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Every ardent bookworm will devour this powerful novel which celebrates the power of books and libraries to change people's lives. In the darkness of war, the light of books, the novel is about how librarians defied the Nazis. In Paris 1939, Odile Souchet has her dream job at the American Library in Paris, with its thriving community of students, writers and book lovers. It is a dream come true, but when war is declared, the Library is determined to remain open. But then the Nazis invade Paris and everything changes. In Occupied Paris, choices as black and white as the words on a page become a murky shade of grey - choices that will put many on the wrong side of history, and the consequences of which will echo for decades to come. Montana, 1983 and Lily is a lonely teenager desperate to escape small-town America. She grows close to her neighbour Odile, discovering they share the same love of language, but Lily uncovers more about Odile's mysterious past, and discovers a dark secret, closely guarded and long hidden. Based on the true WW2 story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris, this is an unforgettable novel of romance, friendship, family and of heroism found in the quietest of places. Heart-breaking and heart lifting in turn, this is an utterly charming worldwide bestseller. 422pp, paperback.