I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

NOW:

Sixteen-year-old Alice is spending the summer in Paris, but she isn’t there for pastries and walks along the Seine. When her grandmother passed away two months ago, she left Alice an apartment in France that no one knew existed. An apartment that has been locked for more than seventy years.

Alice is determined to find out why the apartment was abandoned and why her grandmother never once mentioned the family she left behind when she moved to America after World War II. With the help of Paul, a charming Parisian student, she sets out to uncover the truth. However, the more time she spends digging through the mysteries of the past, the more she realizes there are secrets in the present that her family is still refusing to talk about.

THEN:

Sixteen-year-old Adalyn doesn’t recognize Paris anymore. Everywhere she looks, there are Nazis, and every day brings a new horror of life under the Occupation. When she meets Luc, the dashing and enigmatic leader of a resistance group, Adalyn feels she finally has a chance to fight back.

But keeping up the appearance of being a much-admired socialite while working to undermine the Nazis is more complicated than she could have imagined. As the war goes on, Adalyn finds herself having to make more and more compromises—to her safety, to her reputation, and to her relationships with the people she loves the most.

Short and Sweet

Alice is spending her summer in Paris, and its not to for vacation, when her grandmother passed away she left Alice an abandoned apartment that no one knew about. Alice wants to find out why the apartment was abandoned and why her grandma never mentioned it.

Adalyn doesn’t recognize Paris anymore, its been taken over and everywhere she looks she sees nazis. Adalyn doesn’t know what to do but when she’s given the chance to fight back she takes it. But being a part of the resistance is harder than she thought especially when she has to keep everyone she loves in the dark.

Characters

Alice: Alice is our main character from the present time. Alice was determined to figure out what happened in the past and learn more about her grandmas upbringing. I felt bad for Alice, she felt a lot of pressure from her parents to sell the apartment, but she wanted to keep it in the family.

Adalyn: Adalyn is our main character from the past. Adalyn was smart and willing to do whatever it took to feel like she was making a difference. I loved Adalyn but I was constantly worried for her, the more she worked for the resistance the more risky it would get for her.

Romance

Alice and Paul: Alice and Paul met in a coffee shop, they were cute I like that he was willing to help Alice on her quest to find out more information about Adalyn. There was this one moment where Alice got mad at Paul and I don’t think he deserved it but other than that they were a cute couple.

Adalyn and Luc: Adalyn and Luc met when she found him defacing posters. They both were apart of the resistance and they didn’t see each other a lot because Luc leaves but he comes back occasionally and that’s when they usually see each other. I thought that they were sweet and they did have chemistry.

My Thoughts

~ We get two POVs one from Alice which is during the present and one from Adalyn which is during the past.

~ I felt so bad for Adalyn her best friend was her sister Chloe (Alice’s grandma), but while working for the resistance Adalyn had to keep what she was doing a secret. This ended up putting a rift between the two sisters and eventually they don’t even speak to each other anymore.

~ I like how Alice learned more details from Adalyn’s life from the diary. I liked seeing the diary entries. Alice and Paul learn a lot from things left behind in apartment, which was basically a time capsule.

~ I wish that Alice’s grandma was still alive so that we could learn more about her life during that time.

~ The last chapter for Adalyn was hard for me to read, she did a lot for her country and she was ready to risk it all. I just wish that she didn’t have to seem like she was fraternizing with the enemy.

Overall

The Paper Girl of Paris was an entertaining read. I liked how the past and present intertwined. Following Alice’s adventure to learn more about the past and then reading about Adalyn’s mission to make the future of Paris better was captivating. I thought it was a good read and it held my attention the whole time, I recommend it!