It's undeniable: the writing of this book is as beautiful as its gorgeous cover. I read this in one sitting, and it felt so poetic at times.

I don't think this is a perspective I've read from before when it comes to WW2 literature, and on the one hand I found that valuable, but on the other hand I had some trouble empathizing at times, knowing the horrors of the Holocaust and seeing the realities of the main character's lives. Which is not to say that they didn't face hardships, but still, it was a little hard to care about their ability to listen to jazz music, of all things, knowing there were people being brutally murdered.

I had honestly expected this book to be set before the war, but while half of it was, the second half was set during the war, and I just kept worrying about all the things happening in the background, rather than the actual story.

I had an especially hard time empathizing with Geli, as the daughter of an officer, not just because of who her father was, but mainly because she acted really privileged throughout most of the book. Because of this, the book impacted me less emotionally than it otherwise would have.

I found Renate to be a much more interesting character, and I would have loved to see her fleshed out a little more instead. I felt like her relationship with Charlie was a little rushed, I was actually taken by surprise when they first kissed because I hadn't seen it coming and I didn't feel like there was much of a build-up, and I would have rooted for them more when there had been.

Overall, I'm left with some mixed feelings surrounding this book, which I'm sad about, because I'd highly anticipated it and I genuinely did think it was beautifully written.