The Opera Sisters by Marianne Monson

The Opera Sisters 

By Marianne Monson 

Published by Shadow Mountain 

Description 

Based on the true story of the Cook sisters, who smuggled valuables out of 1930s Nazi Germany to finance a daring, secret operation to help Jews find hope for a new life in England 

British sisters Ida and Louise Cook enjoy their quiet, unassuming lives in south London. Ida writes romance novels, and Louise works as a secretary. In the evenings, the sisters indulge in their shared love for opera, saving their money to buy records and attend performances throughout England and Europe, becoming well-known by both performers and fellow opera lovers. 

But when Hitler seizes power in 1933, he begins targeting and persecuting German Jews, passing laws that restrict their rights and their lives. The sisters continue their trips to the German opera houses, but soon, Jewish members of the opera community covertly approach the sisters, worried that they will be stripped of their wealth and forced to leave their homes and the country. Danger looms on the horizon, threatening to spill across all of Europe’s borders. 

Ida and Louise vow to help, but how can two ordinary working-class women with limited means make a difference? 

Together with their beloved opera community, the sisters devise a plan to personally escort Jewish refugees from Germany to England. The success of the plan hinges on Ida and Louise’s ability to smuggle contraband jewelry and furs beneath the watchful eyes of the SS soldiers guarding various checkpoints. But how many trips can they make before someone blows a whistle? Or before the final curtain falls on Germany’s borders? 

Review

I love the fact that this book is based on real people! When you read a book and love the characters, it's definitely cool that they were real people! It was really inspiring to read about their work. The format took some getting used to, as there were lots of short passages ( some about the people Ida and Louise worked with or those they helped, some showing the events happening around the world as war approached, etc.), that initially seemed jarring to me. I did find the information in those short passages very interesting, but it broke up the flow of the main story somewhat. Overall, a very interesting story about a couple of amazing women!

4 stars.

I read an ARC provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

The Finder of Forgotten Things by Sarah Loudin Thomas

 

The Finder of Forgotten Things
By Sarah Loudin Thomas
Published by Bethany House

Description:

It's 1932 and Sullivan Harris is on the run. He promised the people of Kline, West Virginia, that he would find them water, but now he's failed and disappeared with their cash. Although he's determined to stay a step ahead of pursuers--like Jeremiah Weber--his resources are running low.

Gainey Floyd is suspicious of Sulley's claim to be a dowser when he appears in town but reconsiders after he finds water. Rather, it's Sulley who grows uneasy when his success makes folks wonder if he can find more than water--like forgotten items or missing people. He lights out to escape such expectations and runs smack into something worse.

Hundreds of men have found jobs digging the Hawks Nest Tunnel--but what they thought was a blessing is killing them. And no one seems to care. Here, Sulley finds something new--a desire to help. As Jeremiah--and now Gainey--pursue him, Sulley becomes the unexpected catalyst for finding what even he has forgotten. Hope.

Review:
This story is so beautifully written. Having been born and raised in upstate New York and then moving west as an adult, I've never been to West Virginia, and yet, Sarah Loudin Thomas described the setting and the time period so well that it felt completely familiar. As for the characters, well, I might not have much in common with them at first glance, but Thomas made me feel so connected to them that I would go to war for these people! I seriously just was hooked and cared so much about them. There are lots of authors who make me laugh or entertain me, but Sarah Loudin Thomas makes me FEEL in ways few other authors do. It was a pleasure to read this book.

4.5 stars.

I read an ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

When Twilight Breaks by Sarah Sundin

When Twilight Breaks

By Sarah Sundin

Published by Revell

Description: 

Munich, 1938. 

Evelyn Brand is an American foreign correspondent as determined to prove her worth in a male-dominated profession as she is to expose the growing tyranny in Nazi Germany. To do so, she must walk a thin line. If she offends the government, she could be expelled from the country--or worse. If she fails to truthfully report on major stories, she'll never be able to give a voice to the oppressed--and wake up the folks back home. 

 In another part of the city, American graduate student Peter Lang is working on his PhD in German. Disillusioned with the chaos in the world due to the Great Depression, he is impressed with the prosperity and order of German society. But when the brutality of the regime hits close, he discovers a far better way to use his contacts within the Nazi party--to feed information to the shrewd reporter he can't get off his mind. 

Review: 

What an excellent book from Sarah Sundin! This was fascinating on so many levels. The characters are terrific and multifaceted. I loved how Evelyn and Peter both had strengths and weaknesses and experienced growth throughout the book, with Peter revising his political opinions and Evelyn learning to open her heart to both Peter and God. I also liked reading about both of their jobs; the details were so interesting! The plot was equally engaging and I couldn't wait to see how each scene would play out and how things would ultimately work out. Sundin also did a great job with the setting, showing so many details as the Nazis enacted more and more anti-Semitic laws and actions. There were so many things about the story that could relate to today's political climate, which could make for some particularly interesting book club discussions. 

Really, really well done. I'm marking this as one of my best books of the year! 

I read an ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Librarian of Boone's Hollow

The Librarian of Boone's Hollow 

By Kim Vogel Sawyer 

Published by WaterBrook & Multnomah 

Publication Date: September 15th, 2020 

Description:
During the Great Depression, Addie Cowherd dreams of being a novelist and offering readers the escape that books gave her during her tragic childhood. When her adoptive father loses his job, she is forced to leave college and take the only employment she can find--delivering books on horseback to poor coal mining families in the hills of Kentucky.

The small community of Boone's Hollow is suspicious of outsiders and steeped in superstitions that leave Addie feeling rejected and indignant. Although she finds an unexpected friend in an elderly outcast, the other horseback librarians scorn her determination to befriend Nanny Fay.

Emmett Tharp grew up in the tiny mountain hamlet where most men either work in the coal mine or run moonshine. He's the first in the community to earn a college degree, and he has big dreams, but witnesses the Depression robbing many young men of their future.
Then someone sets out to sabotage the library program, going so far as to destroy Addie's novel in progress. Will the saboteur chase Addie and the other librarians away, or will knowledge emerge victorious over prejudice? Is Emmett the local ally that Addie needs--and might their friendship lead to something more?

Inspired by the real WPA program that sent librarians on horseback to deliver books to hill families in Kentucky, Kim Vogel Sawyer immersed herself in Appalachian history to tell this captivating story.

Review:
Kim Vogel Sawyer did a great job developing the setting here--she definitely made me feel like I was right there in Appalachia! The details were so vivid, from the daily way of life to the flora and fauna. With the variety of narrators (besides Addie and Emmett, Bettina, a local girl who wants to marry Emmett, and Nanny Fay, an older woman rejected by the community because they think she is a witch, both narrate parts of the story), readers get a look into life for lots of people in the community, from different walks of life, making for a very interesting read. Addie sometimes felt a little too perfect, but I did appreciate her faith and her commitment to kindness. I wish the romance had been a little more developed, but for those who want an interesting historical fiction novel with a hint of romance, this is a good choice.
4 stars.
I read an ARC provided by the publisher via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky

All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky
By Joe R. Lansdale
Delacorte Press, 2011. 227 pgs. Teen fiction

Jack Catcher's life has taken a turn for the worse--living in the Dust Bowl, when "all the earth is thrown to the sky" and money is tight because of the Depression, is bad enough, but when his mother dies and his father, unable to deal with his grief, kills himself shortly after, Jack is suddenly all alone. So when Jane Lewis and her brother Tony stumble onto his land, en route to "borrow" an automobile from a dead man and take off to Texas, that sounds like a decent enough plan to Jack. Once they set out, though, they manage to find themselves caught up in a little more adventure than they'd planned on, since they're waylaid by gangsters making a getaway after a bank robbery.

This book seemed slightly far-fetched to me--these kids have a knack for getting into trouble with big-name crooks right and left--but it was still a good read. Lansdale did a good job showing the adventure and fun stuff but balancing it out with the harsh reality of life, and the language was spot on. I really enjoyed Jack as a narrator. Great choice for anyone interested in historical fiction or just a good example of storytelling. A very little bit of language, but not enough to bother most readers.

Just a few examples of the language that I enjoyed so much:
"It wasn't a big life, but it was a good life." (p. 8)
"I wasn't at all certain is was the right thing to do, but I was pretty certain it was the only thing to do." (p. 24)
"I decided then and there that Jane was about as big a blowhard as there was, but at the bottom of her buck there was something real." (p. 134)

4 stars.

Moon over Manifest

Moon over Manifest
By Clare Vanderpool
Delacorte Press, 2010. 351 pgs. Middle grade fiction.

Twelve-year-old Abilene's father, a drifter, sends her to live in Manifest with an old friend. Abilene, who just wants to be with her father, spends her time in Manifest trying to find some sort of connection to her father. At the same time, she stumbles across a mystery: she finds a cigar box with some mementos and letters from WWI-era that make her wonder just what was going on in Manifest back then. She and her friends start looking for a spy, and the town fortune teller starts telling Abilene pieces of the story.

An excellent piece of historical fiction. I really liked Abilene and what we learn about the town and the people. It's a great look into life during WWI and also during the 1930s, when Abilene is in town. My biggest gripe with the book is probably that I listened to the audio version and didn't care for some of the voices.

4.5 stars. Clean Read.

Turtle in Paradise

Turtle in Paradise
By Jennifer L. Holm
andom House/Listening Library, 2010. 3.5 hours. Middle Grade Fiction

Turtle is sent to live with aunt and cousins in Key West after her mother gets a job as a housekeeper for a lady who doesn't like children. Turtle, who is sassy and has a shell built around her, finds that she has a lot to learn about Conchs (the Key West residents) and about letting go of her shell a little bit.

I really enjoyed this book. Holm's develops Key West during the Depression in a way that is completely accessible for readers, throws in characters who will have readers laughing out loud, and does it all with language with transports readers to a whole other place. I'd love to read more about Turtle and her Diaper Gang friends, so I'm really hoping this one turns out to be the first in a series.

4.5 stars.