Summary: When nurse Hanne Abrahamsen impulsively shields Steffen Petersen from a nosy Gestapo agent, she’s convinced the Lutheran pastor is involved in the Danish Underground. Nothing could be further from the truth. But truth is hard to come by in the fall of 1943, when Copenhagen is placed under Martial Law and Denmark’s Jews—including Hanne—suddenly face deportation to the Nazi prison camp at Terezin, Czechoslovakia. Days darken and danger mounts. Steffen’s faith deepens as he takes greater risks to protect Hanne. But are either of them willing to pay the ultimate price for their love? My Review: I was excited to see a new perspective on the World War II...
Study on WWII Germany
Are there ever periods where you seem to have a common thread in all the books you’re reading? Lately, it’s been a thread linking the movies I’ve seen and the books I’m studying. What’s that tie? Germany during and after World War II. It began with The Good German by Joseph Kanon, which was later turned into a movie (that I hope to see soon!). This book gets to the heart of Germany’s slow and painful recovery after the Allies claim victory in Europe. The Good German is the story of an American reporter who returns to Berlin to find a woman he’d had an affair with before he fled...
Review: Scattered Petals
Summary: Longing for adventure, Priscilla Morton leaves Boston and heads for Texas, never dreaming that the adventure she seeks will leave her badly injured and her parents dead. Priscilla is determined to rebuild her life and make a home for herself in the beautiful Hill Country, but the bandits who took her parents’ lives also destroyed her hope for the future. Ranch foreman Zachary Webster knows what the future holds for him, and it’s not a woman like Priscilla. She deserves a cultured East Coast gentleman, not a cowboy who’s haunted by memories of his mistakes. The best thing he can do is leave her alone. When necessity draws them...
What I’m Reading: Poetry, Texas
Love Finds You in Poetry, Texas, by Janice Hanna is a delightful read with great word play and ties to the town’s name: Poetry. The stores are named Bonnets and Sonnets, Poetic Notions and such. The main character uses poetry to woo women to come to Texas as potential brides for the town’s many bachelors. In the process, she learns of her own feelings for the town barber. This story flowed nicely, but it had so many characters, I honestly got a bit lost at times. There were some characters that were truly unforgettable and it all came together nicely in the end. I would have liked to see a...
Review: Sarah’s Key
Sarah’s Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2008) is a World War II epic that will stick with you long after you finish the last page. The story weaves in the 1942 roundup of French Jews by the French Vichy Police and their expulsion to their deaths in Nazi camps. Sarah, a ten-year-old French Jew, leaves her little brother locked in a secret cabinet when the police come for her family. She believes he’ll be safe there until they return. Sixty years later, Julia is researching the roundup for an article and the two tales converge and weave together in a way that changes the lives of all...