First Published:
2007.

Genre:
Novel (fictive & drama).

Settings:
First story: Paris, 1942. Sarah lived with her family in Paris. 1942 Was during the second world wor. Since Sarah and her family were jewish, life wasn't easy at the time.
Second story: Paris, told in the time we are living in right now. Julia is married and has a daughter. She works as a journalist.

Theme:
Round up, 1942, Paris. In 1942, 13000 of Jewish people were arrested and brought to the Vel d'Hiv in Paris, wich is a huge sort of stadium. They had to stay there for a couple of days, and were then send to a camp. In the camp the children were seporated from the parents. The parents were send to Auschwitz first, and later on the children as well.

Characterization of the main charactors:
First story: Sarah Starzynski/Dufaure/Rainsferd. Sarah was a ten-year-old girl living in Paris during the round up. Because of her religion she was one of the 13000 jews arrested. She managed to escape the camp before being send to Auschwitz. Starzynski was her first surname, a typical Jewish name. When she escaped the camp, she was raised by farmers with the name Dufaure. When she was 18 years old, she left France for America because everything about France reminded her about the second world war. She married a man, and got the name Rainsferd.
Second story: Julia Jarmond. Julia Jarmond is a journalist in Paris. One day she has to write an article about the Vel d'Hiv in 1942, because of it's 60th memorial coming up. After doing a lot of research, she can't get the round up out of her head. Especially when she finds out that the appartment that she is about to live in, belonged to a Jewish family before the round up. The appartment was owned by her husbands parents. Julia found out that Sarah and her family used to live in the appartment before her husbands parents bought it after they were arrested. She becomes obsessed with Sarah, and has to know what happened to her.

Construction:
Who tells the story:
First story: Told in the third person in a objective way.
Second story: Told in de first person in a subjective way.
Chronological or flashbacks: Both storylines a chronological, though there is a difference of 60 years between the two storylines.

Outline of the story:
First story:
Starts with Sarah hearing loud bonks on the front door. It turned out to be the police who were there to arrest them and sent them to the stadium. Sarah locked her brother in the cupboard and took the key with her. Sarah and here family were send to a camp, were she managed to escape. All she was thinking about was her little brother who was still locked in the cupboard. A family nearby the camp gave her shelter. ( the Dufaure family ). She and mrs Dufaure went to Paris to 'safe' her brother. When she knocks on the door of her old home, a 15-year-old boy who she never saw before opened the door. She ran to the cupboard and with the key she kept with her since the day she was arrested she opened the cupboard. In the cupboard she found her little brother, death. Sarah was further raised by the Dufaure family. When she turned 18 she left France, and accept for one letter to mrs Dufaure, no one heard from her again.

Second story:
Julia is a 40-year-old American woman who lived in France for over 20 years. Julia is a journalist, and when she is assigned to write an article about de big round up in 1942 she becomes obsessed with it. In the meantime she finds out she is pregnant. Her husband isn't to happy about it, and from that moment their relationship is hanging on a silk treath. Julia finds out that there used to be a jewish family living in the appartment that she is about to live in. She wants to know who they were, and what happened to them. Sarah confronts her husband about it. (The appartment belonged to her husbands parents) First, he didn't want to talk about it, until she mentioned the name sarah to him. Julia's main priority becomes finding sarah and letting her know that she isn't forgotten. Julia finds out sarah left France when she was 18, and went to America. She found out Sarah died in a car crash, but managed to contact her son. She met up with Sarah's son and told him everything she know about is mother. He didn't want to hear it, and walked away. 6 Months later he contacts Julia again. He found letters his mother wrote in French. Julia translated them for him. Sarah wrote in the letters how depressed she was and how awful she felt about what happened to her brother. After reading most of it, she found out Sarah's car crash wasn't a accident. Sarah killed herself driving in to a tree, she wanted to be with her little brother again.

Personal Opinion:
This was one of the best books I've ever read. It was exciting, beautiful and dramatic at the same time. I still don't know wether i think the story is beautiful or tragical. Because of the two stories exchanging each other every 2 or 3 pages, I kept being excited, I wanted to keep reading to know what happened. And I think that's what makes it a good book. That you don't want to stop reading, and can't get it out of your mind. I would for sure recomand it.