Forgotten Friday: Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

This meme is about books that have been pushed aside while others have gone viral and made into movies. It can be old books, new books, any book that never got its (or enough) time  in the spot light.

This book came to me in college. I was dreading reading it because I knew that it was going to be sad (obviously, it's a holocaust book).  It was really sad and a bit horrifying, but not just because of the horrible things that happened to Jews but how much this book illustrates the ignorance of people today that still don't know the gravity of the entire situation. The book actually follows the points-of-view of Sarah (holocaust victim) and Julia who spends her time researching Sarah's life. Julia's point-of-view tells the story of family, love, and history. It's a great read, and maybe you'll learn something. If I haven't sold you on this novel, maybe the synopsis below will.

Synopsis: Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.

Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.