All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

 
   All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

   Whoa. What a book!

   Here are some excerpts from Amazon's description:

"Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, a New York Times Book Review Top Ten Book, National Book Award finalist, more than two and a half years on the New York Times bestseller list...

 [T]he stunningly beautiful [story] about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

  Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

 In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments and is enlisted to use his talent to track down the resistance. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another."

   

   Almost every sentence had me asking, How? how on Earth did the author think of that? It seemed that each of the words, sentence, and punctuation was carefully crafted. Beautiful and genius writing.

   It is a fat book but a capturing story that doesn't feel long-winded. 

   Definitely some inappropriate language. 14+. 

   Now go read it.

   -Grace

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor Book Review

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Incredible book! According to Amazon, it's book 4 of 6 in a series, but I didn't read the other 5, and it was fine.
Cassie Logan and her family live during the troubled time of racism and racial violence in Mississippi in 1933. Cassie is young and does not fully understand the events that start happening in her small town -burnings of colored men, the humiliation, prejudice, and hatred that her family and her friends have to face daily. As Cassie struggles to understand and to be strong, she learns of freedom, pride, and dignity. But in her family's fight for peace, they may lose their beloved land.
I learned a lot from it! For kids 11+.
-Grace

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray       
              

     Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys is the historical fiction story of a young Lithuanian girl named Lina living during Stalin and Hitler’s reign. She was taken by the Soviet soldiers in the night, out of her home and out of her normal life, forced to get on a train with no idea where she was going and if she would live. Her mother and younger brother, Jonas, were taken too. Before the train left, she was able to get a glimpse of her father, who had been taken before them, and knew she would probably never see him again.
After six awful weeks in horrible conditions on the train, living like pigs, they arrived in Siberia, where she and her mother and Jonas are forced to work as beet farmers in a work camp. Workers were forced to sign a contract for twenty-five years of living and working there. Food was scarce and barely enough to keep the works alive. Diseases and sicknesses ravaged the camp. The workers lived in ten-by-twelve foot huts with the villagers and were forced to pay them rent, even though they had no money. Stealing was the only way to stay alive, but if they were caught the soldiers would likely shoot them. The NKVD (the Soviet soldiers) beat, starved, tortured, and killed the people without any purpose or a second’s hesitation or reprimand.
  Andrius, a boy Lina’s age, who lived in the same work camp, was able to give Lina information about her father. She learned that her father was living in a prison called Krasnoyarsk, far from where she was.
After months of living at the work camp, Lina’s group was taken to a freezing island, near the North Pole. The living conditions were even worse and many of the people died, including her mother and almost every person she knew from the train, and there she learned of her father’s death in the prison. She and her brother worked in that place for twelve years before they were released.
I loved this book. It was awesome. I loved the main character, Lina, and her mother. It was so interesting, definitely a page-turner, and really informative. Amazingly well written.
Definitely 13+. Andrius’ mother was forced into prostitution to stop the NKVD from shooting her son. This part is not detailed and leaves it very vague, but mentioned multiple times. The NKVD sexually assaulted the women in the work camps, including the main character, slightly detailed, and a worker makes a crude remark about this. There is some swearing. Also, very violent and graphic.
-Grace

By the Stars by Lindsay B. Ferguson

By the Stars by Lindsay B. Ferguson

Over the years, I have been asked to review many, many, many books. Because I haven't blogged often in the last couple years, I have mostly ignored email requests for reviews. When Lindsay B. Ferguson emailed me, I had to chuckle. She is my neighbor, and I was aware of her upcoming debut novel, but she didn't realize who I was. :) I told her that I'm a blogging slacker, and we decided not to have my blog be part of her big blog tour. You see...It gets sticky reviewing books for people you know. What if you hate it?

But...I bought the book on my Kindle the day it was released, and I wasn't just pleasantly surprised, I LOVED IT. I love that it is based on a true story, and I can't wait to talk to Lindsay about what exactly is history and what she created. I love the characters. I love the romance. I love it all. And you know what it really made me want to do? Like big time? Go dancing! Can we resurrect dance halls, please?

I know that among my friends, Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson, was extremely well-liked. Edenbrooke was the first in a collection of "Proper Romances". For friends who love Edenbrooke and other clean romance novels, By the Stars should be your next read!

From Amazon: "When Cal finally gets a chance with Kate, the girl he's loved since grade school, their easy friendship quickly blossoms into a meaningful romance. Spirited and independent, Kate keeps a guarded heart due to a painful past, and Cal wants nothing more than to gain her trust. But World War II soon cuts their time far too short, and Cal prepares to part from her - possibly for good. After he's gone, what Kate does next changes everything. 

In the suffocating jungles of the Philippines Cal encounters the chilling life of a soldier and deadly battles of war. With Kate's memory willing him on, Cal must put his trust in God to survive if he hopes to ever return to her. Inspired by a true story, By the Stars is a love story that stands the test of time and the most intense obstacles."

A Night Divided by Jennifer Nielson

A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen

      On the morning of Barbed Wire Sunday, the people of East Berlin woke up to the sound of sirens. Investigating, they found that the government had found a way to stop them from leaving: the Berlin Wall. It was a great fence separating East Berlin from West Berlin. The two parts of Germany had been on tight terms for a while, and rumors of a third world war were plentiful.

      The one hundred yards of smooth dirt leading up to the wall was called the "Death Strip." And the fence slowly evolved over the years into a 11.8 foot cement wall. Guardtowers were set on top, where soldiers would point their guns at anyone trying to escape East Berlin.

      For twelve year-old Gerta, the rise of the Berlin Wall takes something more than freedom from her. A couple of days before Barbed Wire Sunday, her father and brother had traveled into West Berlin. The fence had split her family into two parts just like Germany.

     Gerta knows she must take her remaining family members in the East to meet her family members in the West. But escaping isn't easy, and getting caught means death.

  The German police threaten Gerta's family often, but the violence is minimal up until the end. I recommend it for 11+.

-Grace