The Librarian of Auschwitz

On one hand I was really intrigued by the story of people who literally risked everything for books while enduring one of the most hellish moments in history. I think it gives credit to those Jews, especially Dita, and to humans as a whole that what was prized most besides essential food and water was knowledge and stories. I like how Antonio Iturbe touched on how much stories have the ability to inspire and also to lift us out of our circumstances. I knew little about Dita and the clandestine library at Auschwitz and enjoyed that aspect of the story.
Having said that, the execution of the novel was a bit clunky. I don't know if it is in part due to the translation or it was just written awkwardly. There are moments where it reads like a YA book, only to be suddenly into a narrative that minutely details horrific events happening. I felt like the depth of character wasn't there to support the subject matter, and the POV would change for no reason and then suddenly slide into an odd future fact about said character almost as a side note, which was always odd and lifts you out of the story a lot.
I think there is a gem of a story here and what Iturbe wanted to tell is extremely worthwhile and certainly has me wanting to know more, but the writing itself prevents it from being a truly great book.