Book Review that I did at the Last Minute

On March 5^th 1933, Adolph Hitler began his reign of terror that would lite the fuse to start WWII. This war lasted for 6 years from 1939 till 1945. Over 60 million people were killed in this war. Many lives were impacted and forever changed. Sadly, when most people hear the phrase “Holocaust” or “Nazis” they immediately think of Germany but many people don’t realize that it wasn’t just Germany that was involved in the holocaust. One of the other countries was France.

Sarah’s Key is a tale about a young girl and the emotional and physical struggles that she suffers during the holocaust. The story follows two points of view. One of them is from Julia, an American journalist who is asked to write about one the worst days in Frances past, the Vel’d’Hiv’s, and a young girl named Sarah who is involved in the holocaust.  This book written by an author named Tatiana de Rosnay and this book would be placed in the historical non-fiction genre.

Even though it was titled as a historical nonfiction genre you don’t feel like you’re reading a historical non-fiction book. You assume that it’s just going to be filled with a bunch of facts and information that happened but Tatiana de Rosnay twisted the story into an interesting and emotional novel.  I think what stands out the most in her writing is Sarah’s voice. At the beginning of the book Sarah has a younger more naïve tone because she’s only 11 or 12. She’s young and doesn’t understand what’s happening in the world around her, but as the book goes on and she experiences things that no one should ever have to experience. She must grow up very quickly and as she grows up emotionally her voice must also grow up.  Julia’s voice on the other hand sounds older and more responsible with a young ring to it. She’s older and has a daughter around Sarah’s age so when Julia discovers more and more about what happened at the Vel’d’Hiv’s she beings to lose that young ring that she once had.

Overall the quality of this book is above and beyond and worth reading. Tatiana de Rosnay does a wonderful job conveying the emotional struggle that Sarah and her family faces along with the issues that occur in Julia’s life. As you read through the pages you almost feel like you’re part of the story and you share the pain that Julia and Sarah have in their lives as Julia’s husband cheats on her and as Sarah watches her family torn away from her in a matter of seconds. It’s a good book to look into if you want to learn more about the holocaust without diving into all the facts.  One of most upsetting scenes in the book occurs in the first chapter. “She grabbed him but he wriggled out of her grasp and slithered into the long, deep cupboard hidden in the surface of the wall of their bedroom…the girl could see her brother’s small face peeking out at her from the darkness. He had his favorite teddy bear clutched to him, he was not frightened anymore. Maybe he’d be safe there, after all. He had water and the flashlight…’Are you afraid in there?’ she said softly, as the men called out for them. ‘No…I’m not afraid. You lock me in. They wouldn’t get me.’…The girl murmured his name and laid her palm flat on the wooden panel. ‘I’ll come back for you later. I promise’”. Pg. 23-24 Sarah’s Key

There is nothing that I would change about this outstanding book except for the fact that it leaves you wondering what is going to happen next. The book doesn’t leave you with a cliffhanger but it just leaves you wanting more and you aren’t satisfied with the conclusion. The book would also be slightly better if the story covered more about Sarah towards the end instead of focusing more on Julia’s emotions and struggles that occur in her life.

Overall I would rate this book 4.9/5 because no book can be perfect but there can be some pretty amazing books out there.  The only issue I have with this book is that you aren’t satisfied with the ending you want to learn more.