I love historical fiction books! I actually had a phase in elementary school where all I read were historical books. This novel brings fond memories back to me and reminded me of why I love this genre so much.
Gretchen Muller lives in a turbulent time; Munich in the 1930s is a dangerous place to be. But with her uncle Dolf around, she has never had to be afraid. Uncle Dolf is really Adolf Hitler and Gretchen has known him all her life. Her father had died saving Hitler, so Hitler had taken Gretchen, her mother, and her brother under his wing. Under his guidance, Gretchen has learned that Jews are filthy and must be avoided at any cost. But when Reinhardt, Gretchen’s brother, begins to attack an innocent Jewish man, Gretchen intervenes and makes him stop. This one action of hers causes her to change her life forever. When she meets Daniel, a Jewish reporter, she can’t help but be drawn to him, especially when he tells her that her father’s death was no heroic act but was in fact murder. As Gretchen tries to uncover the mystery behind his death, she starts to doubt all the things she has been taught. Where do her loyalties truly lie?
I really really really liked this novel. It has so much interesting factual information about Hitler that I did not know! Gretchen was a character who really grew up throughout the course of this book, which was quite an enjoyable process to observe. The romantic parts were good, too; it wasn’t overly done and it was just interesting enough to be worth reading! I am currently waiting to read the next book in this series; I hope it will live up to the standards of this one!
Happy reading ~