Plot Overview: Before being forced to leave her home because of the war, Marie Laure LeBlanc, the blind daughter of a museum locksmith who is in possession of a gem men would kill for, lived with her father in Paris. On the other side of the war effort is Werner Pfenning, a orphaned model student of the German Wehrmacht. Throughout the novel, Anthony Doerr uses colorful language in a bleak reality to portray how both characters fight and love through the struggles and losses of war.

Critique: The most compelling aspect of this book was how Doerr was able to portray images through Marie Laure, who is blind. I have never read a book where the main character was blind, and yet I could see what she was feeling. Moreover, all the characters were exceptionally profound and like-able, which captivated me even more.

I was not very disappointed at all. I might say that I was devastated at certain parts, but that was all planned plot, which goes to show how the author successfully captivated the devastating effects of war.

Cover: I thought that the monochrome was very effective capturing the essence of the book, showing just one shade of light that we can see (blue). The town on the cover is Saint-Malo, where Marie Laure stayed after being forced to leave Paris, and where she meets Werner.

Star Rating: 5/5

From Ms. Yang: I really enjoyed this book too, though I felt the gem part could have been so much more! On a completely different note, if what it's like being blind intrigues you, Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist is a funny and insightful YA novel about a non-sighted guy who transitions to a mainstream high school. Later, he has an opportunity to have experimental surgery to give him sight and life becomes even more complicated. It's a quick read, a romance as the title indicates, but will make you think about how you perceive and interpret the world around you.