Hey guys! I have been looking forward to this book since I finished the book, so I am going to get started!
Marie-Laurie is blind at the age of 6, and her father, who works at the museum, creates a perfect model of their Parisian neighborhood out of wood so Marie-Laurie always knows where she is. Soon after Marie-Laurie's 12 birthday, the Germans occupy Paris, and Marie-Laurie and her father flee to Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laurie's great uncle lives by the ocean. But Marie-Laurie's father carries with him what might be an extremely valuable and dangerous diamond.
In a German mining town, Werner and his sister Jutta are raised in the local orphanage. When Werner finds and fixes a small radio, all the children at the orphanage fall in love with the little device, but Werner and Jutta are mesmerized. Werner continues to tinker with radios, and soon earns an impressive reputation for fixing radios. When Werner's talent reaches the ears of an important Nazi officer, Werner is given the opportunity to try out for Hitler Youth. Werner gets in. At first Werner is excited to leave behind a life where all he would do is mine, but after Werner begins working in the field and tracking the resistance via radio, he becomes more aware of the cost of his intelligence.
When Werner is called to Saint-Malo to find a rebel, his path crosses Marie-Laurie's. By weaving together their lives, the author shows how even in the midst of war, there are people who care about others.
This book was an incredible read! The author's writing style was very cool and unique. His style was almost as if he were watching the story unfold and making small notes and lists as a way to write the story. I also loved how he switched perspectives frequently. I kept the story moving at a fast pace and I was never bored by different characters as I can be in other books. One piece of advice though, if you choose to read this book, is pay attention to the dates in each chapter. It is pretty easy to figure out what is going on if you were not paying attention to the dates, but it is so much easier is you pay attention to them from the beginning.
Although I loved this book, I did not feel like it went anywhere towards the end. There were definitely suspenseful and exciting parts, but the end didn't seem to escalate into an inspiring end. Instead, I found the end a bit odd. It is hard to describe, but I will try. I like the way it ended, yet the last sentence implied that Marie-Laurie had a predictable and rather flat life as an older woman, and I wish she would have found a bit more happiness.
Overall though, this book was really enjoyable and interesting. I highly recommend reading it at the beach ( which is what I did) because it is a wonderful story.
Marie-Laurie is blind at the age of 6, and her father, who works at the museum, creates a perfect model of their Parisian neighborhood out of wood so Marie-Laurie always knows where she is. Soon after Marie-Laurie's 12 birthday, the Germans occupy Paris, and Marie-Laurie and her father flee to Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laurie's great uncle lives by the ocean. But Marie-Laurie's father carries with him what might be an extremely valuable and dangerous diamond.
In a German mining town, Werner and his sister Jutta are raised in the local orphanage. When Werner finds and fixes a small radio, all the children at the orphanage fall in love with the little device, but Werner and Jutta are mesmerized. Werner continues to tinker with radios, and soon earns an impressive reputation for fixing radios. When Werner's talent reaches the ears of an important Nazi officer, Werner is given the opportunity to try out for Hitler Youth. Werner gets in. At first Werner is excited to leave behind a life where all he would do is mine, but after Werner begins working in the field and tracking the resistance via radio, he becomes more aware of the cost of his intelligence.
When Werner is called to Saint-Malo to find a rebel, his path crosses Marie-Laurie's. By weaving together their lives, the author shows how even in the midst of war, there are people who care about others.
This book was an incredible read! The author's writing style was very cool and unique. His style was almost as if he were watching the story unfold and making small notes and lists as a way to write the story. I also loved how he switched perspectives frequently. I kept the story moving at a fast pace and I was never bored by different characters as I can be in other books. One piece of advice though, if you choose to read this book, is pay attention to the dates in each chapter. It is pretty easy to figure out what is going on if you were not paying attention to the dates, but it is so much easier is you pay attention to them from the beginning.
Although I loved this book, I did not feel like it went anywhere towards the end. There were definitely suspenseful and exciting parts, but the end didn't seem to escalate into an inspiring end. Instead, I found the end a bit odd. It is hard to describe, but I will try. I like the way it ended, yet the last sentence implied that Marie-Laurie had a predictable and rather flat life as an older woman, and I wish she would have found a bit more happiness.
Overall though, this book was really enjoyable and interesting. I highly recommend reading it at the beach ( which is what I did) because it is a wonderful story.