I have to admit I had very high expectations for this book as it seemed to have ticked all the boxes. It had a beautiful cover which drew me towards the book and I have a soft spot for WW2 books, especially those based on true stories. I have read many (probably too many) WW2 books but never one based in Belgium (although I have come across many many based in Holland so not that far away).
The story talks about the friendship between a Simone whose father is a Belgian national hero and Hava who comes from a devout Jewish family or at least that is what the book tells us. Whilst the characters have been written quite well, Simone seemed annoyingly naive for a 18 year old of that era. We follow their attempts to escape from Belgium but I think the whole story is more about their friendship than the surrounding events. There were some parts of the story that I found difficult to believe to be true (travelled so much with no money, the kiss bit, etc.) I also did not feel very emotionally attached to the characters.
Overall, a great idea but I think it had much more potential.
The story talks about the friendship between a Simone whose father is a Belgian national hero and Hava who comes from a devout Jewish family or at least that is what the book tells us. Whilst the characters have been written quite well, Simone seemed annoyingly naive for a 18 year old of that era. We follow their attempts to escape from Belgium but I think the whole story is more about their friendship than the surrounding events. There were some parts of the story that I found difficult to believe to be true (travelled so much with no money, the kiss bit, etc.) I also did not feel very emotionally attached to the characters.
Overall, a great idea but I think it had much more potential.