sareidle's Reviews (180)

A very moving and important story about the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Once the narrative reaches the invasion in 1940, the book is hard to put down and very engaging. Corrie's Christian faith plays a pivotal role in the story, but I appreciate her honesty in the difficulty of forgiving those who wronged her and her family members. I'm glad I read it and saw the Ten Boom home in person!

This book was assigned in my 3rd grade Advanced Reading class. The subject matter was way too intense for my age, and I was scared to go to sleep because I was afraid that what happened to the main character's family could happen to my own. My mom noticed my distress and requested that I do an independent reading instead.

Unsatisfactory read given how interesting the premise is. I've read better journey stories, such as This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger, and books that paint the atmosphere of the Great Depression better. I liked that this was based on a true story and enjoyed the newspaper clippings throughout the story. The characters were agreeable, but lacked depth and I didn't feel that any of them were truly changed for the better by time they reached California. But, the giraffes were fun to learn about and the story was fairly easy-reading, which I appreciated.

Started listening to this audiobook on a work trip. While the writing was humorous, the length of the book was daunting and seemed excessive for such a lighthearted story.

The plot was slow to get moving and the flashbacks were very sexual. I dreaded returning to the book and eventually got to the point where I realized there were lots of books I actually wanted to read and I shouldn't have to slog through this one.

DFW's writing is provocative and thoughtful - there were several quotes that I wrote down from this book. However, this book is a beast in length and actively fights you while you're reading it. Between the endnotes, nonlinear structure, and dystopian names for years, it was very challenging to follow and didn't seem feasible for me to finish by the end of summer.

My debate coach had this as our summer read. I wasn't interested in the motorcycle journeys and the philosophizing didn't speak to me.

The dialog was very repetitive and unnecessary; how many ways are there to say "Gee Hannah, this food sure is good"? I felt that the writing was dumbed down for the reader and spelled out what was happening rather than letting me put my detective cap on.