Author: Tatiana de Rosnay
Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten-year-old girl, is taken with her parents by theFrench police as they go door-to-door arresting Jewish families in the middle of the night. Desperate to protect her younger brother, Sarah locks him in a bedroom cupboard- their secret hiding place- and promises to come back for him as soon as they are released.
Sixty years later: Sarah's story intertwines with that of Julia Jarmond, an American journalist investigating the roundup. In her research, Julia stumbles onto a trail of secrets that link her to Sarah, and to questions about her own romantic future.
So, my best friend has been trying to get me to read this book for about a year. And if you knew my best friend, you would understand that she doesn't give me book recommendations a lot, because she doesn't really read as much as I do (which might be understandable, seeing how I always call her when I finish reading a book and rant on about it while she pretends to listen. =D). But I have never been disappointed by a book that she tells me to read, so I don't really know why I don't listen to her right away.
Obviously, since Maria's recommendation never fails, I really liked Sarah's Key. I think it had a really good balance of predictable and unpredictable moments. Honestly, I love when something unexpected happens, but occasionally, if every single thing is unpredictable, it feels over the top. But if it's all predictable, it gets really boring. However, this book has the perfect combination, which makes it feel much more realistic. The author also makes the unpredictable things plausible, which helps the story extremely. She didn't take it to the extremes, she put in plot twists that, while you would never have expected them, also makes sense. For example, when you find out what actually happened to Sarah, my jaw did drop, but I also thought, "Well, why didn't I think that would happen?"
I also loved that the author chose to write about such an obscure point in history, the Veldrome d'Hiver roundup that occurred in Paris on July 16, 1942. I've never heard of this, ever, and I'm a history freak, so I'm not used to reading books where I don't at least have a small amount of knowledge about the history. That means that I learned quite a bit, while reading a really enjoyable book. That's always a plus. =D
Another great thing about Sarah's Key is the setup or layout (I'm having problems thinking up words tonight because it's about 3 am). I love how in the beginning the perspectives change every chapter between Sarah in 1942 and Julia in 2002. I think it's really interesting and I think de Rosnay handled it very well, by making sure that neither of the characters knew anything they weren't supposed to know until they were supposed to know it, even though the other character may have known. (Confusing sentence, eh?) Personally, I would've jumbled it all up (like I do with everything), so I have major respect for her, especially since I think that a lot of authors really don't handle it very well, either, when you've got two different people in two different time periods. I also think that she chose the right time to end Sarah's narrative. Not only would it have ruined some of the bigger plot twists, it also seemed (to me, at least) kind of symbolic of when Sarah really lost her spirit, no matter how cheesy I just made that sound.
I only had a few things that bugged me. It kind of got annoying how Sarah was referred to as "the girl" through most of her perspective chapters. I mean, it was obvious who it was. The book is called Sarah's Key and the synopsis on the back of the book says that Sarah locked her brother in a cabinet. So wouldn't it make sense that girl who locked her brother in the cabinet and had the key would be named Sarah? I'm sure there was a reason for doing it, but it just bugged me, because I didn't see that reason.
Also, I thought that ending kind of dragged, after it transistions to 2005. I thought it was pretty unexciting compared to the rest of the novel, until it got to the very last chapter. I liked that. =D
But anyways, overall, I did really like it, so I'm glad that my best friend told me to read it and my aunt gave it to me. I would highly recommend it to anyone who's interested in a little historical mystery. =D Sorry if my blog sucked, but I haven't written in quite a while, plus it's super late. But, anyways, I think that I'm going to read The Private Life of Marie Antoinette by Madame Campan next, because I've only read it once and I don't really remember how much I absorbed of it last time. So, I'm not going to be reviewing it, since I have read it before. I start college in 2 weeks so if I have time after that (which I'm pretty sure I will), I'm going to try read something that I've decided to leave behind. Yes, my parents and my best friend have convinced me that I will not have enough room in my dorm to bring all of my books, so I've narrowed it down to about 48, so I'm proud of myself. =D As always, please feel free to leave me comments about anything, and I really do mean anything. =D Chances are, I'll respond!
Anyways, thanks for reading!
Love,
Kristi
Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten-year-old girl, is taken with her parents by theFrench police as they go door-to-door arresting Jewish families in the middle of the night. Desperate to protect her younger brother, Sarah locks him in a bedroom cupboard- their secret hiding place- and promises to come back for him as soon as they are released.
Sixty years later: Sarah's story intertwines with that of Julia Jarmond, an American journalist investigating the roundup. In her research, Julia stumbles onto a trail of secrets that link her to Sarah, and to questions about her own romantic future.
So, my best friend has been trying to get me to read this book for about a year. And if you knew my best friend, you would understand that she doesn't give me book recommendations a lot, because she doesn't really read as much as I do (which might be understandable, seeing how I always call her when I finish reading a book and rant on about it while she pretends to listen. =D). But I have never been disappointed by a book that she tells me to read, so I don't really know why I don't listen to her right away.
Obviously, since Maria's recommendation never fails, I really liked Sarah's Key. I think it had a really good balance of predictable and unpredictable moments. Honestly, I love when something unexpected happens, but occasionally, if every single thing is unpredictable, it feels over the top. But if it's all predictable, it gets really boring. However, this book has the perfect combination, which makes it feel much more realistic. The author also makes the unpredictable things plausible, which helps the story extremely. She didn't take it to the extremes, she put in plot twists that, while you would never have expected them, also makes sense. For example, when you find out what actually happened to Sarah, my jaw did drop, but I also thought, "Well, why didn't I think that would happen?"
I also loved that the author chose to write about such an obscure point in history, the Veldrome d'Hiver roundup that occurred in Paris on July 16, 1942. I've never heard of this, ever, and I'm a history freak, so I'm not used to reading books where I don't at least have a small amount of knowledge about the history. That means that I learned quite a bit, while reading a really enjoyable book. That's always a plus. =D
Another great thing about Sarah's Key is the setup or layout (I'm having problems thinking up words tonight because it's about 3 am). I love how in the beginning the perspectives change every chapter between Sarah in 1942 and Julia in 2002. I think it's really interesting and I think de Rosnay handled it very well, by making sure that neither of the characters knew anything they weren't supposed to know until they were supposed to know it, even though the other character may have known. (Confusing sentence, eh?) Personally, I would've jumbled it all up (like I do with everything), so I have major respect for her, especially since I think that a lot of authors really don't handle it very well, either, when you've got two different people in two different time periods. I also think that she chose the right time to end Sarah's narrative. Not only would it have ruined some of the bigger plot twists, it also seemed (to me, at least) kind of symbolic of when Sarah really lost her spirit, no matter how cheesy I just made that sound.
I only had a few things that bugged me. It kind of got annoying how Sarah was referred to as "the girl" through most of her perspective chapters. I mean, it was obvious who it was. The book is called Sarah's Key and the synopsis on the back of the book says that Sarah locked her brother in a cabinet. So wouldn't it make sense that girl who locked her brother in the cabinet and had the key would be named Sarah? I'm sure there was a reason for doing it, but it just bugged me, because I didn't see that reason.
Also, I thought that ending kind of dragged, after it transistions to 2005. I thought it was pretty unexciting compared to the rest of the novel, until it got to the very last chapter. I liked that. =D
But anyways, overall, I did really like it, so I'm glad that my best friend told me to read it and my aunt gave it to me. I would highly recommend it to anyone who's interested in a little historical mystery. =D Sorry if my blog sucked, but I haven't written in quite a while, plus it's super late. But, anyways, I think that I'm going to read The Private Life of Marie Antoinette by Madame Campan next, because I've only read it once and I don't really remember how much I absorbed of it last time. So, I'm not going to be reviewing it, since I have read it before. I start college in 2 weeks so if I have time after that (which I'm pretty sure I will), I'm going to try read something that I've decided to leave behind. Yes, my parents and my best friend have convinced me that I will not have enough room in my dorm to bring all of my books, so I've narrowed it down to about 48, so I'm proud of myself. =D As always, please feel free to leave me comments about anything, and I really do mean anything. =D Chances are, I'll respond!
Anyways, thanks for reading!
Love,
Kristi
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