The further along I got in this book, the more I loved it.

From the very beginning, where Ellie is dealing with her own thoughts of being a Holocaust descendant while staring at remnants of the Berlin Wall, to the end where she takes a moral and physical stand against someone just wanting to help her people, I was enthralled.

Ellie's a great girl, lost quite literally in time, but she makes do and has an amazing stand. Kai, with his devotion to his sister and others under his care, is hard not to fall in love with. And Mitzi really is the best friend anyone can ask for.

There's magic here, both in the red balloons that whisk people away to safety and in Ellie's view of the world. Her ability to pick apart East Berlin and see the cyclic, interconnected threads of history in a way I wish those around me would see too.

Needless to say, I have at least two people I'm pushing this book at. Maybe more.