve read. Yes, it was interesting to read about the American Library and it kept running during the war, but boy I’m impressed that a book about WWII could be so uneventful. I understand that the author based this on a true story but I wish she has embellished it a bit more. Also, all the characters collaborating with the Nazis was not handled well. The story acknowledges that the Nazis were bad but i was surprised at the lack of consequences, or even discussion about any of this. It happened, it was acknowledged briefly, and then everyone moved on.
With the title and setting, I was excited for a new look on Paris during WWII, and instead got more of the same tropes.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
With the title and setting, I was excited for a new look on Paris during WWII, and instead got more of the same tropes.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Religious bigotry
internationalreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Infidelity, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Genocide, and Murder
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