3.5 stars. A little predictable and melodramatic for a subject that doesn't need anyone playing with your emotions, but still a solid read. It was interesting learning about the French police involvement in the round up of Jews in what was the first deportation of women and children. I was left with not only a sadness for all those families torn from their lives and torn apart, but also for the lost culture and religion for the survivors. Children hidden and raised as Christian children, children who never knew they were of Jewish descent, children who lost the connection to their family line and heritage.

The beginning of Julia's story alternating with the girl's was strong. I had to find out what happened to Michel and who exactly Sarah would turn out to be. I also enjoyed Julie's own family drama and the mystery she uncovered that connected her to Sarah and her sad story, not only through geography but emotion as well.

But then Sarah's point of view ends and Julia's story flounders. I think some of the later points in the story would have been better told from Sarah's point of view, even if Julie never discovered them (driving home the point of these lost stories and people). It would have made the story drag less. Also, I could have used a little more selling on why discovering Sarah's story was so important to Julia. As it is, it felt like it was important only because the reader wanted to know, and urgent only because Rosnay didn't want to languish through an unrelated vacation. Once Julia met with William the story kind of fizzles and dies.

(view spoiler)[I thought William's reaction was all wrong, not what someone who'd lost his mother would say, but rather what Julia feared he would say. If I'd lost my mother at a young age and some stranger showed up with details I'd never gotten from my father, I'd thirst for any information they'd give me. Maybe after Julia had stumbled through her story would he reject it, take his time to assimilate to it, but I think he would have heard her out, even if only to question her and disprove her. I think he only ran away to stretch out the story. (hide spoiler)]

I don't think Rosnay knew how to end her story. After the big dramatic meeting, she fizzles through a bunch of pointless half scenes that feel more like notes that never make it into a final manuscript until she could make it to the final scene that would have worked better as an epilogue anyway. (view spoiler)[I think it would have been much better to delay the meeting until the end of the end of Julie's bed rest, have her desire to meet with William nag at her while she can't do anything about it and in the process convince us of her need to see him. Either end there or at the very least when he tracked her down again. We could learn everything we need to about her marriage and baby from the last scene as an epilogue, but without the evasiveness about the baby's name when it was obvious that she'd named her Sarah. (hide spoiler)]

It's a heart-wrenching story and I'd recommend it for anyone interested in the Holocaust.