Showing posts with label Holocaust. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holocaust. Show all posts

Monday, April 26, 2021

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak



Rating (1-5) - 📘📘
Genre - Fiction, Holocaust, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Foster Home
Format - Paperback
Length - 608 Pages

*Amazon Blurb*

When Death has a story to tell, you listen.
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.
Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

 
*My Review* 
 
Another book club book and also another one that was hard to get thru. Not only was this book extremely long, but in my opinion it was extremely boring too. I felt like it wasn't going anywhere at all. There was no suspense, no excitement.....nothing. The only thing that I wanted to know is what happened to the Jewish man.

I also decided to force my poor husband to watch the movie with me. I generally don't watch movies of the books I've read because, let's face it, books are better. I had heard from a couple different people that the movie was better than the book in this case. I agree and disagree at the same time. I feel that the movie gave the book a bit more desire to finish, but it also missed some parts that I feel were very necessary in understanding things.

Friday, December 7, 2018

The Truth About Us by Tia Souders

The Truth About Us

by Tia Souders





Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘
Genre - Historical Fiction, Holocaust
Format - Kindle

*Blurb* 

The present is built on the past. But what if your past is a lie? When 18 yr old Abigail Bridges’ grandmother dies, she leaves behind a mysterious letter asking her to unravel a hidden family secret. There is only one rule: tell no one. But meeting strangers in the dark and receiving old journals dating back to the Holocaust isn’t what she bargained for. Neither is a chance encounter with the enigmatic, brown-eyed Kade Oliver, who makes her want to discard her usually reserved nature. After a key clue goes missing, Abigail ignores her grandmother’s rule and tells Kade everything. Together, they begin to unravel a terrifying truth. The truth may set others free, but for Abigail, it will tear her family apart. Now, she must decide between continuing to uncover her families’ lies or burying the past once and for all.


*Review*


When I started reading the story I had no idea the roller coaster ride I was about to take. The story had many ups and downs. I was able to figure out the secret before it was revealed in the book and it left me concerned that the book was going to just drag out with clues. I was so wrong! Once the secret is revealed it sets poor Abigail up for what is probably one of the biggest choice she will ever make in her life.

I lost my own grandmother earlier this year and kept wonder what kind of person Abigail's grandmother was. If they were that close (like my gram and I were) a secret like that wouldn't have been kept or placed on me. The kind of secret she kept was one of mass proportion. The fact that she left it to her teenage granddaughter to deal with seemed kind of wrong. The decision Abigail needed to make was life changing not only for her, but her family. I feel like Abigail wasn't given proper time to grieve the loss of her grandmother either. Her grades were dropping, she was not paying attention in school and instead of the speaking up or her parents keeping her home, it seemed like everyone thought she should be just fine.

I had an instant dislike for her friend Cammie. I feel like the girl only cared about making herself feel good. It's one thing to be honest with your friends, it's another to be downright mean as I feel she was. I also wasn't sure about Kade. He comes off as a very sweet and quiet boy, but also a bit of a stalker.


I highly recommend checking out other books by Tia Souders, including my review on Something of Substance.