When I heard about The Kites, I thought it would be along the same lines as The Nightingale, All the Light We Cannot See, The Baker's Secret, or other World War II novels I've enjoyed in the past. That was not the case with this novel; since it was translated from French, some of it is partially blamed on the translation itself. Beyond that, I found the protagonist, Ludo, frustrating and his romance with Lila annoying. Having not spent a lot of time distinguishing all of the important players in France during the War, parts of this were difficult to understand the significance of someone's actions or words. It dragged on and I forced myself to finish it. If you're looking for an untold perspective from WWII, pick up a different book.

I had a hard time getting into the book. Since I did not finish it, I do not intend to publish a review.