I came to this book with a clear idea of what I thought it would be like. To begin with it appeared that it was going to meet my expectations. The book tells the story of Brigitta as she comes to England after having survived the horrors of WW2 Europe. She has a secret that she is determined to protect.
The book is well written and the characters are portrayed well. I enjoyed some of the quirks in the books such as the description of the ghosts she sees. The persecution of Jews during the war is dealt with but without going into detail (this maybe due to the fact that the book is YA).
I realised the twist shortly before it was revealed and felt it suited the story.
I had only a couple of problems with the story. The first being the apparent lack of rationing, although there was the odd reference to rationing I doubt many people would have gone shopping and had a slice of cake in 1946. My other reservation with the story was people's reaction to Brigitta's relationship with Joe, again I do not think it fitted with the time period. I think that Lucy Adlington wanted to tackle the themes of identity and love in a way which made sense to a modern reader but sadly this jarred a bit with the historical setting.
This aside I really enjoyed reading about Brigitta and her journey.
The book is well written and the characters are portrayed well. I enjoyed some of the quirks in the books such as the description of the ghosts she sees. The persecution of Jews during the war is dealt with but without going into detail (this maybe due to the fact that the book is YA).
I realised the twist shortly before it was revealed and felt it suited the story.
I had only a couple of problems with the story. The first being the apparent lack of rationing, although there was the odd reference to rationing I doubt many people would have gone shopping and had a slice of cake in 1946. My other reservation with the story was people's reaction to Brigitta's relationship with Joe, again I do not think it fitted with the time period. I think that Lucy Adlington wanted to tackle the themes of identity and love in a way which made sense to a modern reader but sadly this jarred a bit with the historical setting.
This aside I really enjoyed reading about Brigitta and her journey.