Recently in class we got the opportunity to pick a WWII book. We had three options Code Name Verity, Unbroken and All The LIght We Cannot See. I chose all the light we cannot see because I had heard about it and was drawn to the story.

We were given the book before spring break and had until the end of spring break. I was away and found this an easy read because it interested me so much. When we got back we were told that we had to write a book review about the book we read. Our teacher gave us some great examples such as this New York Times book review on Little Brother a previous book we read.

So with this in mind here is my book review on all the light we cannot see, hope you enjoy!

All The Light We Cannot See

Anthony Doer

Book review: Isobel DeVille

   If you are looking to start reading a book about fear, danger, strength, love and perseverance then you should read All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer. When you first start the book you realize that it is set during World War 2 and about two teenagers. Werner Pfenning is a German soldier who is in a cellar at the Bee Hotel after the threat of Austrians attacking. After a shell hits they are trapped and terrified. Five blocks away is Marie-Laure a blind French girl who is also trapped but in a different way. She is hiding in her attic terrified and hoping she won’t get shot by the Germans. Though this is a lot this is only within the first few chapters and it continues being intense, meaning this is a very intense book. The book continues on by showing some background to each of the characters, it does this by changing perceptive from every character every chapter. This gets confusing in the beginning simply because sometimes you don’t know who’s perspective it is. 

    We go on to see that Marie-Laure lived with her father who is a locksmith for the Museum of Natural history in Paris. When she is six she becomes blind and her father helps support her. He makes a miniature replica of there neighbourhood so she knows where she was going at all times. Then every year for her birthday he makes a puzzle that has something hidden in it that she has to figure out. Later on in the book you will realize this is a crucial aspect of how the story turns out. Doer is able to express Marie-Lauren’s feelings as she wakes up on her birthdays to figure out these puzzles in such a way that it makes you feel as if you are there with them. She then moved to Saint-Malo with her father as the threat of war becomes more evident. Little does she know her father could possibly be carrying the Sea of Flames, a stone that is priceless and yet has the potential to kill everyone you love according to the legend.

     Then there is Werner Pfenning. He grows up in a mining town in Germany as an orphan with his sister Jutta. At one point a finds a radio and decides to fix it. He becomes so intrigued in building and fixing radios that he is soon considered for the Hitler Youth. Once a gets to the Borodin school, which is very intense and difficult mentally and physically he is then sent on his next task. He has gotten so good at fixing radios and transceivers that he is enlisted to help find the enemies. He goes in a journey with a few other Germans tracking the enemies by there broadcasts. 

   As you follow the two characters you see how throughout the book they start becoming more connected. It may be confusing at first but then there characters build up and you can start fitting together the pieces of this in-depth puzzle. Anthony Doer does an amazing job writing this book that always keeps you turning the page. That is why it won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 2015 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. Doer’s amazing book will always have you wondering what is going to happen next and keep you up all night reading.