It reads great as YA but not much as a historical fiction. There is a lack of detailing throughout the book. Makes it feel like nothing much would change if the characters were removed from the WWII scene and put in some other setting. There's just too many characters and not much happening in the background. Too much was trying to be explained over a short span of time that it did not make much of an impact in the end. 
 That said, I did enjoy the whirlwind of emotions each character brought to the story. Their perspectives and their background is what fills these pages. Heinz, the shoe poet remains my favorite and he didn't even have his own voice! *sad face*