"Sarah's Key," by Tatiana de Rosnay

There are very few books that can truly give a perspective on such a big event like the Holocaust. Sarah's Key is one of those few books. The 2 points of views that eventually connect makes it very satisfying to read. It's one of those books that you don't feel the need to power through. Sarah’s Key is the author, Tatiana de Rosnay’s most famous book. Just like the main character in the story Tatiana is half American and half French and resides in Paris. According to an article by Gotham Gal, although Tatiana is not Jewish she felt she had to tell the story after she first heard about the horrors of the Vel d’Hiv roundup which took place in the 1940s.

The book starts off in the 1940s where we meet Sarah as a little girl being rounded up by the French police. We then meet Julia who is a present day reporter writing an article about the Vel d’Hiv roundup. Every chapter switched from Sarah's perspective to Julia's perspective until eventually both storylines connected after Julia realizes she has a connection to this roundup. Julia goes far out of her way to discover more about this story. She starts off as someone who is just curious and wants to learn more about the history of the roundup. However, when she realizes she may have a connection to it she pounces on it and won't let it go. She travels far away to other places just to learn more. That's not the only conflict however, Julia is also pregnant with a girl. This causes her to have to stay strong throughout the story as she deals with many highs and lows.

As a Jew this book stood out to me. Even though sometimes it can be sad to learn about the horrors my ancestors went through, I always wanted to learn more about the Holocaust. This is why when I first opened Sarah's Key and saw it was about the Vel d’Hiv roundup, I knew I was going to be intrigued. And I was, I never knew much about the Vel d’Hiv other than the fact it was in France. So that's another reason I was engaged in this book. I think if you want to learn more about the Holocaust or simply want a good emotional journey, this is the right book for you. However,  if history often bores you then maybe this book isn't exactly a perfect fit. Overall I'm glad this book got assigned for outside reading as I feel like I learned a lot. Sarah’s Key is a historic journey with an emotional twist, what's not to like about it?