Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan

This novel is a combination of fantasy and historical fiction (which you'll see below), and that makes it really interesting to read. It's unlike any other book I've ever read, and it definitely deserved the Newbery Honor medal that it won in 2016 (alongside The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson. Both of those are also really good and I'll probably review them at some point 😉). I loved the motif of music that travels throughout the book, and gives the idea that music unites people of different time periods, cultures, and languages. Anyways, here's a teaser of the book!

When Otto finds himself lost in the forest with only a mysterious book and an old harmonica, he meets three mysterious sisters and discovers that somehow, their destinies are entwined within that very harmonica.

Years later, three musical children; Friedrich in Hitler Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California; discover the harmonica and become a step in the instrument's journey.

Pam Muñoz Ryan, author of Esperanza Rising and Becoming Naomi León (which might show up in a future book recommendation as well!) breaks the boundaries of genre in this heartrending novel for kids. Read it! It's good! (Yeah I'm probably going to end all of my book recommendations that way.)
Image source: https://www.amazon.com/Echo-Pam-Munoz-Ryan/dp/0439874025