So I will begin by saying that the writing was stunning. And I had no problems with it at all. It was truly easy to get lost in this story, easy to fall in love with the broken main girl. I have loved many books by this author already, and I knew I would enjoy this one too. And I'm thrilled that I loved it so much. Despite all the pain.
And there was a lot of pain from reading this book. Because it was so honest and real and that is the most heartbreaking thing. As most of what happened in this book has happened in real life too. And World War II was not that long ago at all. This book take place right after the war ended, with the main girl having just left Berlin and arrives in New York. At first this book is told from the point of views of Eva and Inge. Eva in New York in 1946, Inge in Berlin in 1945. They seem like two different girls. Until they start to become more and more alike and we learn that Eva is Inge. And it's her story we are reading, from two different times, until it blends into just the one time. And oh, how much I loved this story. It was all kinds of awful and tragic. And so good. I don't think I could have loved this book more. It made me feel everything.
This book is the story of Inge and Eva. The same person, at different times in her life. She was Inge back in Berlin, a German girl with important parents during the World War II. With her father being a doctor at a camp. With Inge not really knowing what was going on with the world. Not caring, just living her life. Until her life changes. The war ends, German has lost. And she learns the truth about everything. And it hurt for her. A lot. But Inge needed that. She needed to know how things were, what her father truly did then.
That is how Inge started changing. How she started to become Eva. She travels a lot, for months, with her friend Annemarie. She sees what happened to the Jews, to the people taken prisoners by the Nazis. She had lived such a rich, sheltered life. And she had so much to learn. How to be a better person. And I loved that about this story. Because Eva does change. And I loved her as a person. I loved how she was broken but healing a little too. I loved her changes. I loved how she cared for people. Eva was amazing.
We see about her life in Berlin. But we see more about her new life in New York. She went there because of a deal with the Americans. But she had her own plan for justice. To capture her father, who escaped after the war. To kill him. We learned so much about all the awful things that he did back then. All of the experiments he did on innocent people. We learn about other people hunting him too. It is a somewhat dangerous story. I enjoyed it so. This book was just so great. And I have trouble sharing all my thoughts.
I know I'm writing too much about this book. And not nearly enough. There was so much I loved about it. Eva and Jake together. Eva learning about her past and her truth. All the confusing parts were exciting. There were so many things to learn in this book. Things that happened during the war. But more about what happened after the war ended. Like with Inge's family. Which was pretty sad to read about. I feel like this was an important book. But it wasn't all about the war either. It was fully personal as well. I loved that.
There was one scene that will stay with me for a long time, I think. Because it was truly horrible and I hated it. Yet it was so important too and written well, and I loved it as well. But oh, it was awful. It was a moment that ruined Inge's friend, Annemarie. When she was raped by Soviet men, with Inge upstairs hearing everything. It was truly gruesome. It shaped the whole book, with Inge and her guilt, with how she felt she could have stopped it from happening. With how she felt she needed to take care of Annemarie.
It truly was the scene that sticks most out to me. So awful, but so important. Annemarie also got a big head injury from this. And that ruined her life a whole lot. She changed, became different. She needed someone to take care of her. And Inge did that. Eva did that. Annemarie became Brigit. A girl hurt and damaged by the war. With Eva taking care of her the best that she could. A little spoilers. Brigit gets a surgery later; she changes again. This time into a person I couldn't stand. It hurt. Was probably the best.
One of my favorite characters was Jake. The boy assigned to be Eva's friend in New York, to help her learn the city. They spend a lot of time together and slowly becomes something more. Their romance was such a light in this book. And I loved it to pieces. He was all over the place. Knew everyone. And he was amazing. I loved how he cared for Eva, how he treated her too. He was the sweetest. Sigh. I also liked him mother, haha. And oh. All the other characters in this book. Gosh. They were all written so very well.
And I adored them all to pieces. Especially reading at the end of the book that most of the women from Powell House were real. In this book, they took such good care of Eva and Brigit. And they were so kind of lovely. And yeah. The women in this book were epic. Then there were the men in shiny shoes. I wasn't sure what to think about them. It was creepy at times. Yet at other times I was glad they were there, in the shadows, keeping watch. This book was filled with interesting and diverse people. I loved that very much.
There was so much going on in this book. So much I wish to talk about, so much I am not able to talk about. It was such a stunning story. It was full of pain. It was full of danger, even. A thriller at times. And I loved that, because it was all kinds of exciting. The ending was a little bittersweet. But so very good and I am pleased about that. I cannot wait to read more books from Sharon. I hope she writes more about this time period. It was painful and hurtful to read about. But I loved it so very much. And I would read more.
Bluebird was a powerful story about our history. A story of grief and pain and hope. A little most needed romance. Some much needed new friendships that were amazing to read about. It was an important book to read. And I'm so glad that I read it and loved it. Reading books about that time in our life is painful. But I love reading them too. Because I feel that it is important to know our history. To know what happened to people back then. As it was gruesome. Bluebird is a book that everyone should read. It was so very good.
