Such a powerful book with unfathomable character arcs that are beautiful in their pain. I’ve read my fair share of WWII books, but this one takes an interesting perspective on how women played such a critical role that never ends up in history books. Isabelle’s story is something I can relate to by being a bit brash in her decisions and antsy with how her life should be going. Vianne played more of a maternal role, but still had such raw moments that showed how much war can force your hand. The interactions between some men in the story like Beck and Vianne were surprising and didn’t follow the typical male dominant script and provided a nice levity to this story. But then Von Richter ruins this almost immediately. Isabelle’s ending with Gaetan is poetic and truly tragic, but almost cathartic in its release. And not to mention how Vianne and Isabelle’s father abandons them and then how his character redeems himself is just incredible. There are almost too many layers to this book to cover in just one short review, but if you are a fan of WWII historical fiction, looking for a female lead, and appreciate a great character arc, this is the book for you. Don’t worry about the page count, it’s worth it.