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The Paper Girl of Paris by Jordyn Taylor

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Summary:

Sixteen-year-old Alice is spending the summer in Paris, but she isn’t there for pastries and walks along the Seine. When her grandmother passed away two months ago, she left Alice an apartment in France that no one knew existed. An apartment that has been locked for more than seventy years.

Alice is determined to find out why the apartment was abandoned and why her grandmother never once mentioned the family she left behind when she moved to America after World War II. With the help of Paul, a charming Parisian student, she sets out to uncover the truth. However, the more time she spends digging through the mysteries of the past, the more she realizes there are secrets in the present that her family is still refusing to talk about. (Goodreads)

Thoughts:

The Paper Girl of Paris by Jordyn Taylor is set in 1939 with Adalyn Bonhomme and Alice Prewitt in present day. While Adalyn lives during the “Occupation” of France, Alice Prewitt is trying to solve a troubling mystery. This book capture's themes of mystery, grief, betrayal, and a sense of belonging. This book reminded me of D-day by Alan Gratz because of the location both the books were set in. They both had heavily focused features on the Allies, French resistance/ Maquis, and survival.

The book was engaging, I enjoyed the pacing, and characters. Each chapter, there is constantly new information on Adalyn’s life. There is enough content within the book that makes the plot twists shocking and relevant. The sense of secrecy makes the reader fear for the characters, not to mention the danger they were succumbed to. In the beginning, it starts with Adalyn delivering messages and spreading tracts around Paris. As the plot progresses, everything seems more menacing since you are rooting for the characters.

The book features a dual point of view, switching from Alice and Adalyn. The reader is pulled along two-intertwined journeys. Pacing was easy to follow and the transitions between Alice and Adalyn blended well together. For example, when Alice was deciphering Adalyn’s diary, Jordyn Taylor would put each entry into Alice’s chapter. When it ended on May 30, 1944, Adalyn’s chapter would start on May 31,1944. Writing the chapters like this made the events easy to understand.

In the beginning, when other resistance members were introduced, everyone instantly clicked. It was heart-warming since they spent a few years creating a bond and a sense of belonging. I liked how Pierre-Henri, Marcel, Luc, Arnaud, and Adalyn’s dynamic worked well together. They all had one thing in common, they hated the Germans and wanted to retaliate during the “Occupation.” Thus, they became resistance members. Luc had strong leadership qualities; Arnaud always had an uplifting mood and frequently encouraged the group members. Pierre-Henri was more immature but understood feelings well, Marcel was brave, and Adalyn was calculative. During World War II, these were Adalyn’s closest companions. They also changed the course of her life.

I loved how Jordyn Taylor wrote the more serious and heartbreaking scenes. She made it seem real, and the characters have such likeable traits that it is truly devastating when an event goes awry. The climax was shocking, and it was not rushed. Before the climax, there was a feeling of security, but then it was a trick. This made it more impactful, intriguing, and memorable. The last 100 pages went by quickly due to Adalyn’s goal. Alices grandmother owned an apartment in France, which was introduced in the beginning, she used lots of descriptive factors which made it easy to visualize.

I wished the reader could see the climax from Luc’s view since Adalyn had a unique perspective. It would have made more sense and filled the gap where the reader has no idea what happened next. From the paragraph above, I mentioned Jordyn Taylor’s writing style. When she started talking about Alice’s “purple converses” which were them only pair of shoes she owned or the “text message bubble” that she used when Alice and Paul would text eachother, it was hard to read/cringy. Personally, I do not like reading books that contain present day slang, apps, or other “quirky” components. The rest of the book was such an awesome read and I enjoyed learning something new. I have read numerous books related to the World Wars, but Adalyns story was a new perspective for me. Like Adalyn says, delivering small pieces of paper with the French Resistance tacts seemed minuscule, but it helped thousands of people in the end.

This was one of my favourite reads this year, and I give it a 5/5. The characters were beautifully written and the idea of this novel with the decoding of Adalyns diary, was new to me. The concept of present-day mystery and the hardships of war usually are not portrayed well in books. Jordyn Taylor portrayed it well with the events lining up, showing the reader Adalyns diary pages, and the suspense.

Reviewed by Katie Yee

December 10, 2024