The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh did I love this book, the writing and the characters! Kristin Hannah has written a spellbinding historical Fiction novel about the horrors of WWII in France, a family torn apart by war and the courageous things people will do. Before the war, Vianne and Isabelle Rossignol are two sisters who have suffered the loss of their mother, the rejection by their father, and a chasm between them. When WWII breaks out, life is turned upside down; Isabelle who has always been a rebel, becomes a heroine who saves pilots while her sister must endure Commandant Beck billeted in their home. I was so sickened by the Nazi atrocities toward the Jews & French men, women and children but I rooted for the sisters to persevere and endure. A compelling must read; highly recommended!.

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Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many, many thanks to Penguin Group, Penguin Young Readers Group, Philomel Books and Net Galley for ARC of Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. I just can’t stop gushing out this book! This masterful work of historical fiction is another excellent title BOTH adult and YA readers will want to read and not be able to put down!!! The young adult characters alternating their stories at the end of World War II all have secrets to hide yet they strive to survive and return to their homelands. My heart broke as I followed Joana, Florian, and Emilia with the masses of refugees who board the Wilhelm Gustloff ship. Joana is a Lithuanian nurse tortured by guilt. Florian is a Prussian with secrets and regrets but also an unwilling hunter and a reluctant hero. Emilia in her bright pink woolen cap, is a Polish girl fierce in loyalty and bravery. As their stories blend together, the reader lives their harsh reality of war, regret, and dreams. Ruta Sepetys takes a little known horrendous incident and crafts a mighty story you can’t put down; many times you will want to turn away from the horrors that are visited on poor innocents but the reader is engulfed in a story about war, it’s brutality, inhumanity and ultimately hope. Please read the Author Note for Ruta Sepetys’ insight and research on this little known incident in WW II history; it is essential to understanding the story. This is my new favorite book of hers, but I still love Between Shades of Gray and Out of the Easy!!! Ruta Sepetys is such a great historical fiction author who intricately weaves family, politics, war, love, and friendship into a sweeping story that will change the reader; it changed me. Look for this book February 2016, highly recommended.

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The Book Thief by Markus Zusack

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I re-read this book as part of the 2014 Hub Challenge. I loved it when I first read it and the words, characters, and setting were just as beautiful and horrifying. Told from the point of view of Death, Liesel Meminger is a young girl who is adopted by a German family during the time the war with Germany broke out and the Jews were persecuted, killed, and some were hidden in homes, basements and walls. Liesel becomes the book thief when she picks up a book a gravedigger dropped while burying her brother, Werner. She continues to take books at a parade celebrating the Germans superiority (where she realizes Hitler probably killed her mother because she was a Communist)and later when she carries her step mother's laundry to the Mayor's house. His wife has a room full of books and lets Liesel read any of the books. Liesel's stepfather, Hans Hubermann is a wonderful man who has difficulty finding work because he will not join Hitler's party. He shows Liesel love, and teaches her to read. On the other hand her stepmother is gruff, and angry. But that changes the day, Hans accepts Max, a Jew (Max's dad saved Hans in the war)into their house. Liesel's stepmother now becomes a loving, scared person who supports hiding Max and swears Liesel to tell no one, even her best friend, Rudy. The story of Liesel, her friends and family, narrated by death is one of my favorite books. Everyone should read it, Markus Zusack speaks of a time that must never be forgotten in history. He writes with depth and compassion to show Liesel's world and how she continued to live despite losing everyone she loved, one by one. Death loves Liesel and you will too.

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