The Paper Girl of Paris

Life is so weird. Just when you think you understand something, you realize it’s way more complicated than you ever could have imagined.

For years, we lingered on the bank of the river, scared to dip our toes in the water - but how do you cross to the other side that way? There's only one way to do it, and we've finally figured it out. We have to hold each other's hands and wade into the deep.

Things never get any easier during wartime. Either the war ends or life gets worse.

In this upside-down world, we anchor each other to the ground.

But I want you to know, when you’re doing your work, and you feel like you’re all alone . . . I know who you really are, Adalyn. And no matter where I may be, know that if I am breathing, then I am thinking of you.

Did you make it here okay?” “The trains ran smoothly.

Did you make it here okay? The trains ran smoothly, Luc. The trains ran smoothly.

Here is the thing that is true about fire: it creates power, but it also creates destruction. My fire has fueled many victories, but it has destroyed what I had with the person I love most in the world. My fire had caused me much pain but I can't put it out. I don't want to.

Where do you draw the line between doing what is right and doing what you must to survive?

What I just said is impossible, you see, for three reasons. A German has no heart. A Jew eats no pork. And at nine twenty p.m., everyone is home listening to the BBC.

Chloe can be somewhat blind to reality, too; she forgets that our parents are also trying to survive this war, in their own way.

My friends and I can spot a random person in the background of an Instagram photo and figure out their name, age, school, and whether or not they're dating anybody in a matter of minutes.

To meet someone outside my own family who shares my views... it's like being lost at sea and finally spotting land on the horizon.