Ultimately, I really enjoyed this book, but it took me a little while to get into it. However, once I got about 100 pages in, I couldn't put it down.

I loved the characters and could completely feel for them. I actually gasped at one point and was mentally pleading, "no, no, no!" in a couple of different spots in the story. I love when I can get that wrapped up in a story!

What kept me from rating this 5 stars, is that the beginning was hard to follow with the internal monologues. I didn't know the characters well enough at that point to know who was "talking" and the author didn't help clarify it. The monologues made me think that the author was trying to hard to find a creative way to introduce the characters and their stories. The other part that I struggled with was the daughter's complacency with losing her baby. That whole back story that she just accepted what her mother told her without question seemed weak to me--a writing cop-out.

Otherwise, I loved the story, the characters, and the ending. I recommend reading it.

BTW:
I won this book as a Goodreads first read--an advanced copy--so, I don't know if all the editorial mistakes were caught before the book went "to market". I didn't let the necessary edits impact my rating/review. ( )

I won this book as my first GoodReads First-Read book and was so excited to read it. But I was sorely disappointed in it. First, the good: the characters were well-written. Their motivation was easily understood. They were not caricatures, only 'good guys' and 'bad guys'- they were multi-faceted. Also, the basic plot was, while not exactly unique, interesting enough to have caught my eye to begin with. And if the writing had been better, the story would have held my interest. Now, the bad: the first thing that started to bother me was that it was written in what I can only describe as 'real-time', as if the action were taking place as you read. As in, 'She takes a step' or 'He turns his head'. That got annoying quickly. Also, the characters would go off on these long, wandering soliloquies to themselves that added very little to the story. I'm always interested in what a character is thinking, but the author just didn't know when to stop. And finally, I'm no prude, but the part about Solange's father and the attempted incest was too much- completely pointless to the story and just put there to titillate. Incest is not entertaining in my book. The whole book was uneven and had too many slow parts. I will not be reading it again or seeking out other books by this author. ( )

I love this author,but not this book.Not for me,could not finish it. ( )

The story was a good idea, sadly the book didn't deliver. I kept reading because I thought surely it must get better, but no. Little character development, uninspiring writing, boring for the most part, no heart or soul in it. ( )

In Krakow in 1931, a baby girl is conceived out of wedlock. The child’s grandmother, a countess, believes that she is protecting her daughter when she claims that the baby didn’t survive. In truth, the countess deposits the infant at a remote convent in the French countryside, leaving her with a great sum of money and in the care of a young governess named Solange. Solange names the baby Amandine, and they form a special bond. But even Solange’s love cannot protect Amandine from the disdain of the abbess and the convent girls. Eventually Solange and Amandine set out for Solange’s childhood home in northern France. But what should have been a two-day journey becomes a years-long odyssey across Occupied France.

I found this novel slow to start. DeBlasi gives us considerable emotional background on Amandine’s grandmother (the countess) and the reasoning she uses to convince herself she is doing the right thing, the ONLY thing she can in these circumstances. The narrator changed from chapter to chapter, and internal dialogue was printed in italics, which I found distracting when used for several pages in a row. However, once the characters were well established and Amandine began to show her own personality as a young child I got caught up in her story.

The shame and secrecy of illegitimacy was a heavy burden in this era, and unfortunately, it was frequently laid on the shoulders of the innocent child. Whether it was because they truly believed it in her best interests, or because they feared the money would be cut off, the abbess and bishop conspired to keep any clue as to her origins from Amandine.

War is not pretty and deBlasi does nothing to soften the horrors of the years – deprivation, cold, hunger, fear. Still, despite no encouragement and downright demands that she forget about her unknown family, the child clings to the hope that her mother will somehow find her and they will be reunited. Amandine also exhibits a rare grace and dignity for one so young. How she manages to hold her head high despite all the terrors visited up on her in the convent and on the run is beyond me. To say that she is treated cruelly is an understatement; one scene in particular is very distressing. And she has an amazing capacity to forgive. She seems to intuit the motives, fears, and dreams of the adults around her and accept their actions as necessary, forgiving them for not being able to see another way.

About half-way through the book I had an inkling of how it might end. I was close. But deBlasi’s ending is both abrupt and inconclusive. This is the author’s only novel; her other works are nonfiction. I wonder if she is working on a sequel to this book.
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