Review Detail

What an impressive story! I was immediately blown away by the historical accuracy of the story (as far as I can tell) and I loved reading about the real people at the end of the book. It appears that Anne did a lot of research and it’s noticeable throughout the story. From the moment the book started I was hooked to Gretchen and the story didn’t let me go after that.

The Müller family are honored people, because Gretchen’s father sacrificed his life for Hitler. This means that she grew up with ‘uncle Dolf’ as one of his favorites. This doesn’t prevent her brother Reinhard from punishing her for every mistake she makes. Gretchen is scared for him and when he beats her up one day, she flees to a Jewish news reporter she is starting to be friends with. Daniel contacted her after finding a terrible discovery: her father didn’t sacrifice himself, he was killed and then flung in front of Hitler. Together they try to unravel the truth, despite the danger of finding out.

I admired Gretchen. Her mother always seem to favor her brother and he treats her so badly. It was not strange she was terrified of him. He had this cold, plain evil way of looking at things. Emotionless and calculated, those are the two words he has written all over his personality. He doesn’t shy away from violence and Gretchen knows he is not afraid of hurting her. Despite everything, she has courage and it’s brave how she handles situations. I liked that she was determined to find out the truth and how she was able to let Daniel in her life. Growing up with the biggest enemy of the Jews has imprinted her with Jew-hate. It was realistic how she slowly changes the way she looks at them; how she starts to see Daniel as human instead of Jew.

Daniel was great. Fierce and passionate to protect his people. It was good how he deals with Gretchen in the beginning. He understands that she hates him, because she is taught too. He is able to see her good heart and it must have been hard to have patience, but he let her change in her own pace. The growing friendship between them was adorable and so different from the normal relationships, because of their different worlds. Their love story is almost like Romeo & Juliet without the tragic ending. It was perfect to make the story less depressing, even when it didn't make me swoon.

Reading about Anne’s portrayal of Hitler is fascinating. It’s almost impossible to think about him as a human, because his maniac choices make him almost look like a monster. She managed to create a person who makes you understand that people where charmed by him and it still showed the madness that is lurking inside him. The whole story was just clever with a strong plot and a wonderful cast. The ending is satisfying, tying everything that happened in this book while leaving excitement for the next book. I enjoyed this a lot and I can’t wait to see more of this story.