Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan

If I'd known this book was yet another WWII book, I probably would have steered clear. I'm so tired of WWII books sometimes. But, every time I read one, it ends up being so excellent. This one did not disappoint. It was set during WWII, but didn't end up being about too much of WWII, because it was from the perspective of three children in different locations around the world. This was a really wonderful middle-grade book that is historical fiction, but just a little bit unreal with a little bit of a fairy tale thrown in. The book starts with a boy named Otto, who is given a magical harmonica when he is lost in the woods in Germany. Later, three other children, Friedrich, Mike, and Ivy, get the same harmonica and it helps them each to move forward and do hard things.

The book is basically divided into thirds, each third telling one of the children's stories with the harmonica. Friedrich lives in Germany right before WWII, and has a birthmark that covers most of his face and makes him a target for bullies, but he soon has bigger problems when his father is taken to Dachau for protesting Hitler's rule. Mike and his brother Frankie live in an orphanage in Pennsylvania, and they are bound and determined to stick together even when it seems unlikely anyone will take them. And Ivy lives with her family in California as farm workers, and when they move to a new town, she has to work hard to try and save their new home. Each story was completely different from the others, and each child was so endearing and easy to love that it was hard to put it down and leave them. Each story ended right at the moment when it seemed like all hope was lost for that kid, but you find out at the very end what happens to them and how all of their stories come together at the end. SPOILER ALERT: Part of me wants to say that the ending seemed a little too convenient (how they all ended up being together at the end) but then again, it isn't that convenient. It really could have worked that way, especially when you're thinking about a huge group of people like an orchestra.

This story was extremely engaging and I loved the characters (although a few of the problems could have been fixed a lot more easily than the book dragged them out to be, like Mike's adoption dilemma was clearly just a communication error). This book was such a great audiobook though. The book was a lot about music--each character was really interested in music, and there were lots of references to songs and mentions of the character playing, and in the audiobook, they would always play the song for you when it was mentioned. I really enjoyed that, and it totally made the experience fuller and richer. I can't imagine that reading it would be the same--this definitely begs to be listened to. I thoroughly enjoyed this and would definitely listen to it again.