I love a story inspired by true events, and this one captured my heart. Told in dual timelines, this tells the tale of Hannah Stone, as she finds a letter left to her from her grandmother, Gigi. We're then taken on an epic journey of discovery, as she takes a leave from her teaching job in Berkshire to travel to the small village of Saint-Michel in France to search for Lucie Laval to pass along a message from her grandmother. We learn of Lucie's dedication to her students and the risks and courage it took during WWII. This is definitely one to check out for all the historical fiction fans, and I love that these true-to-life inspired stories live on in your heart. Thanks so much to Sarah Steele, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this e-arc!

Terrific historical fiction. Fans of the WWII genre should not miss this one, which focuses on a small town in France that saves children from the Nazis. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Good storytelling makes for a good read.

I love historical fiction books based on WWII. And the fact that this as a dual timeline book made it even more appealing. This is an emotional story that shows the sheer determination some women displayed amidst the horrors of the Nazi regime. The characters are well developed and I loved how Hannah discovered clues that revealed the past. I was once again amazed at the way normal people were willing to fight against the atrocities perpetuated by Hitler and his reign of terror.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline Review for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

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A great addition to the WWII fiction genre - this was a unique story that tells how children escaped from the Nazis and the courageous people who helped them do so. I enjoyed the historical portion more than the contemporary, but I still couldn't put it down. It was a heartbreaking historical thriller-like novel, and I really enjoyed it!

Thank you for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a historical WWII fiction novel about a town decided between Vichy France and Nazi France. I enjoyed the details and found that I could picture myself in the story on the bridge. Well written.

Absolutely loved this!!! Beautifully written. I couldn't put the book down. Loved the characters, story and writing style. I enjoyed how the book alternated between Hannah in the present and Lucie during WWII. It wasn't until the end when I really knew who GiGi would turn out to be. Loved the friendship between Lucie, Violette and Renee. It was ingenious how Lucie was able to get the "cherries" across the river to the other side of France. The soldiers never suspected a thing. I can't believe Hannah felt responsible for her brother's death after all these years. It wasn't her fault. She would have known this, if she was able to to talk with her parents about everything that happened. Marie-Louise was definitely full of surprises. I wish she could have spoke with her daughter and let her know the truth about everything. That rabbit dish was something else. All the cherry recipes sounded delicious. There was a bit of mystery to the historical fiction book, as Hannah tried to figure out the relationship between Gigi and Lucie.

Definitely recommend the book. The story was wonderful and my review doesn't do justice for how much I enjoyed this book. Look forward to reading more books by the author. Love the cover of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Hachette Book Group through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Hannah’s life isn’t going the way she wanted. While she loves her teaching job, her mother passed away over a year ago and she broke up with her boyfriend six months after that. She’s depressed and stuck in a rut when she finds a letter her grandmother, Gigi, sent her, asking her to go to France and find a woman named Lucie, and tell her she was sorry for what happened. This leads Hannah to the lovely town of Saint-Michel and into the history of the resistance in France during World War II. As she discovers more about Lucie’s actions during the war, the story is juxtaposed with flashbacks of Lucie, Renee, and Violette’s lives, as they fight against the German occupiers who have split their town in half (literally, as the town was on the demarcation line between free and occupied France). Slowly, Hannah unravels the mystery of Lucie and her friends, identifies her grandmother, and finds herself in the process.

I loved this book. I can’t say enough good things about it. I tend to be rather critical of World War II historical fiction, especially French resistance-based books since I’ve read a lot of them at this point. The Schoolteacher of Saint-Michel was a delight from beginning to end. In historical fiction I’m often not a huge fan of a present-day story mixed with flashbacks because the present-day story tends to be less interesting to me. But Hannah was a perfect character—she was so relatable, and as you learn more of her story and how she has (or has not) dealt with the difficult parts of her family’s past, you start to sympathize with her even more. Probably about halfway through the book, I identified the person I thought would be Hannah’s grandmother in this story, but that didn’t take away any of my enjoyment of it.

This is one of the great ones. Read this and fall in love with Hannah, Lucie, Sylvie, Violette, Suzette, Renee, and Marie-Louise—and their strength, be it during the Second World War or present-day France.

The Schoolteacher of Saint-Michel is historical fiction, told in a dual timeline format. In 1942, a schoolteacher, Lucie, helps Jewish children escape across the line into free France. In 2022, Hannah journeys to Saint-Michel in search of Lucie in an effort to fulfill her late grandmother Gigi's last request.

Sarah Steele has woven together a fiction based on several elements of history and created characters, who are well defined and multi-dimensional. The real history is dramatic enough--Nazis billeted in people's homes, young Jewish children escaping from Vichy France to free France in an effort to escape to England, and a community of women, who worked together to save lives. At the heart of this novel is a mystery: where does Gigi fit into this story? I read into the late night in an effort to finish reading Steele's novel.

This novel captures the ruthlessness of the Nazi occupiers, as well the complexity of the villagers. Some people are collaborators, while others risk their lives to resist the Nazis and save lives, even as they sacrifice their own lives. I want to thank the author and the publisher, Mobius Books, for providing me with this ARC to read and review. My comments are my own honest opinion after reading this novel. Thank you also to NetGalley for introducing me to this author, Sarah Steele.