The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan

The Last Green Valley by Mark T. Sullivan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a very very difficult book for me to read; the terrible things the Martel family suffered under Stalin during WWII. There was so much horror, suffering, death and evil that many many times I wanted to put this book down. I was so glad I persevered and finished this book for my Albright College Zoom book discussion because this family was determined to survive against many horrific odds.

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Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I listened to this book (thank you to my friend, Michelle Romash and Jean Norman) flawlessly narrated by Robin Miles. This is a must read but a difficult read. Isabel Wilkerson's research was thorough, she also used narratives in history, and the dates and data were so important too. Wilkerson discusses race and caste (in the United States, Germany and India) and it's effects throughout history. It is honest and very painful. Highly recommended.

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White Rose by Kip Wilson

White Rose by Kip Wilson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many thanks to #jennlagarde for her Eight Amazeballs to Novels in Verse, which gave me this awesome title, White Rose, historical fiction based on the life of Sophie Scholl, who was one of the brave teens responsible for using passive resistance (distributing flyers) alerting others to the German slaughter of Jews in Germany during WWII. Kip Wilson's poetry was gripping in it's beauty and horror as Hitler's regime wipes out Jews and others. Sophie's bravery, cunning, and love of Germany had Sophie and her friends (especially boyfriend Fritz, who serves in the war) using graffiti and pamphlets to alert others to the criminal activities and deaths Hitler orchestrated. A must read for all!

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Going Over by Beth Kephart

Going Over by Beth Kephart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you so much to my Goodreads group, YA Reads for Teachers (And Any Other Adults, Chronicle Books, and Beth Kephart for this advance reader's copy, what a great read! I read Small Damages by Beth Kephart Small Damagesand fell in love with Kephart's word usage and wonderfully drawn characters. I felt the same way reading this book. I was completely immersed in Ada and Stefan's lives in the separate cities of East and West Berlin in the 1980s. The isolation and heartache that the Berlin Wall caused to families, friends, and communities is palpable in this tale of love, family, and sacrifice. We learn in alternating chapters from Ada (her chapters are titled SO36) and Stefan (his chapters are titled Friedrichshain)what life was like before and after the Berlin Wall divided their life and worlds. Spunky, cocky Ada lives with her mother (Mutti)and grandmother (Omi)in "155 kilometers of wrong," but in the freedom of West Berlin. Their freedom consists of eking out a spare existence in a squatter's commune. By day, pink haired Ada goes to school, works at a day care center (catering to Turkish immigrants)and by night, daring to paint a graffiti wall of heroes. Independent Ada dodges guards with rifles in towers and works by flashlight daring to create this wall. Stefan lives with his Grossmutter (grandmother) in East Berlin where he does not go to school, is dictated to become a plumber and yearns to be with Ada and "her love brighter than color." Where kind, sweet Stefan is full of what ifs about escaping, Ada is confident with her many newspaper stories of those who risked danger and found freedom over The Wall. Will Stefan take the risk for Ada? Going Over is so much more than a love story- I also loved Savas, Arabelle's pregnancy, Mutti, Omi and Grossmutter's lives since the War and The Wall. You will ache for these characters. Beth Kephart's words of beauty, fear, and hope make this a very special book - enjoy and dare to hope!


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