Her Book Self

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay tells the alternating story of modern day journalist Julia Jarmond and a young French girl Sarah Starzynski who lived in Paris in 1942.  Julia is researching the events surrounding the Vélodrome d’Hiver, more commonly known as the Vel' d' Hiv, when Jewish citizens were rounded up by the French police to be sent to concentration camps.  Sarah belonged to one of the many families taken from their homes, but thinking she would only be gone a few hours, she secreted her younger brother in a hidden room before leaving her home. Clinging to the key with which she locked him in, Sarah's story unfolds between Julia's as the journalist finds a tie between her own family and the Jewish people that were pulled from their homes. 

I don't want to give away too much of this story so I will keep this review rather brief.  Though I liked it, I didn't love the book as much as I wanted to.  Perhaps I had some over hyped expectations from people that told me I would adore it, or perhaps I wasn't mentally prepared for a tear-jerker.  I found myself extremely ensconced in Sarah's story but less so in Julia's narrative.  Nevertheless, what I most appreciated in this book was the information about the Vel' d'Hiv and the atrocities committed by the French police.  Though I like to think I learned a lot in school about World War II, this was entirely new and shocking information for me to read.  For that reason alone, I do find myself recommending Sarah's Key to others. 

And it also leads me to ask, what fiction book(s) do you consider a must-read for educational content alone?  Even if you weren't thrilled with the story, is there a title that you consider important because of what you learned from it?