This was another excellent historical fiction from Bradley - this time with a little bit of magic. As the Second World War ramps up, Miriam's Jewish neighborhood is rounded up by the French police and forced to house at the Veledrome before being sent to concentration camps throughout Europe. Miriam is able to escape with a neighbor's baby and rescued by a nun watching the roundup. She is quickly sent away to a Catholic boarding school in the Loire Valley and is forced to answer to the name Marie. The school is close to the Chateau de Chenonceau, the last place of escape to "free" (Vichy) France from the Nazi-occupied zone. Marie inadvertently becomes a guide to the chateau for those looking to leave when the nun who usually ferries them to safety is injured. On her first night she is saved from capture by a mysterious old woman in black, who Marie assumes to be the current owner of the chateau's mother, but is in fact the ghost of Catherine de' Medici, the Queen of France from the fourteenth century. While Catherine wants Miriam to focus on restoring her gardens, Miriam can think of nothing more than finding her young neighbor and escaping to Switzerland where she hopes to reunite with her family. However what Miriam is doing is dangerous and she is not sure who she can trust. She will also begin to question what she believes and begin to realize that not everything is as it seems. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to learn about history and would like to expand their understanding of France during World War II and beyond.

I am not that targeted audience for this book, and as much as I do enjoy middle grade I think that did affect my rating. However I did find this to be interesting, and I didn't ever feel like it was too slow. The author did a great job with pacing and making this an interesting read

Thank you NetGalley and Dial Books for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review. Wow, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley does it again! I was so excited about this book after enjoying “The War That Saved My Life.” She has a riveting way of storytelling that I love as an adult and I know I also would have devoured as a child. Her author’s note showed how much research she put into this book which I always love to see in historical fiction. I found myself looking things up frequently throughout my reading process to learn more about this little slice of WWII history. The only thing I was left wondering was the meaning behind the title…would love to hear from Kimberly why she chose it. Highly recommend this 5 ⭐️

It is clear to see why Bradley is a celebrated author with some impressive awards to her name. The Night War should undoubtedly bring her more accolades. The story takes no time to become action-packed, keeping even an adult reader's attention throughout. The perspective of a Jewish girl in occupied France was a new one amongst the many WWII books out there. I was anxious to hear where Miriam would head next, and the many characters and history lessons throughout didn't disappoint. My next objective is researching more from this point of view, and the many Jews captured during that time, especially children. I found myself googling the Chenonceau Castle, as well as Catherine de Midici to see pictures and learn more. And finally on to read some more Bradley books!

Great story! I have loved all the books she has written! Wonderful story, with some tears as well. Interesting spin on a World War II Holocaust storyline, that kept the reader wondering how the ending would be.