All the Light We Cannot See

All the Light We Cannot See

This Pulitzer Prize-winning World War II novel tells the story of a blind French teen, a young German soldier, and how they come together during the war in occupied France. This is a book to be read slowly to fully appreciate the rich descriptions and sensory-laden language. Almost all of the characters in this book--even the villains--are fully drawn as complicated humans.

What I love about it, though, is how Doerr makes the experience of war personal. While the war was global, each person who lived and died experienced it through the small moments made large through their own senses: a girl finds refuge running her hands across the snails lining a grotto; a boy closes his eyes and visualizes the electrons allowing the voices to carry over the airwaves; an old woman whispers a few words to sustain a resistance, finding the only power she has. There are millions of these stories, many forever lost, and Doerr's telling is a reminder that wars aren't just history, but personal and deeply felt.

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Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity

This is one of the more unusual World War II books I've ever read. Told through a journal written by "Verity," a female English pilot captured in German-occupied France, and by her friend Maddie in the second half of the book. Verity has been tortured and she is writing for her life, charged by her captors with revealing codes and information about the Allies. Both to fulfill her obligation and to maintain some sense of sanity, she weaves the tale of  a friendship and how she landed in her present situation. Often written with surprising humor given the dark circumstances, this book often has a light tone throughout that is only one of the misleading elements.  If you haven't read this one, don't read much more before picking it up--the twists and spy games will be all the more satisfying.

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The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Author: V. E. Schwab
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction
Tag: France

In 1714 France, Addie LaRue is desperate to escape her impending marriage to a local widower. Despite warnings to never pray to the gods that answer after dark, she makes a bargain–for time, for freedom–in exchange for her soul. Granted what she wants, she is also doomed to be forgotten by anyone who ever meets her.

For 300 years, Addie lives within the strange confines of her curse, playing an ongoing cat-and-mouse game with the devil who is waiting on her. And then everything changes when she meets a young man who can remember her.

This wildly inventive book is exactly the kind of fantasy that I like: grounded in the real world, with magic and mysticism that throws everything known off-kilter. There’s something here for everyone: historical fictioncontemporary fiction, a little romance, and magical fantasy.

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