Oh my gosh, here we go! My very first entry in this epic project! I’ve taken some time to think about how I want these posts to go, and don’t want to create “typical” book reviews–this needs to be a lot more personal. I chose Sarah’s Key as my first book for two quite personal reasons.

First, I have wonderfully fond memories of my six-week honeymoon in France. The trip was nearly two decades ago yet traveling the countryside and getting immersed in the Parisian culture is still with me. My husband is a World War II historian, so our itinerary was mainly composed of battlegrounds, historic landmarks, and countryside vistas were the ravages of war once took place. Needless to say, our journey was atypical for post-nuptial traditions, but our interest in French History and respect for the sacrifices made there was mutual so the trip was everything we hoped it would be.

The second reason I chose Sarah’s Key to start the project is that it was my Mom’s recommendation to the list. I was a pretty shy kid–downright dorky in fact, yet my mother was the biggest champion of my desire to be alone and read. Maybe she would have liked me to be more social in Girl Scouts or out running around the neighborhood, but I think she figured out some things about me that I never understood that back then. (Thanks, Mom.) If she chose this book, then it was in my best interest to learn why sooner than later.

Sarah’s Key is a love story decimated by the most deplorable acts of humanity. BAM! What a way to come off the nets swinging with this project. Reading this book hurt my soul. As a daughter, mother, and sister I found myself moved to tears often but the constant state of desperation and despair of the characters. While the novel is fictional, the scenarios have origins in actual events, and there is no denying that the atrocities of that time in history created real outcomes frighteningly worse.

The emotional response I had to this novel was unanticipated, but I think that’s why my Mother chose it. Life is hard (and sometimes downright brutal), though beauty and love endure. I loved the message and recommended this book if you want to connect with the spirit of survival. It takes a perspective of the alternatives to appreciate life’s blessings and Sarah’s Key does a brilliant job with that demonstration.

(Thanks again, Mom.)

Completion Order: 1 of 350

My Rating: ★★★★

Year Published: June 12th 2007
Total Pages: 294

Goodreads Abstract

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family’s apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.

Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France’s past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl’s ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d’Hiv’, to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah’s past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

Read the book: http://amzn.to/2nv0U8m
Listen to the audiobook: http://amzn.to/2oWeQsY
Watch the movie: http://amzn.to/2pi687W