A review by thereadingzombie
Strangers in Time by David Baldacci

adventurous emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I read this for my IRL Book Club. There are so many stories that surround WWII that I imagine it's difficult to tell a story that feels new and interesting. I haven't read a lot of stories that involve people in London during this time and especially not teenagers. I enjoyed the different perspective this book had to offer. I vaguely remember learning about the Germans bombing London, but I didn't know how long it went on or how frequently. I remember learning about the rations, but didn't consider how that would work. This made me go down a few Wikipedia rabbit holes, and that's always appreciated.

The characters were great. We have these two children and a bookshop owner. They have lost so much during the span of the war, and somehow their lives intersect by chance. What happens is an unbreakable bond of care, support, and safety in such a perilous time. What are the odds of these three people finding each other like that? I'm glad there wasn't a romance angle. Not that people didn't fall in love during the war, but I like that the characters of Charlie and Molly were friends/siblings.

I don't know why, but the title made me think there was going to be some kind of time travel element to the story, and there wasn't. The pacing of this story was pretty slow until the end. I spent the first 75% of the book wondering if anything was going to happen. Then it all seemed to hit at once. The "twist" towards the end seemed kind of weird and forced, like it didn't really fit in with everything, but they needed to tidy up that plot line. I don't know.

The audiobook was really good, with different actors performing different characters. Some of them had accents that were difficult for me to parse out, but it all worked out. Would definitely recommend!