A gripping 5 star read!
This book was hard to read, not because of being a poorly written book, no, just the opposite, it was an excellent book, but because it really brings to light the Nazi Paris occupation of Paris in the early 1940s during WWII, and the plight of the Jews during that occupation. I really thought this book was well written, kept me turning the pages all the way through, and helped to to feel as if I were watching a part of history from the audience of this book as I read these three women's fictional story, but realized that even though it was fiction, stories like theirs really happened! I believe Renee Ryan has done an excellent job of telling this story using three amazing characters that made this story come to life: an American woman who wanted to use her money to help the Jews in the only way she knew how which ends us costing her more than she ever imagined, and also a Parisian woman who is not ok with the way her Jewish friends and fellow countrymen are being treated, and who has to do something to help when everyone else seems to turn a blind eye to the madness, and lastly a Jewish girl whose family did nothing to deserve what Hitler and his evil henchmen were doing to her people, and who decides she is going to live for those who had already died by Nazi hands. I think this book is so vital especially now in our recent divisive climate, as we need to remember what happened to the cities and countries that Hitler occupied, and the Jewish people, and how they were hated, robbed of their humanity, and eventually millions who were eventually killed, and all because they were a race that offended some. We can't let this happen again, and I pray that Renee Ryan's book will help us remember what was done to our fellow human beings during Hitler's reign of terror, and not let it happen again. It started by someone being offended, and then eventually so many either joined in the madness, or turned a blind eye to it, and many innocent people lost their lives, and their crime??? It was being Jewish. But there were many unnamed people like Camille and Vivian, who hid Jews, helped get them out of danger, and who were also heroes in my eyes! I hope I would have the courage to do the same if it ever happened here! My prayer is that we will not allow history like this to be repeated! Thank you Renee Ryan for writing such an incredible book so we don't forget what happened! This book gets a 5 star rating for me!