Middle Grade Monday: Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

I stumbled on one of the books in this trio--not really a series, but 3 books that go together--and had to read them all. Here's my take on the whole set of them.

 

Title: Stolen Child
Publication info: Scholastic Canada, 2010 (with a note on Goodreads saying originally published 2000). 154 pages. Scholastic (US) appears to be releasing an edition in 2019, changing the title to Stolen Girl.

Publisher's Blurb:
Stolen from her family by the Nazis, Nadia is a young girl who tries to make sense of her confusing memories and haunting dreams. Bit by bit she starts to uncover the truth — that the German family she grew up with, the woman who calls herself Nadia's mother, are not who they say they are. Beyond her privileged German childhood, Nadia unearths memories of a woman singing her a lullaby, while the taste of gingersnap cookies brings her back to a strangely familiar, yet unknown, past. Piece by piece, Nadia comes to realize who her real family was. But where are they now? What became of them? And what is her real name?
This story of a Lebensborn girl--a child kidnapped for her "Aryan looks" by the Nazis in their frenzy to build a master race--reveals one child's fierce determination to uncover her past against incredible odds.



Title: Making Bombs for Hitler
Publication Info: Scholastic Canada, 2012 (US edition in 2017; this time they didn't change the title, just the cover). 186 pages

Publisher's Blurb:
In Stolen Child, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch introduced readers to Larissa, a victim of Hitler’s largely unknown Lebensborn program. In this companion novel, readers will learn the fate of Lida, her sister, who was also kidnapped by the Germans and forced into slave labour — an Ostarbeiter.

In addition to her other tasks, Lida's small hands make her the perfect candidate to handle delicate munitions work, so she is sent to a factory that makes bombs. The gruelling work and conditions leave her severely malnourished and emotionally traumatized, but overriding all of this is her concern and determination to find out what happened to her vulnerable younger sister.

With rumours of the Allies turning the tide in the war, Lida and her friends conspire to sabotage the bombs to help block the Nazis’ war effort. When her work camp is finally liberated, she is able to begin her search to learn the fate of her sister.

In this exceptional novel Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch delivers a powerful story of hope and courage in the face of incredible odds.


Title: The War Below (published first in Canada as Underground Soldier) 
Publication info: Canadian edition 2014, Scholastic Canada. US Edition, 2018, Scholastic Books. 256 pages.

Publisher's Blurb:
The Nazis took Luka from his home in Ukraine and forced him into a labor camp. Now, Luka has smuggled himself out -- even though he left behind his dearest friend, Lida. Someday, he vows, he'll find her again.

But first, he must survive.

Racing through the woods and mountains, Luka evades capture by both Nazis and Soviet agents. Though he finds some allies, he never knows who to trust. As Luka makes difficult choices in order to survive, desperate rescues and guerilla raids put him in the line of fire. Can he persevere long enough to find Lida again or make it back home where his father must be waiting for him? 


My Review:
This isn't a standard sort of trilogy, because it's not a linear series, but 3 books about 3 characters whose lives overlap during the war. I got hold of them all out of the order of publication, which doesn't really matter, though reading Stolen Child first with no idea of the story (as given away in the blurbs) might make it a more exciting read--where the reader doesn't know any more than Nadia does about her past. 

Although Stolen Girl is very suitable for younger readers (8 and up), the other two take place in the heart of the war and might be better suited for 11 or 12 and up. Not that the author gets really graphic about what goes on, but... consider that Luka's story begins with him crawling out from a pile of dead bodies in the back of a truck, and judge from there. They are war stories about children (Luka's age seems fluid, but he's 12 or 13 when he meets Lida, though he seems much older. She is only 9, and also seems much older) who survive by doing and enduring things that seem to this protected reader to be virtually impossible. The author does admit that few children so young were taken in the slave programs, and still fewer were kept alive to try to do the work demanded, so she may have been stretching reality a little. But we do know that young children did and endured extraordinary things to survive the war. 

The stories are simply written and fast-moving, not so much from crisis to crisis (though that is more true for Luka's story) but just with the progress and the insights each character gains into his or her  circumstances. After all, the children don't have any idea at first what has happened or why, or to what degree all civilized rules have been suspended.

I appreciated putting all three books together and getting more of the whole story. And it was enlightening, to say the least, to learn about what happened to the Ukrainians during and--worse still--after the war. As with so much children's historical fiction, the books are well-researched and based on actual events we never read of in the history books. 

My Recommendation: 
These are excellent books, well-written and suitable for ages 11 or 12 and up. Adults will find the stories just as gripping, and we can all learn some history.


FTC Disclosure: I checked all three books out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."   

Fiction Review: All the Light We Cannot See

Title: All the Light We Cannot See
Author: Anthony Doerr
Publisher: Scribner, 2014, 531 pages
Source: Library

Publisher's Summary:
Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments and is enlisted to use his talent to track down the resistance. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. 

My Review: 
I don't usually review big best-sellers. In fact, I don't usually read them, probably due to a not very admirable stubbornness that refuses to jump on the bandwagon. In this case, the general story (and that cover) kept catching my eye at the library, and I initially made an attempt to listen to the audio book. I think that there was something wrong with the recording, though (this sometimes happens with my ancient MP3; files get a little scrambled), and it just didn't seem to make sense or grab my attention. I gave up. [As noted, this is not a condemnation of the audio book, since I think that the problem lay in problems I was having with my device.]

But I kept talking to people who really liked it, so I finally took the hardback out of the library, and read it during the holidays. To my surprise, I quickly became engaged with the book and ended up liking it very much. (Okay, I can hear you saying that I shouldn't be surprised to like a book with so many literary prizes, but that's me. Literary prizes make me suspicious.)

What makes the book work? For one thing, the characters are unusual but not unbelievable. Werner, in particular, is no hero. He has a particular kind of genius, but that doesn't translate to any ability to stand up to injustice and wrongs through most of his boyhood. A hard life has taught him, instead, to keep his head down and obey orders, which he does through most of his life. But he is human, and so what his orders lead to sickens him, and creates in him a growing tension that I expected to break out in a different way than it did. (I only now see that what happens to him in the end is an expression of this).

Marie-Laure is perhaps even more amazing--the blind girl who learns to do so much, and goes through so much, without giving up. Her story is a more conventional coming-of-age tale, in many ways. Certainly she grows up through the terrible events that are the crux of the book. She is a more likable character than Werner, but I think that the brilliance of the book lies not with her ability to overcome obstacles, but in the development of Werner as a human and humane individual who is nonetheless not a hero who stands up to the Third Reich. He humanizes the German side of things, without being the kind of desperate rebel we prefer to glorify. At first, I was put off by this failure on his part, but in the end, I saw him as a way of understanding how so many basically good people ended up going along with the Nazi regime.

The writing style makes this a much faster read than the page  count would suggest. Short chapters alternate between Werner and Marie-Laure, and sections switch back and forth between the crucial final days in Saint-Malo and the years leading up to that point (this may have been part of my problem with the audio book, as it is harder to track switches like that on audio, without visual cues). The settings and voices are clear and easy to track.

My Recommendation:
Read it. It's not perfect; there are some things about the ending that I wasn't wild about. But it's a good read, and it helps us see two sides of something in this time when empathy seems to be in danger of extinction.

FTC Disclosure: I checked All the Light We Cannot See out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

YA Historical Fiction: Salt to the Sea, by Ruta Sepetys

 

Title: Salt to the Sea

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Publisher:  Philomel Books, 2017. 391 pages.

Source: Library

Publisher's Blurb:

Winter, 1945. Four teenagers. Four secrets.

Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies…and war.

As thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom.

Yet not all promises can be kept.

Inspired by the single greatest tragedy in maritime history, bestselling and award-winning author Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray) lifts the veil on a shockingly little-known casualty of World War II. An illuminating and life-affirming tale of heart and hope.  

My Review:

As I noticed when I read and reviewed Sepetys' Between Shades of Gray,  the author is very good at writing about the truly horrific times in human history without losing sight of the humanity of the people enduring it. In this case, she follows four young adults (ranging in age from about 16 to 21) who are caught up in the evacuation from East Prussia, Lithuania, and Poland as the Soviet army advances near the end of WWII. Each has a unique voice, and a unique story, told in first person. That could lead to confusion, but Sepetys simply gives each narrator a fresh chapter, headed with his or her name. I found no difficulty in following the different threads.

The four main characters are wildly different, but each has a secret, and each is tormented, in part by being thrust into adulthood prematurely, and in part by man's inhumanity to man. A big part of the draw of the story is the gradual unfolding of their secrets, though I felt a little as though I was sight-seeing at a train wreck at times--like I shouldn't be looking at their private horrors. And it's not just horrors--they have guilt, shame, and fear that drive them in so many ways.

A book about possibly the worst naval disaster of all time (9000 or more of the 10,000 people aboard the Wilhelm Gusloff drowned. That might be a spoiler but the blurb and the cover between them pretty well gave that away) cannot have an unadulterated happy ending. But as with her first novel, Sepetys manages to salvage the characters' humanity, and pulls something from the wreckage to prove that life does go on, and joy can be salvaged from despair, at least sometimes, and for some people.

[Mild spoilers here]

It quickly becomes evident to the reader that one of the narrators is a true believer of the Nazi doctrine, but it takes the whole book to see what else he is. This may be the most disturbing part of the book, and I think that Sepetys develops Alfred in a way that actually softens the realization that many people did support even the worst elements of the Third Reich, because the reader quickly sees that he is not a good person.

Overall, the writing is strong, the story is almost overwhelming, and the book will stay in the memory for a long time. I appreciate that I learned some history I never knew, too, even if it's very distressing history.

My Recommendation:

This is an excellent book for a young adult or adult reader, with or without any particular interest in WWII, though that will increase the interest. Due to adult situations and just too much human evil, this is not a book for younger readers. I would say high school and up.

In a nice development, due to a lack of other reading material, my college-age son and husband both read this as well. We were able to have some nice discussions about the development of the characters as well as the historical setting. My husband has some reservations about some of the motivations, but both he and my son found it an excellent read. I had no idea my kid knew so much history, but, then Russian is his major.
 

FTC Disclosure: I checked Salt to the Sea out of my local library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

Middle Grade Review: Wolf Hollow, by Lauren Wolk

 Title: Wolf Hollow
Author: Lauren Wolk
Publisher: Dutton Children's Books, 2016. 291 pages
Source: Library

Publisher's Blurb:
Growing up in the shadows cast by two world wars, Annabelle has lived a mostly quiet, steady life in her small Pennsylvania town. Until the day new student Betty Glengarry walks into her class. Betty quickly reveals herself to be cruel and manipulative, and while her bullying seems isolated at first, things quickly escalate, and reclusive World War I veteran Toby becomes a target of her attacks. While others have always seen Toby’s strangeness, Annabelle knows only kindness. She will soon need to find the courage to stand as a lone voice of justice as tensions mount.

Brilliantly crafted, Wolf Hollow is a haunting tale of America at a crossroads and a time when one girl’s resilience, strength, and compassion help to illuminate the darkest corners of our history.

My Review: 
This is definitely a growing-up book.  By that I mean, it's a book that doesn't have an easy and happy ending, and not only does the protagonist have to do some growing up, but so does the reader. It's a wonderful book, and leaves one with unanswered questions and some frustrations--much the way Annabelle feels.

The book is not so much about WWII (that's just the time period when it's set) as it is about bullying, justice, and the power of prejudice. In this case, there is a deeply troubled girl who is getting no help with her problems, and the entire community pays the price for that. What Betty does costs everyone in the town a little bit of their humanity, I think, though it also allows a few people to discover some things they didn't know they had. Annabelle especially discovers that she has a courage she never suspected, when she discovers that she has to stand up to a bully to protect those she loves.

I think the heart of the story is summed up in the line (part of the text on the front cover as well as part of the first chapter): "The year I turned twelve, I learned that what I said and what I did mattered. So much, sometimes, that I wasn't sure I wanted such a burden. But I took it anyway, and I carried it as best I could." Ultimately, if any of us learn that much from a book or from life, we've probably done okay.

My Recommendation:
This is another I will recommend for adults as well as children. The feel of the book is dark enough that I think it isn't suitable for kids younger than 11 or 12, not because of any inappropriate language or actions, but because of the adult decisions that Annabelle ends up making, and the adult consequences they have. It just feels like a book that might be hard for a younger child to take in.

FTC Disclosure: I checked Wolf Hollow out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

Cozy Mystery: Mrs. Odboddy, Hometown Patriot

Today we are featuring a Great Escapes blog tour, for the cozy mystery

Mrs. Odboddy, Hometown Patriot

by Elaine Faber

Publisher: Elk Grove Publications, 2016. 258 pages. 

Source: I was given a copy of the ebook in exchange for my review as part of this blog tour.

 

Publisher's Summary:

Since the onset of WWII, Agnes Agatha Odboddy, hometown patriot and self-appointed scourge of the underworld, suspects conspiracies around every corner…stolen ration books, German spies running amuck, and a possible Japanese invasion off the California coast. This seventy-year-old, model citizen would set the world aright if she could get Chief Waddlemucker to pay attention to the town’s nefarious deeds on any given Meatless Monday.

Mrs. Odboddy vows to bring the villains, both foreign and domestic, to justice, all while keeping chickens in her bathroom, working at the Ration Stamp Office, and knitting argyles for the boys on the front lines.

Imagine the chaos when Agnes’s long-lost WWI lover returns, hoping to find a million dollars in missing Hawaiian money and rekindle their ancient romance. In the thrilling conclusion, Agnes’s predictions become all too real when Mrs. Roosevelt unexpectedly comes to town to attend a funeral and Agnes must prove that she is, indeed, a warrior on the home front.

My Review:

Since I only sign up for tours for books that I expect to like, I went into this with high hopes. Those hopes met with mixed results. I will state that by the end I was fully engaged and enjoyed the story, for the most part. That said, it was not an unalloyed pleasure. 

It took me quite a long time to get engaged with the book, for reasons that aren't necessarily entirely the book's fault (my own busy life sometimes sidetracks a good book). I think the opening is flawed, as the opening incident and character are never referred to again, but it does plunge us right into the time and place, and gives a good view of Mrs. Odboddy's character. In fact, her character was part of my problem--her tendency to self-dramatization was, for me, a bit off-putting. I think I was hoping for someone a bit more like Mrs. Pollifax! But in the end, Mrs. Odboddy is vindicated, for both the town and the reader, and I was pleased that she got the chance to be a hero in reality, not just in her own mind.

For the most part, the historical setting is well-researched and well rendered, and the writing is strong. I had no trouble following the story or keeping the characters straight. The mystery is not terribly difficult to solve, and I was frustrated that Mrs. Odboddy gives up on her own suspicions just at the point where, to me, they are obviously correct. Despite that, I became much more engaged after the mid-point, and read on quickly to see how certain relationships would work out, and what she would get to do in the end.

Read this for a strong setting, off-the-wall characters, and humor of the pratfall/bumbling sleuth variety.

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Author Elaine Faber has kindly agreed to come by and talk about writing.

Elaine is a member of Sisters in Crime, Inspire Christian Writers and Cat Writers Association. She lives in No. Calif with her husband and four house cats (the inspiration for her three humorous cozy cat mysteries, Black Cat’s Legacy, Black Cat and the Lethal Lawyer, and Black Cat and the Accidental Angel).

Mrs. Odboddy’s character is based in no way on Elaine’s quirky personality. Two more Mrs. Odboddy adventures will publish in the near future. Many of Elaine’s short stories have appeared in magazines and multiple anthologies.

• Webpage/blog: www.mindcandymysteries.com
•  Facebook, http://tinyurl.com/zm2j4n5

Elaine Faber – Guest Post: How to Write a Best Seller

Reviewing the Plot

A great novel jumps off page one with a hook that keep the reader turning pages. Is it about a hard-boiled detective, bringing the killer to justice, or a romance with the boy next door? A good plot sucks you in and takes you willingly along an adventure. During the journey, you laugh or cry, are scared or surprised, along with the hero. At the end, you wish the story wouldn’t end and you look for the sequel so you can spend more time with these characters that have become friends.

Creating Conflict
A good story must have conflict or it isn’t a story. The girl next story must have a rival for her boyfriend. The CIA agent must have a villain to pursue. The puppy is lost. All these examples create conflict; something that prevents the main character from easily fulfilling his goal. If the CIA agent catches the villain on page one, where is the adventure? If the girl’s boyfriend doesn’t flirt around and break up with her, where is the romance? If the puppy isn’t lost, he’s just a puppy.

Supporting Characters

Besides the intriguing main characters, a good story has interesting supporting characters. They are the friends, relatives, or even the protagonist’s pets. They provide the main character someone to interact with. Often they lead to the conflict or help bring about the solution.

Beginning-Middle-End
A good book has an exciting beginning, a middle that holds your attention, and a satisfying end. The beginning jumps out with an event that convinces the reader to travel this journey with the main character. A mystery to solve, a romantic conflict or a specific goal must be revealed within the first few pages to keep the reader’s interest.

The middle is the crux of the story, where the character struggles to overcome the obstacles, but events go from bad to worse, and when all seems lost, we come to the end. The reader leaves laundry in the dryer and dishes in the sink to see what happens next.

The ending must tie up all the loose strings, solve all the puzzles and reach a conclusion that is acceptable to the reader. Did you ever read a 300 page novel and the main character dies on the last page? You want to heave the book against the wall!

And the Satisfying Conclusion
In a satisfying conclusion, the hero gets the girl, the killer is revealed, the interplanetary six-headed monster is vanquished, or the puppy finds a new home. A satisfying ending leaves the reader wanting to spend more time with the characters. The author’s challenge is to create stories that satisfy the reader and keep him wanting to buy the sequel.

The Right Editor
Now, the nuts and bolts. To be successful, the author needs a good editor to go through a manuscript to look for spelling errors, poor punctuation, poorly written sentences or scenes that don’t make sense. She inspires the author to help the reader reach a deeper connection with the hero, suggesting corrections in a constructive manner. Her suggestions move the manuscript from a story to a journey, where the reader becomes one with the protagonist.

The Book Cover
At last the book moves through publication and to the store. A potential buyer sees the snappy, good looking, brightly colored cover with an easily read title and intriguing picture, suggesting the story line. The appealing cover tempts the potential buyer to turn over the book to read the plot summary with a hook, and it compels him to buy the book. Mission accomplished.

That’s all there is to writing a best seller. Easy-peasy, right?

Thanks Elaine, for coming by and sharing about the writing process! Easy-peasy, indeed!

Here's all the other info:

Purchase Links

• Mrs. Odboddy: http://tinyurl.com/hdbvzsv
• Black Cat’s Legacy: http://tinyurl.com/lrvevgm
• Black Cat and the Lethal Lawyer http://tinyurl.com/q3qrgyu
• Black Cat/Accidental Angel http://tinyurl.com/07zcsm2

Don't take my word for it! Check out what other Tour Participants have to say!
June 9 – Back Porchervations
June 9 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too!
June 9 – Socrates’ Book Reviews
June 10 – Babs Book Bistro
June 11 – Brooke Blogs
June 12 –  Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book
June 12 – Shelley’s Book Case
June 13 – Books Direct
June 13 – Queen of All She Reads
June 14 – I Read What You Write
June 14 – The Ninja Librarian
June 15 – Island Confidential
June 15 – T’s Stuff
June 16 – Reading Is My SuperPower
June 16 – LibriAmoriMiei
June 17 – Community Bookstop
June 17 – Laura’s Interests
June 17 – Melina’s Book Blog 

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FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of Mrs. Odboddy, Hometown Patriot as a participant in this blog tour, and received nothing further from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

 

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Middle Grade Review: Gingersnap, by Patricia Reilly Giff

Title: Gingersnap
Author: Patricia Reilly Giff; read by Olivia Campbell
Publisher: Listening Library, 2013. Originally by Wendy Lamb Books, 2013, 160 pages
Source: Library (digital download)

Summary: 
In 1944, 10-year-old Jayna is living with her 18-year-old brother at last, after years of the orphans being separated in foster homes. But when Rob is called up for military service, Jayna is left uncomfortably with a landlady who doesn't really want a child. When Rob is reported missing in action, he shows her a book and a picture, and tells her they may have a grandmother in Brooklyn. When things get bad, Jayna sets off with her pet turtle and a mysterious ghostly voice to find that grandmother.

Review:
I'm a big fan of children's historical fiction, and Patricia Reilly Giff does a good job with the genre. The story is moving, and doesn't drag. I could do without the ghost (which might be dismissed as a psychological aberration, but it's not easy); mystical stuff doesn't do much for me. But aside from that, the book is a quickly-moving, sweet story, with an ending probably too good to be true, but presented well enough to satisfy.

The reader does a very good job, and there are no technical issues to get between the listener and the story.

Recommendation:
This one might be better for the kids than the adults. There is plenty of suspense, but nothing very terrible happens in the book, and it can introduce the time and place to younger readers. I'd recommend from age 8 up.
 

Full Disclosure: I checked Gingersnap out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Book Review: The Wind is Not A River

Title: The Wind is Not a River
Author: Brian Payton
Publisher: Harper Colllins, 2014, 305 pages
Source: I won and uncorrected proof of this book in a Goodreads.com giveaway
My apologies to Mr. Payton and his publisher for taking so long to get to this review!  I know that there is no requirement to review (let alone in a timely fashion) when one wins a giveaway, but I prefer to be a bit more on top of things.  As an author myself, I know how much these reviews can mean.

Summary:
John Easley is a journalist.  In 1943, after the death of his younger brother over Normandy, he follows a nearly obsessive desire to learn what is happening in the Aleutian Islands and leaves his wife in Seattle.  He fakes his way onto a flight over Attu--and is shot down.  What he endures to get home, and what his wife does to try to find him, make up the story, but it is also the story of the natives and the soldiers in that forgotten part of the war.  In a way, this book is the story John Easley was hoping to tell.


Review:
In general, I was very favorably impressed by this book.  I'm a fan of WWII literature, fiction and fact, and that was why I entered the Giveaway.  The book wasn't quite what I expected, but it did not disappoint.  The story was gripping, and once I got started I sped through the book, unwilling to put it down.  This is not a shiny-eyed tale of heroics and super-human feats.  Easley is a civilian, unprepared physically or mentally for what happens to him, and if he is not always heroic, he nonetheless holds on for an amazingly long time, even as he starves, freezes, and hallucinates his way through some six or eight weeks of hiding from the Japanese.

His wife, Helen, also finds she can do more than she imagines.  I liked her depiction as both sheltered and amazingly strong, pulling herself far beyond her comfort zone to try to find the husband who walked out after a fight and didn't return. That hiccup in their happy marriage becomes huge in light of what follows, and Payton uses it in a way that felt very real to me.  She is both smart and naive, and the combination takes her a long way.

My main issue with the book was stylistic (and thus totally a matter of personal taste): the author chose to write in the present tense, which never feels quite natural to me.  On the other hand, it gave the narrative both a sort of immediacy and an almost dream-like quality at times.  The ending was more realistic than completely satisfying, but again, I don't fault the book or the author for this.  Some part of me wants a fairy-tale ending, but it wouldn't be right for this book.

I was given an unedited proof copy, so I will assume that the few typos and errors I spotted will have been corrected before publication.  In most respects, the editing and quality were excellent.

Recommendation:
For those who like realistic historical fiction and fans of WWII literature.  Not so much for those looking for romance in either sense of the word, though this is definitely a love story as well as an adventure. It just isn't a starry-eyed version of either.

Full Disclosure: I won The Wind is Not a River in a Goodreads giveaway, with no expectations on the part of the Author or publisher other than a hope for my honest review, which I have given.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Middle Grade Review: Dear Papa, by Anne Ylvisaker

Title: Dear Papa
Author: Anna Ylvisaker
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2007, 192 pages
Source: Library

Summary:
When the book opens Isabelle is 9, and learning to write letters at school.  She chooses to write to her dead Papa, because she sometimes feels like she's the only one who thinks about him.  To make it worse, her mother sends her and her older sisters to live with relatives, which feels to the 9-year-old like a total rejection.

Eventually, Isabelle writes to her Aunt Isabelle, her sisters and brother, and her friends, as well as her Papa.  But the whole story is told in her letters--letters written over a span of years, though the bulk of the story takes place between ages 9 and 12.

Set during WWII, the story reflects its time, but it is ultimately the story of a girl growing up, not of a country at war.

Review:
The epistolary format makes this book a quick read, but that doesn't mean it's shallow.  I think that the author captures nicely Isabelle's sense of isolation, her fears, and above all her in-the-middle place in the family.  Her older sisters are old enough to be realistic about their father's death and the fact that there mother is moving on--must move on.  Her younger brother and sister are young enough to quickly forget their father, except in a vague sort of way.  To Isabelle, all these are betrayals.

The author does a great job of letting the reader see and understand more than Isabelle does, even though all the words are hers.  Though I think a child reading this would be much more likely to take characters (like the new man in her mother's life) at Isabelle's reading of them, at least as an adult I could see that there was more depth there than she credits.

Recommendation:
A decent, though not exceptional read, and good for those who enjoy historical fiction and coming-of-age novels.

Full Disclosure: I checked  Dear Papa  out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Flash Fiction--40%

As you may have already noticed, my blog schedule is a bit messed up this week.  It's going to stay that way, as I will be attending a conference this weekend (not writing; California School Boards Association, where I will contemplate education issues until my brain explodes).  So I'm writing and scheduling as well as I can for the time I'll be gone.  Anyway, I already missed Monday. 

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Last week I threw out 200 words for the newest Chuck Wendig challenge, the serial story written in five segments by five different authors.  Round Two links here.

My story, posted last Tuesday, was continued by Hana Frank AND by Connie Cockrell.  I will try to keep tracking developments on the story.  And on each that I continue.  This is going to get complicated.

This week, I picked my story for the second part, and wrote the next 200 words.  So, as of now, we have 400 words of a story.  Next week, I'll snag yet another story and write part three.

This week's story was started by The Urban Spaceman


Here's his beginning:

Joe’s Bar

“Buy me a drink,” he said, bloodshot eyes meeting mine from further down the bar, “and I’ll tell you how I broke the world.”


I gave a snort, took a long swig of my G&T, and turned my attention back to the game being shown on Joe’s decrepit TV.


“Go on,” he insisted, in a voice ravaged by years of strong alcohol. “It’ll be worth it.”

Glancing around, I looked for help, but none of the other patrons of the grotty bar were paying attention to me being pestered by the old loon, and the bartender was very focused on cleaning a glass. The old man’s eyes bored into me from beneath his dirty mop of hair, and in the dim light of Joe’s Bar I saw the dark red stains on his grey trench coat.

“Alright.” The game was dull anyway. “What’s your poison?”

“Scotch on the rocks.”


I nodded at the barkeep, and the old man watched hungrily as the amber nectar was poured.

 “Go on then,” I prompted him. “Tell me how you broke the world.”


 He took a sip of his drink, gave a happy sigh, and looked up at me with those bloodshot eyes.
  “It all started in 1939…”


And now, my continuation:

Nineteen thirty-nine?  That was an obvious place for a claim like his.  “So you were responsible for Hitler?” I guessed, humoring the old man.  He might have been alive in 1939, but he certainly wasn’t old enough at the outset of WWII to have played a significant role.  To have broken the world.

“Not exactly.”  His voice was still coarse, but now seemed somehow stronger.  “I was Hitler.”

I laughed.  “Yeah, you look it, Old Man.  Tell me another.  You were Mussolini, too, right?”

He wasn’t laughing.  “Yes.  And Stalin.  They were all aspects of me, and because of my incompetence millions suffered and died.”

I sighed, and bought him another drink.  The first one had sort of evaporated, and I wanted to hear what kind of story he’d spin.  The game really was dull as dishwater, and this lunatic at least had some imagination, unlike the coaches, who kept trying the same failed moves.

 His voice was much clearer now, the ravaging effects of the whiskey fading as he began to tell his story.

“I thought it would be for the best.  I started with Stalin, when Russia needed a strong leader.  Times really were bad, you know.”

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Note: Part Three is now available here.  But that's beyond my control :)

And now for something completely different. . . .