Did you largely agree or disagree with Fenna's decisions? What about Arie's?

Love, loss, family, and sacrifice are major themes of the novel and the driving force behind many of Fenna's and Arie's actions. Did you largely agree or disagree with Fenna's decisions? What about Arie's?

I can’t agree with Fenna’s decision to not tell Arie that she was leaving although to her, the reason was valid. It’s never a good idea to leave someone without telling them why! I believe that Arie’s decision to help his family was honorable and noble.

I think Fenna made a lot of decisions I disagree with - Running away from the orphanage, running away from Arie, traveling to a war zone to find him...

I feel that overall Arie's decisions were more understandable, although I think he probably should have told Fenna he'd been shot. I'm not sure it would have changed the outcome, but there's a chance it would have, and she could have at least known she was about to lose him.

I don’t agree with Most of Fenna’s decisions. In fact, as much as I liked this book (I had rated it 4 stars), the main thing that bogged it down for me was Fenna’s decision-making, most of which I felt were irrational and illogical. This is probably not a popular opinion, but I felt like most of her decisions were self-serving.

Arie’s decisions, on the otherhand, I can understand better, as many of those were life and death decisions that he didn’t really have too much choice over.

@kimk: I feel that Arie made the right decision in not telling Fenna that he had been shot because knowing her, she would’ve forced him to go see a doctor, even if it meant staying in Holland and putting Evelien’s life in danger. (Even Fenna herself said she definitely would’ve done this had she known prior). Arie no doubt knew this about her, which I’m guessing is why he kept quiet (mostly for Evelien’s sake).

I agree with Lee. It was for the best that Arie not have told Fenna. The mission more than likely would have been compromised and perhaps it would have ended tragically in more ways than it did.
Once Arie’s involvement and actions had been revealed I felt it was quite obvious what would have to happen. He had no future in the U.S. nor in Europe. As for Fenna’s decisions , while I felt she owed Arie an explanation before she left him, I felt she acted as best she could to survive. She rightly intuited that she had no future in the orphanage and most likely staying there would have brought her more misery and stress. I think she showed great courage and ingenuity in getting out of there. Her survival as an orphan was predicated on finding a new landing place and she was daring in her pursuit of Arie and his family and fortunately that worked out. Then her dream of becoming a paid magician drove her to cities to make her way. She did find a way to achieve her objective. Her acceptance of the offer by Hutton showed once again her willingness to take a chance, to try something new when one area seems to close off to her. It’s fitting that by the end of the book as she seems finally to have found ways to handle her PTSD that she is now the star of her own show.

I had mixed feelings for Arie's decisions. I could accept the probable reasoning. I didn't usually understand or agree with Fenna's decisions. I found it hard to connect there and never really came to like her character.

I didn't agree with many of her decisions. After the first couple of chapters, I wasn't sure I was going to keep reading because I found her annoying. Glad I stuck with it but she's not a favorite character.

Like most of the commenters here, and for the same reasons, I found Fenna to be impulsive and emotional in her decision -making. Arie was considerably more rational, even though his decisions led him to dangerous places.

Ii agree with most everyone. Fenna was making dicisions based on assumptions. She never really reveiled herself to anyone, even Arie. Major decisions need to be discussed! She didn't do that - and she did not learn form her mistakes.

I'm not sure I agree with the notion that she didn't learn from her mistakes. Those who think she didn't learn from her mistakes could definitely identify certain similarities in the way she made those decisions. Still, considering the time and place and her own unique situation, we could also identify elements of those decisions that do show growth (or at least a conscious effort to be a bit less impulsive. I find it difficult to see Fenna at the end of the story as anything but wiser because of what she learned along the way.

I think that both believed their decisions were noble and self sacrificing. Unfortunately life is messy and noble can masquerade as self centered. I think they both came to realize that life as Fenna put it is" imperfect, real and beautiful."

I strongly disagree with the posters who felt Fenna's choices were selfish, self-centered, irrational, or illogical.

Fenna survived a horrible tragedy as a child and was traumatized by it. She had already lost her mother, and then lost her father. The orphanage was a nightmare & she bravely found a way to escape so that she could make a life for herself. Luckily, she was able to find her way to Arie and his family.

As a magician -- a career she built for herself -- she was subjected to misogyny and refused to tolerate it, so I was cheering her. And her decision to help with the war effort was extremely brave.

As discussed in another thread, leaving Arie was an unfortunate choice that she later came to regret, but it was one that I, along with other readers, I'm sure, could identify with and understand.

Arie's choices were also consequential, including his decision to protect his niece. He knew he had to betray his fellow fighters in order to keep his niece safe and that he would be branded as a traitor. So he essentially gave up his own future in order to secure hers. And he didn't tell Fenna that he was wounded in order to protect her and ensure she could take care of his niece. So, as a reader, I had no bones to pick with Arie's decisions.