99. All the Beautiful Things. Katrina Nannestad. 2024. [October 30] 352 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, mg historical, mg fiction, world war II]
First sentence: ‘Come on, Anna! Take a swing at me!’ Udo bounces around on the landing at the top of the stairs. The floorboards squeak and creak beneath the balls of his feet.
Premise/plot: All the Beautiful Things by Katrina Nannestad is historical fiction set in Germany during the second world war.
That isn’t much of a summary. YET, this one is so wonderful, so compelling, so moving, and yes, beautiful, that words do not do it justice…at all. No matter what I say–short or long–it won’t capture what this book IS and how it makes one feel.
Anna has a younger sister, Eva, whom she must hide from the Nazis. Eva is too “different” mentally, intellectually, to be a part of the ideal race. She has developmental needs which would make her expendable, let’s say. But hiding comes with a cost….
Again, I can’t do this book justice.
My thoughts: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE love this one. It is beautiful. It is heartbreaking. It reminds me–emotionally speaking–of The Book Thief. The narrative, the characterization, the story, everything was practically perfect in every way. This may not be a super-easy story being set during World WAR II, but it is a story that is worth it.
© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky’s Book Reviews
