Sarah's Key

Now, I'm not typically one to "jump on the bandwagon" so to speak when it comes to books and "what's hot". It took me a long time to even want to read some of the more popular series like Harry Potter and Twilight. So, I'd seen this novel in various places but didn't know what it was about and didn't have any desire to read it really. You know how sometimes books just jump out at you? Well, this one hadn't done that to me. The only reason I read it really was because my Mom read it on a vacation recently and gave me her copy to read. Knowing that she'd finished it in one day of airplane travel did make me think it would be a pretty good read.

So, I figured it wouldn't hurt to read it. "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana De Rosnay is one of those books that stays with you even after you have turned the last page. It is beautifully written and touches on some of the most haunting of life's dilemmas. Julia is an American journalist writing a story about the roundup of Jewish families in France during the summer of 1942. Sarah is a ten-year-old girl taken with her parents during the roundup. Julia uncovers a devastating link between her family and Sarah's which pushes her to deal with difficulties in her own life. 

I've always found the stories about what happened in Europe during Hilter's reign both fascinating and frightening. And although the characters in this novel are fictional, the roundup of Jewish families in Paris in 1942 truly happened, which makes the novel that much more impressive. I think it's important to remember things like the Vel' d'Hiv roundup so that we can not repeat the gross mistakes of our past.

This novel isn't lighthearted and fun, but it is eye-opening and insightful and definitely well worth reading.