This was a beautifully written book. Safiyyah lives with her family at the Grand Mosque in Paris during WWII. Her father is the Imam at the mosque, and they and several other families also employed by the mosque have apartments in the mosque complex. This book is based on a true story, during WWII The rector Sidi Abdel-Qadir Ben Ghabrit and others at the Grand Mosque, and members of the congregation helped to smuggle many Jews to safety.

Safiyyah lives with her parents, grandmother, and younger sister. She is obsessed with maps and allowed to wander freely around Paris, often running errands for her parents. The book opens shortly before the Germans invade Paris. Safiyyah and her family are warm and caring of each other, and of others around them. She has a special relationship with her wise and kind grandmother Setti, who helps her get through some of the darker moments of the German occupation. Safiyyah's father is helping Jewish people to escape the nazis, and Safiyyah discovers this, and begins to help him. This was a lovely book about good people helping others during a dark time. Parts of the book were tense and gripping, while other parts emphasized the warmth and kindness of good people.