Note: Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. I greatly appreciate authors who give their work out in order to receive feedback.

This is a wonderful book about the brave individuals who continued to keep books safe while Poland was occupied by the Nazis in WWII. While you may think people in the middle of a war, especially the Jewish individuals, would have other things to concentrate on (lack of food, the horrid living conditions, being murdered on the streets, etc.) there's still something inherently human about wanting to escape your world through the pages of a book. And, because of these individuals in this book, others were able to continue to share their small libraries even during the worst of times.

There are some dark, dark moments in this book, which makes sense based on the content the author is focusing on -- but it is written so well that you'll be crying but wanting to move forward with the story. The character development is wonderful. Ugh! I don't have enough words to fully articulate how well this is written and how captivating it is, but rest assured I finished this one in a single sitting.

Definitely worth a read if you enjoy historical fiction, especially if you're interested in "based on true stories" from WWII.