From the Bookshelf of Around the Year in 52 Books

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Joanne
Jan 18, 2016 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: 5-star, audio
An extra star for the audio performance.

The three stories in this book are set during WWII and are tied together by a harmonica, which helps a child in each of the three stories. Friedrich, in Germany is seeing the Nazis take power and his own father imprisoned for disagreeing with Nazi politics, Mike, in the USA is an orphan looking after his younger brother and hoping to be adopted by a good family, and Ivy, also in the US, comes face to face with racial tensions as her father takes over runni
...more
Penny
Mar 19, 2023 rated it it was amazing
Three stories bound by a single extraordinary harmonica, a little bit of magic in the form of a folktale, and all the threads draw together at the very end. This book is phenomenal. The three stories each have equal weight and are equally beguiling. The first story of Friedrich, his father, uncle and sister just before the beginning of the second world war that shows how families can divide and still not break and starts the harmonic’s journey; the second takes two orphan boys and sends them on ...more
Amanda
Oct 17, 2019 rated it really liked it
What a sweet, wonderful book! I loved how the stories and characters intertwined. I’m really glad that I listened to this book since there was so much music throughout the whole book. It made me think of my grandfather playing the harmonica and all my years playing the flute. Such a feel good read!
Megan
Aug 03, 2015 marked it as to-read
Lena84
Nov 18, 2015 marked it as to-read
Linda
Jan 23, 2016 rated it it was amazing
Karen Mcilhargey
Feb 07, 2016 marked it as to-read
Kimberly
Mar 30, 2016 marked it as to-read
Brandy B
May 16, 2016 rated it it was amazing
Jamie
May 16, 2016 rated it really liked it
Sara
Jul 06, 2016 rated it it was amazing
Hannah
Oct 06, 2016 marked it as to-read
Ashleyverville
Oct 12, 2016 rated it really liked it
Jenn
Aug 20, 2017 rated it really liked it
Pamela
Jan 17, 2019 marked it as to-read
Sarah McCauley
Jun 08, 2019 marked it as to-read
W.J. Cintron
Nov 22, 2019 marked it as to-read
Shelves: books-i-own
Michelle
Feb 27, 2020 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Anne
Dec 26, 2020 marked it as to-read
Yesica
Mar 17, 2021 marked it as to-read
Julie
Jul 05, 2021 marked it as to-read
Shelves: fiction, history
Holly
May 02, 2022 marked it as to-read
Shelves: lit-units
1 3 next »