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A review by kourtjohnstone
All The Broken Places by John Boyne
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
If you’ve read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, maybe on your own as an adult, or as a novel study in middle school, you will be familiar with the setting of this story: Poland in the 1940s. In this sequel, we hear from Gretel, who escapes Nazi Germany with her mother after the in hopes of starting a new life, free from the horrors of their past. This is a dual timeline so we get present day Gretel who is 91 years old and keeping her secrets very close to her heart, not letting anyone in.
I enjoyed this story so so much. I thought it was a seamless extension to the first book, and it is obvious that Boyne put a great deal of thought into how to inject little nuggets throughout, allowing us as the reader to be taken back to an extremely emotional time, but in Gretel’s shoes. He has crafted Gretel with such care that we can’t help but feel for her and the horrendous events she has witnessed. Highly recommend giving this one a shot, especially if you’ve read and enjoyed the Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I am very excited to pick up The Heart’s Invisible Furies by this very talented author!
I enjoyed this story so so much. I thought it was a seamless extension to the first book, and it is obvious that Boyne put a great deal of thought into how to inject little nuggets throughout, allowing us as the reader to be taken back to an extremely emotional time, but in Gretel’s shoes. He has crafted Gretel with such care that we can’t help but feel for her and the horrendous events she has witnessed. Highly recommend giving this one a shot, especially if you’ve read and enjoyed the Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I am very excited to pick up The Heart’s Invisible Furies by this very talented author!