All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

     If you are looking for a beautifully written World War II novel, this book is for you!  All the Light We Cannot See alternates between the story of Marie-Laure, a young French girl who is blind and Werner, a young German orphan.  Marie-Laure's story begins in Paris where she lives with her father, a master of locks at the Museum of Natural History.  To help Marie-Laure learn to be independent and navigate the streets of Paris, her father builds a miniature replica of their neighborhood.  Marie-Laure studies the model and counts her steps to find her way through town.  She and her father are forced to leave their home in Paris when the Nazis invade.  They move to the small sea-side town of Saint Malo to live with Marie-Laure's great uncle.  It is during her time here that Marie-Laure makes the dangerous decision to help the French resistance by transmitting messages to the allies through her great-uncle's hidden, illegal radio.
     Werner's story begins in a mining town in Germany.  Werner, along with his younger sister, lives in an orphanage.  He is an expert at fixing radios and is quickly noticed by Nazi leaders for his exceptional skills.  Werner joins the Hitler Youth and is tasked with tracking the resistance through radio activity.  This assignment eventually brings him to Saint Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure's intersect.  Though they are on opposite sides of the battle, they find they have much in common.  Both question themselves and struggle with their actions during the war.
     All the Light We Cannot See is a wonderful account of the people of both Germany and France during World War II.  Marie-Laure and Werner are unforgettable characters whose stories make the reader really think about the extraordinary circumstances people find themselves in during war.