Service95 Recommends is the home of the books we love and reviews from our contributors. The Matchbox Girl by Alice Jolly is set during World War II in Vienna.
What We Say: “The Matchbox Girl opens with instructions from the narrator, Adelheid Brunner, on how to read her book after her death. It soon becomes clear why. Set in the 1930s, Adelheid is a 12-year-old non-verbal girl with a pet rat, who is sent to a Vienna paediatric clinic. Here, she and other children like herself will live under the observation of Dr Asperger. Adelheid may not speak but she is always watching, and her sharp eye reveals a wartime Vienna that is a place of beauty, terror, and great danger. Adelheid is such a charismatic and unique narrator, you won’t want to leave her side.” – Maria Padget
What They Say: “Gripping and profound. A masterful work of rare complexity that lingers and haunts.” – Christine Leunens
Available on Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & Noble
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Maria Padget is Book Club Director at Service95
