Memorable Monday # 3

Happy Monday. The point of Memorable Monday is to showcase a book that you read in the past and share why/how the book has stuck with you.


Today, I am featuring 

In 1942, with the Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, the Franks and another family lived cloistered in the “Secret Annexe” of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death. In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and surprisingly humorous, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.

Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank’s remarkable diary has become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.

I was around ten years old when my Dad brought home a copy of Anne Frank's book The Diary of a Young Girl. I am sure I had studied WWII, the Nazi's, and Holocaust in school but this book brought that time period to life in a real way. I remember crying myself to sleep and having nightmare's. I believe this book is what gave me not only my love of history but historical fiction.


Now, it's your turn. What book is memorable to you? Let me know in the comments!

The Last Year of the War by Susan Meissner - Reviewed

About the book:

Title: The Last Year of the War
Author: Susan Meissner
Publisher: Berkley

Elise Sontag is a typical Iowa fourteen-year-old in 1943--aware of the war but distanced from its reach. Then her father, a legal U.S. resident for nearly two decades, is suddenly arrested on suspicion of being a Nazi sympathizer. The family is sent to an internment camp in Texas, where, behind the armed guards and barbed wire, Elise feels stripped of everything beloved and familiar, including her own identity.
The only thing that makes the camp bearable is meeting fellow internee Mariko Inoue, a Japanese-American teen from Los Angeles, whose friendship empowers Elise to believe the life she knew before the war will again be hers. Together in the desert wilderness, Elise and Mariko hold tight the dream of being young American women with a future beyond the fences.

Purchase a copy HERE

About Susan Meissner:

Susan Meissner is a USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction with more than half a million books in print in fifteen languages. She is an author, speaker and writing workshop leader with a background in community journalism. Her novels include As Bright as Heaven, starred review in Library Journal; Secrets of  Charmed Life, a Goodreads finalist for Best Historical Fiction 2015; and A Fall of Marigolds, named to Booklist’s Top Ten Women’s Fiction titles for 2014. A California native, she attended Point Loma Nazarene University and is also a writing workshop volunteer for Words Alive, a San Diego non-profit dedicated to helping at-risk youth foster a love for reading and writing.

Website || Facebook || Twitter 

My Thoughts:

Have you ever left a good friend or have them leave you? As a Navy brat and wife of forty years I have. And I've watched my kids do the same. Friendship is a bond especially during difficult circumstances that hold us together. 

Imagine with me for a moment the fear of being taken from your home and placed in an internment camp even though you've lived in America for twenty years. And then during one of the worst circumstances in your life you meet someone who is also going through one of the worst times in their life and you connect. That is the beautiful friendship of Elise and Mariko.

This book touched me and tore at my heart. Elise is determined to not forget her friend, Mariko. See Elise has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Something that my dad has just been diagnosed to be in the early stages of. These quotes touched me deeply.

 “I’ve named my diagnosis after a girl at my Junior High School in Daven port – Agnes Finster – who was forever taking things that didn’t belong to her out of lockers. My own Agnes will be the death of me” 

“Agnes will swallow me whole, inch by inch. Every day a little more. She will become stronger and I will become weaker…. I will forget forever the important things. The things that matter.”

Within the pages of this story Ms. Meissner weaves the past together seamlessly with the present, and shows the devastation of WWII. 

This is the second book that I've read about internment camps, both within this year. Something that until this year I didn't know much about and I highly recommend it!

When the Heart Sings (Music of Hope #2) by Liz Tolsma Review and Giveaway

Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for When the Heart Sings by Liz Tolsma, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: When the Heart Sings  
Series: Music of Hope #2  
Author: Liz Tolsma  
Publisher: Gilead Publishing  
Release Date: October 9, 2018
Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance  

Natia has a secret, and she’s hiding him right beneath her captor’s nose...

The Nazis have forced Natia and Teodor from their Polish farm to a labor camp. When the couple is separated, Natia is chosen to be the housekeeper for the camp’s overseer, and Teodor is sent to work in the factory. Despite the strict camp rules—and the consequences for disobeying them—Natia finds a way to communicate with Teodor by sending messages through song as she passes Teodor’s dormitory.

The stakes get higher when Natia finds a Jewish orphan on the overseer’s doorstep. She is determined to protect the boy and raise him as the child she and her husband were unable to bear— but if her German captors discover how much she’s hiding, both she and Teodor may pay the ultimate price.  

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Christian Book | Book Depository

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Passionate might best describe Liz Tolsma. She loves writing, research, and editing. Her passion shone through in her first novel which was a double award finalist. On any given day, you might find her pulling weeds in her perennial garden, walking her hyperactive dog, or curled up with a good book. Nothing means more to her than her family. She's married her high-school sweetheart twenty-eight years ago. Get her talking about international adoption, and you might never get her to stop. She and her husband adopted three children, including a son who is a U.S. Marine, and two daughters.

CONNECT WITH LIZ: website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

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My Thoughts:

This will probably be one of the hardest reviews I will ever write and not because of the writing, yet because of the writing if that makes any sense.

Liz Tolsma is one of my absolutely favorite historical authors, and just like her other historicals this book is impeccably written.

From the moment I opened the first page and began reading I was pulled into the world of Natia and Teodor. A Polish couple torn from their farm because of the Nazi occupation.

Ms. Tolsma brings to life the devastation the Polish people endured through vivid scenes and heartache.
The friendship she creates between Natia and a German woman, Elfriede Fromm becomes a bright spot for both women during the worst of times in their lives.

Her depiction of life inside a labor camp angered me to no end.Which brings me to one of the best villains I think I've read or maybe the first one that stands out as vividly as Erich Fromm. Erich Fromm was pure evil like the devil himself. I don't believe I can point out one thing that I liked about the guy a character you will love to hate.

My Bottom Line:

This book is an emotional story that will grab you from page one. The book is historically accurate and you can see that Ms. Tolsma did her research. While it is a book you feel as though you are watching a movie.  

Even with all of the misery placed perfectly within the book there is hope, forgiveness, and love. Love that pulls you through anything, and hope that encourages you to continue through the worst of times when your heart just wants to quit.

I highly recommend it!


I received a copy of this book from the publisher in association with Just Read Publicity Tours. All thoughts and opinions are my own.




                                                                                   TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive (US only)

• a print copy of When the Heart Sings
• 'Just One More Chapter' throw pillow seen HERE

Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight November 26, 2018 and last through 11:59pm December 3, 2018. US only. Winners will be notified within a week of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

Facade by Pepper Basham - Reviewed

About the Book:

Facade - Timeless Love Collection
Author: Pepper D. Basham

A reclusive academic
who would do anything to save her brother.

A reluctant spy
willing to risk his life to save the woman who broke his heart.

Olivia Rakes has the unique gift of observation, which suits her well since she prefers her books over the general populace, but when her brother goes MIA over France, Livy’s unique skills and her determination to save her brother force her into a world of espionage, deceit, danger…and the most frightening of all–romance.
Agent Christopher Dawson has never forgotten his childhood friend, and first love, Livy Rakes, but since she broke his heart, he’s avoided seeing her for years…until the search for his best friend brings them both together in the most unlikely of ways.
In a world where war changes the rules of life and love, can Christopher and Livy work together work together to unveil the mascarade before the enemy catches them?

Amazon || Barnes and Noble || Better World Books ||

About Pepper Basham

Pepper D Basham has been telling tales ever since she was a little girl. When her grandmother called her a “writer” at the age of ten, Pepper took it as gospel and has enjoyed various types of writing styles ever since. A native of the Blue Ridge Mountains, mom of five, speech-language pathologist, and lover of chocolate, Pepper enjoys sprinkling her native Appalachian culture into her fiction wherever she can. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC, where she works with kids who have special needs, searches for unique hats, and plots new ways to annoy her wonderful friends at her writing blog, The Writer’s Alley.






My Thoughts:

This is a quirky fun novella. As with all of Ms. Basham's books to date she creates great dialogue, interesting characters with a sweet romance. This intriguing novella is set during WWII with a spy espionage plot. It moves along at a nice pace, not too fast or slow. There were some surprises that had me holding my breath wondering how Livy was going to get herself out of situations.

This is a novella that is apart of the Timeless Love Collection. Look for my upcoming review of all the books in the collection.

Disclaimer: I received an advance copy from the publisher. I was not required to write a review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

First Line Friday - The Crooked Path

 

                                This is a picture of my lilies on the side of our home.

It's March 2nd . . . I refuse to accept that it's March already. While I am a warm weather girl, it seems as though the years just keep flying by faster and faster. I'd love for it to go a little slower. Between our children and grandchildren they seem to be getting older by the minute.

We haven't had much snow this season, until recently, and for the first time we have snow on the ground, and it's March. Go figure! Idaho his weird.

I had a hard time choosing a book for FLF, I wanted something spring like, and this book has such a pretty spring cover, I thought I'd use this one.

About the book:

From the bestselling author of The Girl From the Train, comes another compelling coming of age story of delayed love, loss, and reconciliation in WWII-era South Africa.
Lettie has always felt different from and overshadowed by the women around her– this friend is richer, that friend is more beautiful, those friends are closer. Still, she doesn’t let this hold her back. She works hard to apply her mind, trying to compensate for her perceived lack of beauty with diligent academic work and a successful career as a doctor. She learns to treasure her friendships, but she still wonders if any man will ever return her interest.
Marco’s experience in the second world war have robbed him of love and health. When winters in his native Italy prove dangerous to his health even after the war has ended, he moves to South Africa to be with his brother, husband to one of Lettie’s best friends. Marco is Lettie’s first patient, and their relationship grows as she aids him on the road back to restored health.
In the company of beloved characters from The Child of the River, Marco and Lettie find a happiness that neither of them thought possible. With that joy comes pain and loss, but Lettie learns that life—while perhaps a crooked path—is always a journey worth taking.

Amazon || Barnes and Noble || Audible || Christian Book Distributors ||


First Line:

What she was looking at, was definitely not what she wanted to see. Lettie stood facing the full-length mirror in her mom's bedroom. 


First Line Friday is sponsored by Hoarding Books. So, after you leave your first line in the comments head over there to read their first line, and visit all of the other First Liners.

The Melody of the Soul by Liz Tolsma Review, Giveaway and Facebook Live

{MORE ABOUT THE MELODY OF THE SOUL}
The Melody of the Soul (Gilead Publishing, January 2018)
Anna has one chance for survival—and it lies in the hands of her mortal enemy.
It’s 1943 and Anna Zadok, a Jewish Christian living in Prague, has lost nearly everything. Most of her family has been deported, and the Nazi occupation ended her career as a concert violinist. Now Anna is left to care for her grandmother, and she’ll do anything to keep her safe—a job that gets much harder when Nazi officer Horst Engel is quartered in the flat below them.
Though musical instruments have been declared illegal, Anna defiantly continues to play the violin. But Horst, dissatisfied with German ideology, enjoys her soothing music. When Anna and her grandmother face deportation, Horst risks everything to protect them.
Anna finds herself falling in love with the handsome officer and his brave heart. But what he reveals might stop the music forever.

You can purchase a copy here.

{MORE ABOUT LIZ TOLSMA}

Best-selling novelist Liz Tolsma is the author of several World War II novels and prairie romance novellas. She also works as a freelance editor. She lives in a semirural area of Wisconsin with her husband and two daughters. Her son serves with the US Marines. All of their chidlren came to them through international adoption. Her other passions include walking, gardening, camping, and reading.

My Thoughts:

I finished this book a couple of days ago and I am still trying to put my feelings into words. This book touched me physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I actually had a dream that I was helping Anna escape and I was being chased by German soldiers. I woke up out of breath and scared out of my wits! I couldn't imagine how scared the Jewish people were living through that time period.

Anna and Horst are a very unlikely pair. A Jewish Christian and a Christian German soldier. Both are enemies by birth yet united spiritually by choice. Together we join them as they try to survive the German occupation in Prague and keep others from the death chambers.

Frederick Delius a British composer said that Music is the outburst of the soul. He couldn't be more correct. I grew up not only listening to music, but singing in choir at church. Besides reading, I turn to music when I am sad, or need encouragement. So, it doesn't surprise me that during this most horrible time in history music was not only a comfort to the Jewish people enduring the Holocaust but the German soldiers who were just doing a job out of fear for their own death or acceptance by family. Although sadly some, nearly all of the German soldiers just hated the Jewish people.

My Bottom Line:

This is an emotionally charged story that will impact how you see those that are different from you. And how hate of someone who is different whether in looks or beliefs can affect how we see ourselves and how God sees us. Seeing hate consume others places a child of God in the position to go along with those who hate, or choose to love as He has loved us. 1 John 4:19 - We love because He first loved us. (NIV)
This is a must read for anyone who enjoys historical fiction. Keep kleenex close, and be prepared to be challenged as not only a human but a believer. I highly recommend it! I know it's just January but I know this will be on my favorites list for 2018.

Travel back in time to 1943 and meet Anna Zadok, a Jewish Christian and concert violinist whose career is ended because of Nazi occupation in Prague. Don't miss the new historical novel, The Melody of the Soul, by Liz Tolsma. Though musical instruments have been declared illegal, Anna defiantly continues to play the violin. But Officer Horst Engel, quartered in Anna's flat and dissatisfied with German ideology, enjoys her soothing music. When Anna and her grandmother face deportation, Horst risks everything to protect them.

Join Liz Tolsma and other bookworms for a Facebook Live event on February 6, plus enter to win Liz's prize pack giveaway!

 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• One copy of The Melody of the Soul
• A garnet bracelet
• A box of Czech Republic chocolate

 

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on February 6. The winner will be announced at Liz's Facebook Live Party. RSVP for a chance to connect with Liz and other readers, as well as for a chance to win other prizes!

RSVP today and spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway and Facebook Live party via social media and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 6th!