When I picked up this book for the first time and realized it was nearly 500 pages long, I filled with dread. It was going to take me FOREVER to read this! Plus it was historical fiction which isn’t one of my favorite genres. Digging in, I began to read the story of Anya as a child. I think I was maybe three pages in and I knew already … this book was going to be incredible.
You know when a book literally gives you goosebumps? But in a good way, like, you are just in awe? This book did that for me so many times, I lost count.
Spanning decades of Anya’s life, it follows her life when she is separated from her mother when they must evacuate China. It seems like even though Anya is faced with hardship at many points in her life, she always has some sort of guardian angel looking after her, and she is able to find her way. When she is a little girl, she dreams of her father, who has passed away, and he tells her not to worry, because he is sending someone who will look after her. Throughout the book, you wonder, is THIS that person? Is THIS that person? And then at the end it becomes so clear.
This is an epic story, and you are guaranteed to become immersed in it, completely obsessed with it, and in love with it. I gladly read all of it, and wished for more when it ended. If all books could leave me with this feeling, I would be a happy girl.