Anthony Doerr – All the Light We Cannot See.

This story takes place during World War II.

Marie- Laure LeBlanc is a French girl who loves to read. She goes blind due to illness at a young age. She lives in Paris with her father who works as senior locksmith at the Museum of Natural History. During a guided trip in the museum, Marie-Laure hears about a legendary diamond that keeps its owner alive no matter what, but brings misfortunes to everyone related to the owner. When they escape from Paris, his dad is chosen to take with him something very important and beautiful that must not be found by the Germans.

Werner Pfenning is a very intelligent German boy who lives in an orphanage with his sister Jutta. Thanks to his desire to learn, his abilities to fix and create things and his appearance he enters to an army school where he’ll learn to fight and then he’ll be sent to war.

Marie-Laure and Werner’s paths will join at Saint-Malo. Both will suffer the war’s effects, will adapt for surviving, will meet new characters that will become important in their lives and will have in their hands the legendary diamond.

For me, this is an unforgettable story. I continued thinking of it long after I finished reading it. I think it was because it’s written in a realistic, moving and emotional way that makes you remember it.

I loved when Marie read “Twenty thousand leagues under the sea” of Jules Verne, also, that she was intelligent, brave and curious, and that her father made her wood models of the places where they lived so she could memorize everything and be safe. I liked Werner’s great abilities and that he met the noble Frederick.

This book made me sad and happy at the same time. Sad because of the atrocities committed during World War II and happy because the main characters didn’t lose faith and hope.

“All the Light We Cannot See” is an excellent book. You must read it.