Under the Same Stars

“Never let anyone hide the truth of history and replace it with myth.”

In 1940s Germany, best friends Sophie and Hanna go about their days writing to the Bridegroom Oak in search of love, as the Fuhrer rises to power in the background. In the 1980s, American expat Jenny tries to find herself among the punk rock scene of West Berlin, even as her high society family disapproves. And in spring 2020 NYC, best friends Miles and Chloe investigate a mysterious package from Chloe’s grandmother, that contains strange stories about a hare, a deer, and a hunter. This book is a masterful braiding of three separate plotlines. There are characters that cross over between the stories, and it was a fun puzzle to try to figure out who was who. 

What an unputdownable book! At first glance, it seems like it will be a stressful read - the rise of the Third Reich, East and West Berlin in the 1980s, and COVID lockdowns are each stressful settings on their own; combining them all into one book seems monstrous! But Libba Bray is a great author and I’m glad I trusted her to do her job pulling the reader through the dark times with a message of hope, love, and resistance.