Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Hands down, this should be the next book you read.

Did you know that during the Holocaust, thousands of French Jewish citizens were rounded up by French (not German) authorities, held in a stadium for a few days in inhumane conditions, and then shipped to concentration camps? That the men were separated immediately from the women and children? That the children then were separated from their mothers? They weren't sent to be held until further notice, they were sent to be executed. No work camp...just death.

Me neither.

This book is interesting enough because it educates you about a subject that, in my opinion, has mostly been hidden from public knowledge in the past. Sure, materials about it exist (See Wikipedia page here) but, much like the Armenian Holocaust, it's not something most people learn about in school. Heck, maybe it was just the schools I went to, but no one I've talked to knew anything about this particular event. Just quite interesting to me, the events from the past that get sort of glazed over in favor of exploring other horrors.

Anyway, the book is fiction, so it's definitely not an entirely accurate historical account, but as I understand it it sticks to the facts as much as possible. It's told from two points of view - one of a little girl named Sarah who is part of the roundup in 1942, and one of a female journalist in present day who discovers Sarah's particularly tragic story.

Honestly the best book I've read in a while.

I mean...

I could make excuses but they would take a long time to type so I'll just admit I'm a bad blogger and leave it at this. I'll give you the short and sweet of the books I didn't blog, and honestly, unless they were included in the list on the side of my blog, I've forgotten that I read them and will not be telling you about them...sorry :-(

1. A million miles in a thousand years by Donald Miller - I believe this is the newest book by the author of Blue Like Jazz (he's a pretty famous author of Christian books) but this one is notably not about themes of Christianity, etc. The essential premise of this work of non-fiction is that it should be your mission to make the story of your life one worth telling. It's all about the author's own self-exploration of whether or not his own life meets that criteria. Interesting but not so interesting that I couldn't put it down.
2. To Have and to Hold by Jane Green - Listened to this on tape as I drove from Ohio to Maryland. Definitely kept my attention. About a woman whose husband cheats on her, she knows he cheats on her. Basically the idea of whether a cheating husband who you love is better than no husband at all. Interesting and moderately trashy.
3. Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland - In the vein of The Girl with the Pearl Earring, a book about the story behind a painting. Great book, very interesting read.
4. Born Round by Frank Bruni - LOVE. Love anything about food, honestly, but especially love this as it's the (true) story of Bruni's life from childhood, his lifelong struggle with his weight, his identity, his sexuality, etc. All intertwined, he's a hilarious and introspective author. AND while I was reading it I tweeted at him and he tweeted me back!! Therefore even if I had hated the book in reality I would have loved it from then on. But really, good reading.
5. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - Conclusion of the Hunger Games series. Awesome. Downloaded exactly at midnight on my Kindle the day it was released, read it very quickly after that. Very good. Have you read the Hunger Games series yet? What are you waiting for?!?
6. Sammy's Hill by Kristin Gore - Meh. Basically trashy gossip-rag literature set on Capitol Hill. Only interesting because it was written by the daughter of former vice prez Al Gore so you have to wonder if it was (way) more accurate than if it were written by anyone else. As a former Congressional intern, it was an interesting read and quite accurate when it talks about the social life of Capitol Hill staffers, but let's be real, the ending could be seen roughly 20 pages into the book.

What else have I read since the above books? I promise that if I could remember, I'd tell you. I re-read Harry Potter books 1, 2, 3 and 7 in anticipation of the release of Deathly Hallows Part 1. Prior to that...you know, I know I was reading something good because I can remember the bookmark I was using while I was reading it, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was. I hopefully will remember soon and then will tell you what it was. Hopefully.