Sasha+P's+Book+Review




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So many years have passed since the horrifying morning of July 16, 1942, when thousand of French Jews were yanked from the comfort of their homes in Paris, rounded up, never to return. Why is it necessary to focus on two Parisian families deeply affected by this horrible event in history? Experiencing the pain of a young girl who lived this horror, to a woman trying to uncover the events that took place during this dark time in history, is the focus of the book, __Sarah’s Key__, by Tatiana De Rosnay.

This book is very difficult to put down, from beginning to end. One morning, a young girl wakes up from her nice warm bed, unaware that this will be the last time she will see her brother, mother, and father. She will never enjoy her mother’s mouth watering cooking again, smell the scent of spring flowers outside of her family’s apartment window, or feel the peace of family enjoying a beautiful blue sky day together. Life will change forever with a knock on their apartment door.

After escaping the hell of Auschwitz death camp, this little girl whose body and spirit are so weak, hopes to find her family again and start her life over again. However, in her frantic search, she realizes that she will never see or hear the sound of their voices ever again as they did not survive the camp like she did. The characters and sequence of events of this story will keep you at the edge of your seat, not wanting to put the book down. This young girl’s story of survival is intertwined with a journalist’s desperate search years after the holocaust, to find out what really happened to this young girl and where her fate took her. Their stories come together in a very unexpected way.

The story of survival of this young Jewish girl subjected to the horrors of the holocaust is exciting but so tragic. The young journalist has to jump though so many hoops to find the real truth of what really happened to her. The way that people respond to the journalist while she is doing her research is surprising. I would definitely recommend this book to others not only because it teaches you that life can be so unexpected, but also because it teaches so much about the affects of hatred and prejudice against a people because of the color of their skin, their nationality or religion. I am not a book reader, but have to say that of all of the books that I have read, this is definitely the best. It held my attention, especially since many of my family members were killed in the gas chambers of Auschwitz by the Germans just because of their religion. Being Jewish has shown me that my life could have been very different if I had lived during the holocaust. I feel very strong and proud about standing up for who I am as a person and as a Jew and a French woman.