Sarah's Key (Blog #3)

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay reveals connections that occurred between Julia Jarmond, a journalist from Boston, and Sarah Starzynski, a young girl who was torn away from her brother during the Vélodrome d'Hiver roundup.

Julia has lived in France for many years. She is married to Bertrand, and has a daughter named Zoë. She works for a man named Joshua as a journalist for a magazine written for Americans in France. Aside from her bothersome coworker, Alessandra, she enjoys her job and working for Joshua. Her latest assignment is to write an article informing readers about the events of the Vel d’Hiv roundup. She is both excited and nervous to be writing about a subject that she has barely heard of. Life at home is very different than her career. Bertrand, her husband, is very charming and loving, but lately she has been noticing a different side of him that she has never seen before. He is arrogant, and treats her with disrespect. He cares more about his new architecture project than he does about his own wife. Julia is both upset and confused with her husband’s recent actions.

Sarah, a 10-year-old girl who has lived in Paris her entire life, is beginning to notice the dangers of being a Jew in the 1940’s. Early one morning, when the sun wasn’t up yet, two men pounded on her door. “Open up!” they yelled. She made her way to her mother’s bedroom, and as Sarah explained what was happening, her appearance instantly transformed from groggy to alert, her face pale with fear. “Open up! It’s the police!” they screamed, once again. The two men were both French police, who escorted them to a bus. They were then taken to the Vélodrome d'Hiver, close to the Eiffel Tower. The conditions were terrible: extreme heat, no bathrooms, and very little very water and food. Sarah is very naïve, and she had no idea what to expect.

I am curious to see how these two characters will connect throughout the story, and to see what characteristics they have in common.