The Room On Rue Amélie.

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                     CONTAINS SPOILERS

When newlywed Ruby Henderson Benoit arrives in Paris in 1939 with her French husband Marcel, she imagines strolling arm in arm along the grand boulevards, awash in the golden afternoon light. But war is looming on the horizon, and as France falls to the Nazis, her marriage begins to splinter, too.
Charlotte Dacher is eleven when the Germans roll into the French capital, their sinister swastika flags snapping in the breeze. After the Jewish restrictions take effect and Jews are ordered to wear the yellow star, Charlotte can’t imagine things getting much worse. But then the mass deportations begin, and her life is ripped forever apart. 

Thomas Clarke joins the British Royal Air Force to protect his country, but when his beloved mother dies in a German bombing during the waning days of the Blitz, he wonders if he’s really making a difference. Then he finds himself in Paris, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, and he discovers a new reason to keep fighting—and an unexpected road home. 

When fate brings them together, Ruby, Charlotte, and Thomas must summon the courage to defy the Nazis—and to open their own broken hearts—as they fight to survive.

 

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 Touching. A haunting story about love, sacrifice, and courage. 

World War II historical fiction is one of my favorites. There is something about that time that I find so fascinating. It’s tragic, but at the same time, impossible to pull away. Through the past couple of years, I have read few books that dealt with resistance. Those are my favorites types of stories, mainly when they feature strong women. The Room on Rue Amélie was that type of story. However, it didn’t just feature strong women but also men who had put their own lives at risk. When both Ruby and Charlotte start to work for the resistance, not a day goes by where I think that they will get discovered. From the book, the two of them were my favorites. Ruby and Charlotte are both the strongest women I know, with everything they had gone through and how many they helped in the end. Both saved the lives of so many pilots. They put their own lives at risk; to help them. Every time I wonder if this would be the time that they get caught. 

Marcel. I wanted to like him, and in the beginning, when he and Ruby met, I did. I believe that maybe if they didn’t rush into marriage, their marriage wouldn’t fall apart. I wondered if the war changed Marcel, or maybe Ruby loved him more than he loved her. I was not too fond of how he treated her, as if he stopped caring once they got married. I was hoping that Ruby would see for the man that he was and leave him. Thomas, on the other hand, how could you not love him? I could see the spark between the two of them from the moment that she helped him. Thomas cared about her and her fears and worries. He treated her the way that she should be treated. I hoped that the war would end soon so that the two could be reunited with each other. I was hoping that they would be. 

I loved Charlotte. I loved how determined she was and how much she wanted to help her country. From the beginning of the book to the end, she went through the most change. I believe that the war made Charlotte grow up faster than she should have. I am glad that she had Ruby by her side; I loved the bond that the two of them established with one another. Even though Ruby tries to keep her from resistance, she never gave up. Charlotte was determined for a chance to help her country. I was in Paris when I was around 3; so, I don’t remember much. The book's descriptions made me wish I could go back so that I could remember it this time around. The Room on Rue Amélie was the first book that I have read by Kristin Harmel , but she had been on my reading list for a while. I have a feeling that she’s going to be an author I’m going to fall in love with. I cannot wait for a chance to discover the rest of her adventures.