Julia by Heather B. Moore

Julia
By Heather B. Moore
Published by Shadow Mountain

Publication Date: September 2nd, 2025

Synopsis from the publisher:
Before she stepped into the spotlight as a master of French cooking, Julia Child navigated the shadows as a WWII intelligence officer.
On the sunny shores of California, Julia McWilliams is poised to embrace a life of comfort and financial security, with a marriage proposal from a wealthy man to consider. But as World War II erupts in the US, her patriotic fervor compels her to abandon her secure future. Trading country clubs for covert codes, Julia joins the Office of Strategic Services, where her sharp mind aids the Allied cause in the shadowy realm of espionage.
Amid strategic missions in Ceylon and China, Julia crosses paths with Paul Child, a fellow OSS officer whose delight in art, culture, and cuisine awakens a new hunger within her. Their chance meetings ignite a spark that blossoms into romance, leading to a proposal that Julia eagerly accepts. Together they embark on a new chapter in postwar Paris.
In the City of Light, Julia grapples with a different kind of challenge: she refuses to be confined by the societal expectations of a married woman. Drawn to the tantalizing world of French gastronomy—a pursuit her peers deem superfluous—she enrolls at the famed Le Cordon Bleu, and with Paul’s unwavering support, Julia immerses herself in her new passion.
Facing skepticism and prejudice in the male-dominated kitchens of Paris, Julia’s resolve never falters. Her relentless pursuit of culinary mastery not only transforms her own life but also introduces a revolutionary change in kitchens throughout America. From intelligence officer to beloved chef, Julia takes readers on an extraordinary journey.

My Review:
Having never actually watched Julia Child or so much as peeked inside any of her cookbooks, the WWII tie in was the biggest draw for me going into this book. I really liked learning about Julia's war work ad well as her blossoming romance with Paul Child. I really liked how she and Paul supported each other. It was also interesting to see all of the work that went into her first cookbook--all the cooking and revising and changing things to work for American cooks with different ingredients and resources available. Although I went into this book knowing very little about Julia Child, I was quite impressed with her and how her determination and optimism shone through the pages.

4 stars.

I read a DRC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Embers in the London Sky by Sarah Sundin

Embers in the London Sky

By Sarah Sundin

Published by Revell

Publication Date: February 6, 2024

Description from the Publisher:

As the German army invades the Netherlands in 1940, Aleida van der Zee Martens escapes to London to wait out the Occupation. Separated from her three-year-old son, Theo, in the process, the young widow desperately searches for her little boy even as she works for an agency responsible for evacuating children to the countryside. 

 When German bombs set London ablaze, BBC radio correspondent Hugh Collingwood reports on the Blitz, eager to boost morale while walking the fine line between truth and censorship. But the Germans are not the only ones Londoners have to fear as a series of murders flame up amid the ashes. 

The deaths hit close to home for Hugh, and Aleida needs his help to locate her missing son. As they work together, they grow closer and closer, both to each other and the answers they seek. But with bombs falling and continued killings, they may be running out of time. 

My Review:

World War II is such a fascinating era, and I can't get enough of learning about different experiences during the war, so I was hooked by seeing a mother, a refugee herself, looking for her son while helping to encourage parents in London to evacuate their children to the country for their safety alongside a BBC radio correspondent. Those aspects of history were so interesting--and then the characers themselves were wonderful. I loved how Aleida was determined to find her son and used her organizational skills to try to find him. Hugh was really endearing, with his asthma and his feeling of constantly disappointing his parents as he tries to do what he loves making him so realistic. Their romance was sweet, albeit subtle. While some of the plotlines (there are four murders in the book), the writing is never graphic. All in all, an interesting mystery, a sweet romance between lovable characters, and awesome historical details made this a terrific book! 

 4.5 stars. 

I read a DRC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

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 Orphan Band of Springdale

The Orphan Band of Springdale by Anne Nesbet

Gusta's father is a labor organizer who was born in Germany, and as WWII sweeps across Europe, Americans are increasingly tense--and Gusta's father becomes a wanted man. When he has to flee, Gusta is sent to stay with her maternal grandmother in Maine, while her mother stays behind in New York to keep her job. Gramma Hoopes runs an orphanage, and while Gusta quickly comes to like everyone at the home, things don't go as smoothly at school, where her extreme nearsightedness and her German heritage raise the hackles of some. Gusta finds comfort in playing her French horn, her only memento from her father, but when she's given the chance to sell it and pay for a surgery to help her injured Uncle Charlie, Gusta wonders if she can let go of something she loves so dearly to help her family.

Dang! This book is FANTASTIC! For starters, how can you not love a book that gives you such awesome phrases as "the general effect being that of a short, human-shaped icicle"? The writing is terrific and fresh, not the same old cliched phrases. Gusta just stole my heart--she's such a serious girl, so concerned about others, and I just adored her as the narrator. She's so interesting, with her survivalist attitude (she has gotten by without needed glasses for years, and she doesn't even mind because she doesn't want to cost anyone money), her willingness to speak up for and help other (even people she doesn't necessarily like), and her wisdom (she's very aware of the labor movement, for example). She's just this brave, good, kind little person. Secondary characters are great as well--we don't get a whole lot of depth with them, but the glimpses we do get are just terrific. (I love Georges!) The details are so interesting and make the book so real--like a patriotic health contest being run in the school. It really takes you back to 1941 and what life was like. There are terrific themes and topics to discuss, such as the labor movement, loyalty, "alien" foreigners and what it means to patriotic, family relationships, etc. There's a lot of depth here, but it's not overly weighty. I was really surprised when I found out the book is 448 pages (I read the Kindle version), because it flew by for me.
This is an easy 5 stars from me.

 I read a copy from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Beneath the Bellemont Sky

Beneath the Bellemont Sky by Raneé S. Clark

Most books I read have one or two main characters, so the fact that there were multiple characters who got a chance at center-stage in this book was different than what I'm used to, but I really enjoyed it! It was a really cool way to see how different people were impacted by the war. We get to see so many interesting characters: Vera, the war widow looking to find love again; Fay, the girl who had to help out with the family farm and missed out on days of dancing and fun and desperately wants to find it now; Josette, who worked with intelligence agencies in Europe and now moves to Wyoming with her new husband, only to find his ex-girlfriend ready to make her life miserable; Emily, who has found she really enjoys her career and while she wants to marry the man she's spent the war waiting for, she doesn't know if she can be happy settling into his idea of what a woman should be; and Eleanor, who is overjoyed to find that she and her husband are expecting, only to find that the man she thought she'd come to know so well through their letters doesn't want the same things she does. The men are just as interesting: Dominick, who can't forgive himself for what he did during the war; Andrew, who is eager to return to his life as a farmer but might have to leave it all behind for his wife; Sam, who has waited years to marry his dream girl only to find they have very different ideas about what their married life will look like; Alvin, whose war injury has ruined his dreams; and Oliver, who has to help stubborn farmers see what the next generation of farming will look like. I really enjoyed getting to see the story for each character; although we didn't necessarily get as much depth for each characters as we would have in a novel with one or two main characters, the overall look at how a family and a community were impacted by the war was riveting. This is easily my favorite of Ranee Clark's books (and I liked all of the other ones).

 I read a copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

That Burning Summer

That Burning Summer
By Lydia Syson

Sixteen-year-old Peggy, her mother, and her younger brother Ernest are living on their relatives’ farm near Romney Marsh. Ernest, who is awkward and fearful, is obsessed with the instructions they’ve been given about doing their part for the war effort and especially looking for spies. When Peggy finds a downed airman, Polish pilot Henryk, who can’t bear to return to flying and fighting after all that he was experienced, she knows she is supposed to report him, but she can’t bring herself to do it and helps him hide instead. As she continues to help him, their feelings for each other blossom and she can’t bear the thought of him leaving. But with Ernest’s curiosity as well as unwanted attention for others who are suspicious of their family, Peggy might not be able to keep him safe.

There were so many interesting facets to this book, including learning a little more about the Polish pilots who fought alongside the British RAF, the family dynamics (there’s a subplot involving Peggy’s father), persecution of those who don’t support the war efforts, and the emotional toll war takes on soldiers. I thought that the relationship between Peggy and Henryk would be my favorite part of the book, and while I did enjoy that part, I think what might have been most fascinating is seeing how Ernest tried to cope with all of the information and situations that he faced. I was a little disappointed in the ending—the final chapter didn’t have as much information as I would have liked, as it skips to the end of the war and doesn’t give much detail about what happened in the previous five years—but I think that’s my one quibble with the book. I received a copy from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

4 stars.

Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity

By Elizabeth Wein

Hyperion, 2012. 343 pgs. Teen fiction

Summary:

"Verity," a Scottish girl who works as a spy for the British, has been caught by the Gestapo in France, and after being tortured, has begun to reveal the secret she promised she wouldn't tell, giving them an elaborate written confession. However, she details more than just her entry into France; slowly, she reveals the story of how she met Maddie, a pilot whose papers had with her when she was captured, detailing their friendship and how Maddie came to fly for the British.

Review:

This book is hard to describe without giving away some critical details. It's a story of war, and friendship, and heartbreak. I sometimes got a little frustrated with all the talking about planes and wished that the story just moved forward. It can also be hard to read between the lines sometimes to figure out what really matters (and, sometimes, who is who, since the characters have code names or are referred to by nicknames or description, rather than actual names)--and, if you're a naive reader and don't figure out quickly that Verity is an intentionally unreliable narrator, you could find yourself sympathizing with but not respecting her. This is definitely thought-provoking, and sad, and unique. It's not an easy read, but it's a worthwhile one. Be prepared to cry or feel like the wind is knocked out of you.

4 stars. Some vulgar comments and torture.

To Hope and Back

To Hope and Back: The Journey of the St. Louis
By Kathy Kacer
Second Story Press, 2011. 204 pgs. Middle grade nonfiction

In 1939, over 900 Jews sought refugee from Hitler and the rise of Nazism in Germany by boarding the St. Louis and heading to Cuba. Having purchased costly tickets, which in some cases used up families' entire life savings, they were treated kindly by the crew, including Captain Schroeder, and they were anticipating a new life in Cuba, or after a brief stay in Cuba, in the U.S. However, as the ship was racing across the ocean, trouble was brewing, as Nazi propaganda convinced many Cubans the soon-to-arrive Jews were poor, dirty criminals. As the ship reached Cuba, no one was allowed to disembark. While a few concerned people tried to convince either the Cuban government or the U.S. government to allow the emigrants in, the Jews feared what would happen if no one would take them--because returning to Germany would mean almost certain death.

This is a first-rate book that blends fiction with nonfiction, as it follows two children, Lisa and Sol, who really traveled on the ship but who didn't necessarily experience everything that was attributed to them. I had heard of the St. Louis, but this made the story of the people come to life--and showed some of the consequences of the decisions made by hostile/weak governments.

4 stars. Clean read.

Requiem: Poems of the Terezin Ghetto

Requiem: Poems of the Terezin Ghetto

By Paul B. Janeczko

Candlewick Press, 2011. 102 pgs. Poetry

Summary and Review:

This is a collection of brief poems that describes how the Nazis herded Jews into the Terezin ghetto before shipping them off to the death camps. The poems show the view point of the Jews, as well as the SS guards and the non-Jewish people who were removed from their homes in order to build the ghetto. It’s a slim collection of poems, but it’s definitely moving, showing lost love, broken lives, and more.

3.5 stars.

Lost in Shangri-La

Lost in Shangri-La
By Mitchell Zuckoff
HarperCollins, 2011. 384 pgs. Adult Nonfiction

In May of 1945, a popular activity at the U.S. Army base in Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea, was taking flights to see "Shangri-La," a remote part of the island, completely isolated, surround by mountains and rain forests, with thousands of native inhabitants. Although others had completed this trip, for one group, it didn't turn out so well. When their plane crashed, twenty-one soldiers and WACs died--but three survived. Margaret Hastings and Kenneth Decker, both badly wounded in the crash, and John McCollum (whose twin died in the crash) lived but they were in a remote area of the world, wondering if the natives were cannibalistic, if the Army would be able to evacuate them, and if gangrene would lead to emergency amputation. The Army was able to parachute medics and other soldiers in to help the survivors, but they still didn't know how to get them out.

This is an engaging true story, which, although published for adults, would likely appeal to teen readers interested in WWII and survival stories. (I will say, though, there are pictures of the native men, who traditionally wore penis gourds and little else; some readers might not want to skip the photos.) The details about the survivors as well as the natives are interesting; the rescue was a little less dramatic than what I thought it would be, based on both the dust jacket and the chapters leading up to it, but still, it moves well and is an engaging piece of nonfiction.

4 stars.

Unbroken

Unbroken
By Laura Hillenbrand
Random House, 2010. 473 pgs. Adult Nonfiction

Louie Zamperini was a hellion as a child--stealing, fighting, failing his classes. His older brother Pete forced him to start running, which Louie initially resented but soon came to love; his natural talent and his training were such that he competed in the 1936 Olympics in an event he'd only run a handful of times. Before the 1940 Olympics, though, WWII broke out and Louie joined the Army and was trained to be a bombardier with the Army Air Corps. Louie and his crew completed several successful missions but one day, their plane crashed on the ocean. Only Louie and two others survived and floated for weeks in rafts in shark-infested waters. By the time they were picked up by the enemy Japanese, only Louie and his friend Phil remained, and the worst part of their experience--being POWs with sadistic guards, little food, hard labor, and constant illness--was still to come.

This is nonfiction at its finest; it's gripping both in the story--Zamperini's story is moving and inspirational--and in the writing, which is engaging and does its subject justice. From the first page, I was hooked and couldn't wait to see how things would play out for Louie. I can't say enough good things about it. It's one of those books that provides the reader with tons of information and, at the same time, sparks the desire to learn lots more. For example, I HAVE to read more about Japanese POW camps after this. Although it was published for the adult market, many teens would be hooked as well.

5 stars.

Code Talker

Code Talker
By Joseph Bruchac
Dial Books, 2005. 231 pgs. Teen fiction

From the time he is sent to a boarding school run by whites and assigned a new name, Ned Begay is told that being Navajo is a bad thing. He's not allowed to speak his native language and is constantly told that only by leaving his heritage behind can he amount to anything. However, when Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, the Marine Corps suddenly has a need for Navajos who can speak both their native tongue and English. The first twenty-nine Navajos recruited devise a code to convey messages, based on their native tongue, and Ned, in the second wave of Navajo recruitments, becomes one of the code talkers vital to the success of the Marine Corps as they fight to retake American territories in the Pacific as well as establish a presence on Iwo Jima and Okinowa.

This is a fascinating piece of historical fiction, showing the contribution of the Navajos to the armed forces during WWII. I particularly enjoyed the details about how the code was developed and taught, as well as the incorporation of Navajo traditions into the story. Some of the military details bogged down the story for me, but I think others who are interested in war stories wouldn't mind that at all.

One thing I didn't like about the novel was that it talked about the cruelty of the Japanese military in their treatment of prisoners of war and when they took over Pacific Islands even put the native peoples in concentration camps, but it didn't mention at all how the Japanese in the U.S. were rounded up and stripped of their homes and everything as they were forced to live in concentration camps. While Bruchac did talk about how many of the Japanese (in Japan) didn't agree with the war, there seemed to me to be a slight imbalance by pointing out what the Japanese army did wrong and not what the U.S. did wrong.

Overall, great book. I wish there were more books out there by American Indian authors.

4 stars. Clean read, other than a little, little bit of language.

Between Shades of Gray

Between Shades of Gray
By Ruta Sepetys
Philomel Books, 2011. 344 pgs. Teen fiction

In 1941, Lina and her family are living in Lithuania, which has been invaded by Stalin's Soviets. After her father disappears, Lina, her brother and mother are rounded up, forced onto a train, and taken to a labor camp where they live in horrible conditions, with little food, terrible captors, and the constant worry about where their father is and if they will ever be reunited. Lina, an artist, draws pictures of their experiences so that someday, she'll be able to share them with the world, and also tries to find some way to contact her father.

Wow! This book is a powerful look at a time period that I knew nothing about. I vaguely knew that the Soviet Union had labor camps and people were lost in the system for years, but this book took that little knowledge and made it real. Although it's fiction, the situations and circumstances portrayed provide an eye-opening look at a very real, terrible time in history. With such an intense topic wrapped into gripping writing, there's not much more I could ask from the book. I do ask publishers and authors to provide more books, both fiction and nonfiction, on this topic for teen readers.

5 stars. Clean read. (There might be a little language, and a little bit of realistic vulgarity in how the Soviets talk about and to the captured women.)

The Boy Who Dared

The Boy Who Dared: A Novel Based on the True Story of a Hitler Youth
By Susan Campbell Baroletti
Scholastic Press, 2008. 202 pgs. Middle Grade/Teen fiction

In Nazi Germany, some people recognized Nazi propaganda and violence for what it was--a violation of civil rights and a bunch of lies to cover the truth. Helmuth Hubener, a teenager, was one of those people. Troubled by the Nazis and their beliefs and adhering to his own beliefs (he was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days Saints) he only reluctantly participated in the Hitler Youth (a requirement for all German youth), and, after listening to illegal BBC broadcasts about the war, began writing and distributing anti-Nazi pamphlets. Caught, he was sentenced to death but was at peace with his decision to tell the truth.

Based on the true story of Helmuth Hubener (whose last name actually wasn't Hubener for much of his life), this book is an intriguing look at how those who didn't support the Nazis might struggle with their own conscience--on the one hand, they wanted to protect themselves and their families, but on the other, how could they stand by as the Nazi madness spread? This is an inspiring story, and while occasionally, the writing felt a little simplistic to me, the message is powerful.
(As a very small side quibble...I think it's weird to call the book " A Novel based on the True Story of a Hitler Youth." Um, German youth were required to be Hitler Youth, which means the vast majority of them were Hitler Youth...and I think there's a big difference between Helmuth and those who actually enjoyed being in the Hitler Youth. Bartoletti portrays him as not being that involved in the Hitler Youth; he wasn't some horrible bully who saw the error of his ways and then changed. In this story, he's never one of those kids who thrives on being a part of the Hitler Youth, or who sees that as a huge part of his identity. So, to me, that little addition doesn't quite fit. Perhaps a publisher's attempt at being dramatic? I don't know...but I don't think it's accurate in what it conveys.)

3 stars.