I liked this one better than the second one! I continue to love their family dynamic. The Kidd children know what the most important treasure is: family. I loved both the Chinese and German history/culture that I learned. A lot of precious things were lost to the Nazis during WW2, so the Kidd’s are treasure hunting for a higher purpose this time. I love it. I liked that a lot of the plot points tied up in this book too. The reveals and intense scenes were fun. Audio book is fun to listen to.
SPOILERS and book notes:
The Chinese had a giant parade in their honor for bringing them the vases and finding the lost ship. I love this about the kidd siblings: “We had read a ton of books, studied everything from math to martial arts, and learned how to take care of ourselves (yes, I’m talking laundry). But the most important lesson was pretty simple: Family comes first. Family even outranks Chinese girlfriends.” Several Picasso paintings were considered lost during World War II, primarily confiscated by the Nazis from Jewish art dealers, but many of these works were later recovered. And the Kidds found one in china! Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, in the heart of Beijing, China: “This is where, on June 3, 1989, Chinese college students gathered to demand free speech and economic justice. The students built a thirty-three-foot papier-mâché statue and called it the Goddess of Democracy, which kind of looked like our Statue of Liberty.” “Could you climb up to its crown?” asked Tommy. Storm ignored him. “Then, of course, there was the ‘tank man,’ who stood alone to block a column of tanks sent into the square to crush the protest.” That is one of THE coolest pictures ever. I love the synonyms that Storm comes up for pigeons: ““A pathetic winged creature. A flying rat. An urban seagull.” I love this about the Kidd family: ““We all believe you,” said Beck. “That’s what families do. We believe in one another even when everybody else thinks we’re nuts.” And then, right there on the bustling sidewalks of Beijing, we had an official Kidd family group hug.” It’s considered polite in china to refuse at least twice before accepting an offer of food etc. and look at Chinese pigeon racing! “Turns out, a bunch of billionaires take their birds to Chinese “country clubs” and pay, like, a thousand dollars to buy their champion fliers a metal ankle band. The banded birds are then placed into pigeon coops and loaded up on a truck. When the truck reaches the starting line, the pigeons are let out of their cages. They take off in a huge flock and head home to their roosts, all the birds flying in different directions. Computers do the math and figure out which bird flew home the fastest.” Now they are in Berlin Germany by the Berlin Wall that was torn down in 1989.” Tommy finally met a girl who doesn’t swoon from his charms! She knows his lines and knows her worth and isn’t an airhead! Hehe. she is a German girl that Tommy knew from his childhood! She helps them! This is her: ““We’ll give you a big reward,” I offered. “Just as soon as we find the treasure we’re hunting.” “Reward?” scoffed the girl. “I do not live my life in the hope of being rewarded for doing what I know is right.” “Well,” said Tommy, wiggling his eyebrows, “I’ve lived mine in the hope of meeting you.” “Some boys never change,” muttered the girl.” “Since we ran out about halfway through the movie, I’ve never actually seen all of The Book Thief. But this brave and feisty German girl reminded me of Liesel Meminger—a character I absolutely loved when I read the book.” Now they are driving the autobahn! “Whoa, wait a second,” said Tommy, squinting at the German girl like, all of a sudden, he had X-ray vision. “Are you Petra? Petra Pichelsteiner?” The German girl finally smiled. “Yes, Thomas. It is good seeing you again.” Tommy sort of blushed. “Wow. You’ve grown up. I mean, you used to be this little girl. Now you’re, well, like I said—you’re all grown up.” “Shall I take that as a compliment?” “Definitely.” Petra takes them to see the “brick wall with raised numbers spelling out the dates 1933–1945. “Those are the years the Dachau Concentration Camp was in operation,” explained the German girl. “It was the first such prison camp erected by the Nazis right after Hitler came to power. Thirty-two thousand deaths were documented right here at Dachau, many of them Jews. Some of them members of my family. The Nazis took their homes, their money, their art, and, finally, their lives.” And they are trying to find the “degenerate art” that the Nazis stole and give it back tot he original owners. Hehehe I love that she finally softens to him: ““Hi. Do you, uh, want to insult me again or something?” “No,” said Petra, with a soft smile. “Viel Glück!” “Is that the sound a German duck makes?” Petra laughed. “No, Thomas. It means good luck.” “Oh. Okay. Thanks.” Tommy smiled at Petra. Petra smiled at him. Beck cleared her throat. “You guys? Can we save the smilefest for later?” “Right,” said Tommy. “Hold that thought, Petra.” I love the picture of all the Kidd kids and Petra swimming toward the parents on The Lost boat! The reunion was so sweet and joyful! “We had crossed all the major oceans and traipsed across four different continents in our quest to put our whole family back together. And it was all worth it for this one golden moment!” And UNLCE TIMOTHY was the bad guy villain traitor the whole time!! Love that she calls him Timothy: ““They’re amazing!” added Petra. “Especially Thomas.” She went up on tiptoe and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “Wow!” said Tommy. “Petra Pichelsteiner, you are definitely all grown up!”