99. All the Beautiful Things

99. All the Beautiful Things. Katrina Nannestad. 2024. [October 30] 352 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, mg historical, mg fiction, world war II]

First sentence: 'Come on, Anna! Take a swing at me!' Udo bounces around on the landing at the top of the stairs. The floorboards squeak and creak beneath the balls of his feet.

Premise/plot: All the Beautiful Things by Katrina Nannestad is historical fiction set in Germany during the second world war. 

That isn't much of a summary. YET, this one is so wonderful, so compelling, so moving, and yes, beautiful, that words do not do it justice...at all. No matter what I say--short or long--it won't capture what this book IS and how it makes one feel.

 Anna has a younger sister, Eva, whom she must hide from the Nazis. Eva is too "different" mentally, intellectually, to be a part of the ideal race. She has developmental needs which would make her expendable, let's say. But hiding comes with a cost....

Again, I can't do this book justice. 

My thoughts: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE love this one. It is beautiful. It is heartbreaking. It reminds me--emotionally speaking--of The Book Thief. The narrative, the characterization, the story, everything was practically perfect in every way. This may not be a super-easy story being set during World WAR II, but it is a story that is worth it.

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews