I started reading this book last Tuesday evening probably around 7 or so, and the only time I put it down was for a quick walk around the block with my mom and our pup. I was up until close to 2 am reading all 530 pages...it was that riveting and THAT GOOD.

The plot line of this book took a little bit to get used to. It is broken up into thirteen chunks by year, but they jump forward and backward and time a little bit (in the BEST way possible, once you get used to keeping better track of the jumps in your head so everything makes sense). Within those thirteen big chunks, the book has mostly really short chapters that shift focus like from "Leaflets" to "Bombers" to "The Girl" but again, once you get used to hopping around, it starts to really flow beautifully and all the pieces weave together in the most elegant and exquisite way.

I fell in love with the characters-- Marie-Laure is a young, blind girl with a father who absolutely adores her and does everything he can to give her the world, Werner is an orphan who is talented and brilliant and even though he goes to an academy for Hitler Youth, you connect with him, root for him, and always know he is pure-hearted and just trapped in a world he can't escape. Even the supplemental characters are incredible, and you are introduced to them gradually in a way that builds your interest in them and love for them.

Honestly, I've never read another book like this one. It was ten years in the making, and you feel that dedication and thoroughness and attention to detail on every page. There's an Anne Frank correlation due to the time period and young-girl main character similarities, but the way this book was structured and woven together is unlike anything else.