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life_full_ofbooks 's review for:
The Boy with the Star Tattoo
by Talia Carner
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I am giving this book 5 stars because it’s something that I feel needs to be read by everyone, especially during this time when Israel is yet again fighting for her right to exist. It’s long. There are some parts that are drawn out and some might find some bits boring or unnecessary, but it is one of the only books of its kind. This is not a Holocaust book; it’s the true stories of what happened after WW2, when the Jewish survivors were wandering around looking for lost family members and wondering just how they would survive the aftermath after having survived the horrors of the years before.
Told in 3 different timelines (1942-1946, 1946, and 1968-1969) and by 3 different third person viewpoints (Claudette, Uzi, and Sharon respectively), this weaves together 3 turning points in Jewish history (the Holocaust, the Youth Aliyah, and the Boats of Cherbourg, also respectively). All three timelines are woven together so while it jumps from 1942 to 1967 and back to 1942 and so on, it works and isn’t at all confusing- though when Claudette’s and Uzi’s time starts intersecting I had to really pay attention at the start of each chapter to see in what part of 1946 they were taking place.
Claudette is a young French woman working as a seamstress for the Duchess of Valençay when she meets Raphael, a young Jewish man the Duchess is hiding. They fall in love, but Raphael is running for his life and after 6 months, he has to flee. Claudette finds herself pregnant, gives birth at a house in the village and must leave her baby there to continue working at the castle. When the Nazis invade she and the Duchess escape to Spain, but Claudette never forgets the baby she left behind. Uzi is a young man in his twenties working for Youth Aliyah, an organization that sent people into Europe after the war to find orphaned Jewish children. They gathered the children and took them to Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel) where they had to sneak in under the cover of night since Jews weren’t allowed to live there. Sharon is a young woman in 1968 who is mourning the loss of her fiancé since the submarine on which he was stationed was lost at sea. While she’s already served her time in the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) she’s asked to come to France to work on a secret mission as a civilian. As she sees what the Israeli Navy is doing, she realizes her work is of upmost importance.
3 different times, 3 different stories, and yet Talia Carner puts them together in a way in which they meld beautifully. If you ever thought the British willingly gave Israel to the Jews; if you never heard of Youth Aliyah; if you didn’t know how Israel formed her Navy this book is for you. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy of this. The Boy With the Star Tattoo hits the shelves on January 30th.
Told in 3 different timelines (1942-1946, 1946, and 1968-1969) and by 3 different third person viewpoints (Claudette, Uzi, and Sharon respectively), this weaves together 3 turning points in Jewish history (the Holocaust, the Youth Aliyah, and the Boats of Cherbourg, also respectively). All three timelines are woven together so while it jumps from 1942 to 1967 and back to 1942 and so on, it works and isn’t at all confusing- though when Claudette’s and Uzi’s time starts intersecting I had to really pay attention at the start of each chapter to see in what part of 1946 they were taking place.
Claudette is a young French woman working as a seamstress for the Duchess of Valençay when she meets Raphael, a young Jewish man the Duchess is hiding. They fall in love, but Raphael is running for his life and after 6 months, he has to flee. Claudette finds herself pregnant, gives birth at a house in the village and must leave her baby there to continue working at the castle. When the Nazis invade she and the Duchess escape to Spain, but Claudette never forgets the baby she left behind. Uzi is a young man in his twenties working for Youth Aliyah, an organization that sent people into Europe after the war to find orphaned Jewish children. They gathered the children and took them to Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel) where they had to sneak in under the cover of night since Jews weren’t allowed to live there. Sharon is a young woman in 1968 who is mourning the loss of her fiancé since the submarine on which he was stationed was lost at sea. While she’s already served her time in the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) she’s asked to come to France to work on a secret mission as a civilian. As she sees what the Israeli Navy is doing, she realizes her work is of upmost importance.
3 different times, 3 different stories, and yet Talia Carner puts them together in a way in which they meld beautifully. If you ever thought the British willingly gave Israel to the Jews; if you never heard of Youth Aliyah; if you didn’t know how Israel formed her Navy this book is for you. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy of this. The Boy With the Star Tattoo hits the shelves on January 30th.