The Paper Girl of Paris

by Jordyn Taylor

"A quick read that history lovers will easily devour."—Teen Vogue

"Get ready to be transported to Paris in Taylor's incredible debut novel."—Seventeen, Editor's Choice

Code Name Verity meets Jennifer Donnelly’s Revolution in this gripping debut novel.

NOW:

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.

THEN:

Sixteen-year-old Adalyn doesn’t recognize Paris anymore. Everywhere she looks, there are Nazis, and every day brings a new horror of life under the Occupation. When she meets Luc, the dashing and enigmatic leader of a resistance group, Adalyn feels she finally has a chance to fight back.

But keeping up the appearance of being a much-admired socialite while working to undermine the Nazis is more complicated than she could have imagined. As the war goes on, Adalyn finds herself having to make more and more compromises—to her safety, to her reputation, and to her relationships with the people she loves the most.

• ISBN10: 006293662X
• ISBN13: 9780062936622
• Publish Date: 9 July 2020 (first published 26 May 2020)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 17 October 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperTeen
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

This was such a sweet, inspiring story! It starts with a young woman inheriting her grandmother's apartment (and apparently, her secrets!) in Paris, and weaves through an incredible tale about standing up against an oppressive regime (1940s) and finding out who you are, where you came from, and just generally speaking up for yourself (present). 

Alice's story is sweet, and I enjoyed watching her sleuth all over Paris with a very lovely Parisian fellow. I also really liked how the author delved into her family life a bit, and how that was clearly a focus of the story overall. I didn't connect totally to Alice, but I enjoyed her nonetheless. 

For me, the absolute bread and butter of this story was Adalyn's perspective. She's incredibly privileged and knows it, but uses it for good during the Nazi invasion of France. Without giving too much away, Adalyn refuses to just sit around while people are tortured and killed, but of course it must be kept a secret. And now, many years later, it's up to Alice to unravel this history of secrets. 

I really don't want to say much else, because I fear it'll ruin the story which would be a shame. But it is absolutely one worth reading, as you'll no doubt be inspired by Adalyn's story, and probably wish you were Alice having coffee and being a detective in adorable Parisian cafes.  

Bottom Line: A lovely story about families, secrets, and standing up for what's right no matter the cost.