Haunting. I was completely obsessed with the story and the characters while I was reading this. The novel captures the WWII the era -- the fear, the uncertainty, the relentless and unbelievable brutality -- and the lives of common people just...brilliantly. An incredibly written book, overall, that is worth a read for just about anyone.That said, I had a hard time rating this, vacillating between 4 and 5 stars. I eventually choose 4.5 stars, only because I felt that the inner lives of the main characters, Anna and Callum, were not as well-developed as some of the supporting characters. This detracted from my enjoyment of the novel slightly, particularly at the ending. Still, an amazing and sad book; reading this completely broke my heart. 4.5 stars = A grade.