Ursula Hildesheim is a normal 13 year-old girl, whiling away her time with chores, stealing sweets from the village shop and trying to avoid being bullied by others from her school, all while clinging to her favourite brother, Aton. It’s a pretty typical childhood, and one we probably all recognise. (Well, except for the stealing sweets part, of course).
Except for one thing. It’s Austria, 1944. Ursula’s life is about to be turned upside-down. Just one man’s death, a Russian escape from the nearby prison camp, shot by her brother, has the power to change everything. A vast wave of problems hits, with affairs and disappearances becoming the norm. Ursula must struggle to keep her head above water and protect all those she cares about. It isn’t easy. But it is the only thing to do.
This book looked so promising, full of espionage, excitement and bravery. But for some reason I just didn’t enjoy it. Ursula was a character I never really managed to connect to or identify with. She seemed too weak and scared all the time, such as in the way she constantly submitted to her brother. The scenes with action in were written in a way that seemed almost like a factual account, rather than a story that was trying to get you caught up in the moment.
The hunt for Schosi was enjoyable to read, and I was gripped to know what would happen next – he was so sweet and my favourite character. It was the best part of the book for me, since through the rest I felt like it was moving too slowly, and we were just waiting for something to happen. It’s not that it was snore-inducing, or bad writing, there was just nothing memorable, and I’d built up quite high expectations. It didn’t make me feel anything, and in a book about these kind of events, feeling is key.
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