What a beautiful and sad story. This was paced perfectly & the alternating story that takes place in present day with Alex vs Josey’s story back during the war made me want to throw all responsibilities to the side & keep reading to see what happens next. The holocaust was and is such an important part of history. Even though Josey is a fictional character, millions of people experienced what he did in real life. The author explains at the end where she got her inspiration for Josey & those people are indeed very real. Alex’s story is also a heartbreaking one. The heart of the book is about forgiveness, acceptance, & change. The message about judging a person for the worst thing they’ve done vs the good things they’ve done is so important for young readers to understand. Change is possible. It’s possible to be a good person and to have done something bad. Getting to know the character of Alex before discovering what exactly he’s done really helps readers see how good and bad isn’t so black and white. I give this book all of the stars. 

Thank you to NetGalley & Simon & Schuster for the advance copy.