I enjoyed this book as it dealt with a topic about which I knew nothing. I found myself regularly looking up facts to see it they were true. The two tales are interwoven in a way that is sometimes seems brusque, as you suddenly drop the modern tale to switch to the older one or vice versa, however all in all I found that it was an intriguing story that I couldn't stop sharing with friends.

This story about a little known, but true event in the history of France, was a touching example of how the tragedy and horror of the Holocaust continued to affect lives. Through the innocent eyes of a child we see the effects prejudice, and empathize with the little girl, who grew into a woman and had to carry the result of her action all her life.

Very well written, this book sets the ambiance to an oppressive time in Spain, with characters that become real. This is a dark story with unexpected twists and turns. I did not like it, but acknowledge that the author did a good job....

I understand this is required reading in schools Australia as it presents the 'Australian experience'. I was clearly missing parts of the underlying story and found it rather gloomy. The character development is excellent as you become invested in, and learn to understand the main characters. The lack of quotation marks when speakers are speaking was somewhat confusing to me. I often had to retread to figure out if a passage was a thought or a spoken dialogue between characters. This book provoked a great deal of discussion in our group.