Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan ~ Book Review

In 1838 the steamship Pulaski sank about 30 miles off the shores of North Carolina losing 128 lives with only 58 surviving the disaster.  On board were some of Savannah's aristocratic high class bound for their summer homes farther north.  Years later it became known as the "Titanic of the South".  When the ship is finally located in the present day and artifacts start to be recovered, history professor Everly Winthrop is called upon to curate the museum collection focused on the families who were aboard the ship and the explosion that blew it up.  But Everly is hesitant to take on the task.  She is still getting over the drunk driving death of her best friend that has left her unmotivated in life.  But the draw of solving some of mysteries of that fateful voyage is too alluring.  

A story of disaster, survival and loss and the strength of women in the midst of it.  It explores how tragedy affects people and their behavior during and after and how grief changes people.  The dual timeline was interestingly woven together with the story of the museum's curation of the artifacts.  I found the story interesting as a whole but much preferred the historical side as it drew me in more emotionally.  The present day was good too but I found it didn't draw as much as the historical and slowed down is some parts.  All in all a great dual timeline that taught me a piece of history I has no idea about.

Rating:  8.5/10

Jaqueline in Paris by Ann Mah ~ Book Review

After WWII, Jacqueline Bouvier sets off to spend her Junior year in Paris along with a group of girls from Vassar College.   After a failed engagement her mother wants her to stay behind and find a suitable, prestigious and wealthy match for herself.  But in spite of her mother's pressures Jacqueline leaves for her year abroad.  What she finds is both exhilarating and confusing.  On the one hand is the parties, the cafes, the learning of the French language, the theatres and her studies of the arts and literature.  On the other hand is a France still trying to rebuild from the war, with homes with no heat, people still very much traumatized by the war and an undercurrent of suspicion of a Communist movement trying to gain a foothold.  The family she is living with embraces her and the other girls into their home but there are secrets being held amongst the family members.  Who in Jacqueline's circles can be trusted and who plays their part well?  As a naive Jacqueline tries to navigate this new world, she will cultivate a deep love for France, it's culture, the arts and it's people and will learn lessons that will carry her into her future as the 1st Lady of America.  

This historical fiction is based on the real lives of Jacqueline Bouvier, John Marquard Jr., the de Rentry family and others in post war France.  The author describes a Jacqueline that is ready to experience every part of her year there including side trips into Vienna and Germany.  Before her fame as the first lady, was a young woman with hopes and dreams of her own, hoping to find her own love rather than the stilted marriage of prestige that her mother's society in New York was expecting for her.  Paris helped change, mature and prepare her for her future.  The descriptions were detailed of both sides of the Paris Jacqueline found and the story was captivating with intrigue thrown in through the spies and Communism.  Though if one is expecting a fast paced, action packed tale this is not that.  It is slower paced with following the main character's steps through the society and with the characters she met along the way which shaped who she became.  I enjoyed the story for the most part, knowing some of it was probably very fictionalized.  

I rated it an 8.5/10

The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh ~ Book Review

Isadora Bentley is facing her thirtieth birthday alone by choice.  Deciding she will celebrate with a good feed of junk food she heads to the grocery store.  While at the till, she sees a magazine featuring an article entitled "Thirty One Ways to Be Happy".  Being decidedly unhappy, on a whim Isadora tosses the magazine onto the pile.  After all maybe, just maybe, her quiet, organized, lonely life might need a boost.  After reading the article and being quite skeptical of both the author and the suggestions, the university researcher in Isadora decides to make a secret research project out of the whole thing to prove both the article and it's author false.  As she takes on the different steps outlined in the article and it brings her into contact with a host of characters that seem to have the happiness that eludes her and want to prove her wrong,  Isadora finds that maybe there may be something to this ridiculous list after all, if only she could open herself to it.  

I loved this story.  I was immediately caught up into Isadora's world where she had built a wall around herself to protect her heart both professionally and personally as she was previously very hurt in both areas of her life.  Her determination to prove it all wrong leads to some really hilarious and heartfelt moments throughout the story.  I found myself laughing and shedding tears for her throughout.  Her character caused me as the reader to have someone to really root for hoping she would find happiness somewhere out of the list. The author did a good job of moving the story along and letting the reader into all the confusing emotions Isadora was going through in her journey.   The humor is witty and yet there were many deep  and smart moments that causes the reader to pause and think.  It was a sweet, enlightening and fun read.

Rating:  10/10

A Piece of the Moon by Chris Fabry ~ Book Review

Gideon Quidley, an eccentric millionaire, feels he is being led by God to hide his earthly treasures in the hills of West Virginia with the only clues being bible verses.  Deep down he hopes it will cause his selfish grown son to get into the Word but who is very angry with his father for not just naming him the heir to the treasure.  People have always tried to find the treasure with no luck so far.  But when a couple of radio show hosts from a small town called Emmaus give out the latest clue kind of tongue in cheek, it sets off a string of events that no one could have predicted.  As the usual treasure hunters descend upon the small town, a local pastor and estranged friend of one of the hosts goes missing looking for the treasure.  TD andWaite, the radio hosts, feel responsible and are drawn into the hunt so that they can find the pastor.  It is the last thing either wants to do.  Waite is trying to keep the radio station from shutting down and is busy with his radio program that ministers to the community and TD just wants to win the heart of the junkyard owner who is taking care of her nephew who has had problems in the past.  But now the priority is trying to figure out where the pastor thought the treasure was so that they can find he pastor.  As time is not on their side, will they be able right the mistakes of teasing the locals with the clues and find the pastor or the treasure?

I really enjoyed this story.  It has a great cast of characters who all have faults and pasts they are trying to forget or hide.  The author brings them together with the treasure hunt being the common ground. But there is so much more to the story than a treasure hunt.  It's got twists and turns one doesn't see coming and the hardships of life the characters face are relatable.   Though a tad slow in the parts that described the workings of radio station the knowledge does lay the ground work for things coming up in the story.  It's a touching, well written story that kept me engaged throughout.

I rated it a 9.5/10

That Summer in Berlin by Lecia Cornwall ~ Book Review

Viviane Alden is from an aristocratic family in England.  All her mother's goals and dreams involve marrying off her daughters well in order to keep her status amongst the aristocracy.  When Vivianne breaks her engagement to her titled fiance, it puts her mother into high gear finding her a suitable husband before Vivianne becomes "too old".  As Germany is building up their country, debutantes such as Viviane and her sister are considered to be marriageable to German men to strengthen political bonds.  With the 1936 Olympics being held in Berlin, Hitler is doing everything possible to show off his county in the best possible light to the world.  Viviane and her sister have been invited by an old family friend to come and stay with them in Germany and attend the highly anticipated event. Viviane has  no intention of finding anyone to be involved with but she is excited to bring her camera along and photograph the events she will be attending.   But before she leaves for Germany,  Viviane meets Tom Graham, a journalist,  through a friend and his thoughts on Germany's intentions are more complicated.  When he finds out she is a photographer he convinces her to get photographic evidence that tells the truth, that Berlin's Olympics are a facade and Germany is actually weaponizing behind the scenes.  As Germany is flooded with tourists being presented with goodwill and hospitality, Viviane and Tom are risking everything to show the truth.  Tom is very aware of the risks involved but Viviane seems to be taking the danger a little to lightly for Tom's liking and is taking risks that could get them both caught. 

I loved this unique take on a WWII story of debutantes who were sent from England in the '30's in the hopes that the forming of social connections between the two countries would make war impossible.  There were those who fully bought into the propoganda put out by Germany but there were a handful of citizens and those in British government who were suspicious of Hitler's intentions.  Placing journalists and photographers into Berlin to get proof was a very risky game but one that could produce the proof they needed to show the world that Germany had ulterior motives in hosting the games.  I have to admit this was a total cover buy for me though the description did sound intriguing when I bought the book. The writing turned out to be really good and pulled me in right from the beginning and kept me interested throughout.  The short chapters kept the story moving along quickly.  The twists I did not see coming and were woven into the story well with an ending I didn't guess.  I think this book is not getting near enough "talk".  Bonus was that I found out the author is local to Southern Alberta. 

This quote really stood out to me:

"Look around you.  See how happy the tourists are?  

The Nazi's have done an excellent job of creating peace and perfection and justifying such extremes of patriotism.  

How can anyone believe in war or violence or hatred when there is music and flowers and a spectacle to divert their attention, soothe their worries, amuse them?"

pg. 270  That Summer in Berlin

by Lecia Cornwall

Definitely a page turning cautionary tale of the purposes and effects of propaganda interwoven into a story of courage, love and intrigue.

I gave it a 10/10 rating

For a Lifetime by Gabrielle Meyer ~ Book Review

Identical twin sisters Hope and Grace live in both 1692 Salem and 1912 New York. Being born a time crosser is challenging at the best of times but having the ability when the beginning of the witch hunts in Salem start is profoundly difficult.  In their Salem life, they live and work in their widowed father's "Ordinary" (a place where travellers could get an "ordinary" meal and possibly lodging).  As the Salem witch trials heat up and more and more people are accused, Hope can't wait for their 25th birthday coming up where they will get to choose which time period they want to spend the rest of their lives in.  She certainly will not be choosing 1692 Salem.   Her life in 1912 is filled with adventure as she is a rare female pilot.  About to embark on a history making flight, she is ready to leave Salem behind.  Grace is a journalist in 1912 and is covering Hope's flight but is very unsure about the whole thing.  The only reason she is supporting it is for the money Hope will receive which will help their parents to keep the mission orphanage they worked a lifetime to build which Grace put in jeopardy with a expose article she had written about a shady businessman.   But in 1692 Grace is on a mission to find out what happened to their mother who mysteriously died when they were infants and wants the answer before their defining birthday.  As things unfold in both timelines, their ability to choose what they really want is put on the line.  

I think this was my favorite  of the Timeless Series and I have loved them all so far.  They just keep getting better and better. The tension of the witch trials and the excitement of the birth of aviation and women's involvement really was a compelling foil against each other for the time periods.  The added twist of having a twin with the crossover ability really added to the story.  They had distinct personalities yet were so tied together.  Gabrielle Meyer has such a way of making the time periods come alive you are really sucked into the stories.  The reader learns so much history without it being dry or boring.  This story brought out all the emotions and what happens literally made me gasp a couple of times as I was reading it.  It was hard to put down as you just have to find out what happens.  So well done, and though there is a lot going on in this story I was never lost or confused as to what was happening in timelines.  Can't wait for the 4th in the series to come this fall.

Definitely a 10/10

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Vera Wong's life is very routine.  Since her husband died her days rarely change.  She gets up at the crack of dawn, opens her tea shop and serves her one customer of the day, her faithful friend from down the street, and texts her lawyer son with advice that he does not want.  Though Vera is very proud of her tea shop and her formulas for every ailment and complaint made from ancient, quality ingredients that she imports, the customers for her tea are just not there anymore and she leads a very lonely life.  So when a dead man turns up in her tea shop and all of a sudden she has customers she has never seen before, Vera embarks on a mission to solve the mystery herself as she feels the police are just not doing a good job.  

I chose this book for a light  summer read and I got exactly what I wanted. Thoroughly enjoyed this story.   It's quirky and fun in spite of being a murder mystery.  The characters draw you in as you wonder what they're connection to the dead man is.  Vera is quirky and frustrating and lovable as an almost senior Asian lady (it's mentioned she's 60 and is called old throughout the book, I may or may not take offense to that 😄😁😕).  She brings her culture to the table as she takes it upon herself to bring this strange cast of characters together and pokes her nose into their lives so she can figure it all out.  There were many laugh out loud and heart warming moments as the story unfolds into more than just a mystery solved. While not the most mind blowing mystery I've ever read it was exactly what I wanted in a summer read.

I rated this 9/10

The Collector's Daughter: A Novel of the Discovery of Tutankhamun's Tomb by Gill Paul

Lady Evelyn Herbert was just a young woman when her father, the Earl of Carnarvon, decides to help fund the work of Egyptian archaeologist Howard Carter.  While her mother is pushing for her debut into society so that she can find a good marriage match, all Evelyn wants is to join her father and Howard on the expedition.   When she joins her father on the trip of a lifetime in 1922, they make the extraordinary discovery of the burial place of Tutankhamun.  Defying rules and convention of the time for archaeologists, the three decide to secretly enter the tomb on their own before announcing the discovery.  Lady Evelyn is the first to go inside.  But the thrill and joy of it soon turns to tragedy and she wonders if "the curse of Tutankhamun" has found her.  Fifty years later, as Evelyn as suffered yet another stroke, an Egyptian academic has found her and has questions about their discovery citing some missing artifacts.

I really enjoyed this novel based upon true events.  The trio's entering of the tomb before the official opening is common knowledge and there are written accounts in the form of journals and letters.  The story goes back and forth in the Point of View of Evelyn as a young girl and an older woman and that of her husband, Brograve.  The author based her character of Eve on the photographs and the written accounts and imagining what it must have been like.  Her historical afterword is very interesting knowing how she put her story together including the belief of a good percentage of the population in the curse of King Tut's tomb.  Her research into stroke and brain injury was also interesting as to what was available for scans and care in the mid century.  Though a touch slow in a couple of parts, all in all a great read.  

I rated it a 9/10

Something Worth Doing: A novel of an early suffragist by Jane Kirkpatrick ~ Book Review

Abigail Scott was a young 19 year old school teacher when she married Ben Duniway much to the dismay of her father who wanted to marry her off to an older man whom Abigail did not like.  Ben, for the most part, is supportive of Abigail's dreams which is unusual for a husband of the times.  But though Abigail gave up her school teaching to raise a family and help Ben in his horse training business she knows she was born for more than that.  When Ben makes some bad business decisions and then gets injured, Abigail is forced to become the breadwinner of the family.  While raising their 6 children Abigail starts a private school, runs a millinery which requires her to make buying trips, runs the farm along with trying to write a novel and owning a newspaper.  When she sees how women are treated Abigail believes that in order for women to have better lives they must be able to secure the right to vote.  Her life's focus, writing and eventual public speaking turns to fighting for women's rights and winning that right to vote.  But is the cost to her family too great?

This book was based on the true story of Abigail Scott Duniway who worked for over 40 years for women's suffrage in the state of Oregon.  Her life of persistence and vision in the face of insurmountable odds speaks to how deeply she felt the importance and passion of what she considered her mission. The story is very well researched, documenting how hard it was for women and much admiration comes from me to women like Abigail who fought so hard in those very tough times for all women but I must admit I was just not pulled in.  There was something about the pacing of it that did not make it flow for me making it a bit choppy.  I found the personality of Abigail grating throughout the book and very selfish at times and therefore could not cheer on some decisions she made.  I felt for her family at times who's needs always came second to Abigail's and that of her work.    And because of that I felt conflicted throughout the story.  While admiring and realizing it is because of the work of women like her that I have certain rights as a woman today, I also didn't connect with her or much liked her and the way she at times treated her own family.  The book is definitely worth reading, however, just to gain the sense of the uphill climbs these women faced, the sacrifices they personally made and how hard they worked and for how long to gain the right to vote for all women. 

I rated it a 7.5/10

The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield ~ Book Review

Kaz Zemechkis' dreams of being an astronaut came to an abrupt end when he had an inflight accident that left him with a glass eye.  Now he's a NASA flight controller and has been called in on Apollo 18's final mission to the moon.  But intelligence coming in of a secret Russian spy station has political leaders on edge and has just made the mission way more complicated.  When the suspicious death of one of the crew members occurs, NASA, and Kaz, are on a race against time to get Apollo 18 up and completing it's missions successfully.   With political tension at it's highest on earth, and unexpected occurences in space creating havoc, the Apollo 18 crew faces the uncertainty of no help or rescue and their return home hangs in the balance.  

Beloved Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has added "fiction author" to his ever growing list of accomplishments with his first fiction novel.  Bringing his expertise as an astronaut, commander, engineer, and fighter pilot, he brings an alternate reality story of the end of the Apollo missions to the moon.  Filled with twists and turns, tension, mystery and politcal intrigue it was a definite page turner.  Being a big fan of reading all sorts of non-fiction books and watching documentaries and movies about the Apollo missions I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  It was fast-paced and had lots of detail of the technical aspects of what a moon mission entails without getting bogged down in those details.  All were significant to moving the story along with understanding for the reader.  It seemed authentic because the author's first hand experience and knowledge.  The story telling was fast paced and the romance in it didn't interfere with what the story was mainly about.  This story would make a great movie.

I rated it a 9.5/10

Just For the Summer by Melody Carlson ~ Book Review

Ginny Masters is the manager of a boutique hotel in Seattle.  Even though she had no schooling for it, she learned the job from the ground working through the different departments until she finally was given the job of managing.  Her intuition and empathy have given her the tools to make the hotel what it is today, but the work has taken over her life.  She has been with Hotel Jackson for almost a decade in spite of it ornery and demanding owner, Diana Jackson.  Yet again Ginny finds herself having to fix the mess her boss made accommodating her wealthy friends, Ginny has had enough.  When she runs across a job swap opportunity, she throws caution to the wind and applies.  It's only for two months, but it sounds like the break she needs away the city. 

Meanwhile in Idaho, Jacqueline Potter would give anything to get out of managing her grandfather's boring fishing lodge.  After earning her degree in hospitality, Jacqueline finds it all beneath her.  She wants the big city lifestyle and paycheck.  So when the summer job swap comes to her attention she applies thinking it is her way out of this arrangement with her grandfather.

Both women think the job swap will be the answer to their woes.  But is it as simple as all that?

This was a fun, sweet read.  After the heavier subject of the previous read, I was wanting something more light and fun.  This fit the need perfectly.  Though a couple of the characters were super frustrating and unlikeable, the contrast to the other characters is what made it fun.  The author did a wonderful job of describing and contrasting the two settings also.  A great summery vacation read with a satisfying ending.

I rated it a 9/10

Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb ~ Book Review

Sophie Duval got her love of the perfume business from her father.  She learned everything she knows from him.  But now that her father has passed away, she is struggling to carry on the family business.  Her mother, who never understood the passion of the business, and Sophie's wealthy boyfriend want her to sell the business and move on but Sophie cannot bear the thought.  She believes in what her father created, not in phony chemically derived scents that are becoming more popular as they are cheaper to make and sell.  All she needs is a breakthrough fragrance.  When one of the world's biggest stars, Grace Kelly,  steps into her shop to avoid paparazzi during the Cannes film festival, little does Sophie realize the unexpected encounter and her willingness to hide Grace from James Henderson, the persistent photographer, will change her business and her life in more ways than one.

I really enjoyed this story.  The history of Grace Kelly's whirlwind romance and wedding to Prince Rainer is a great backdrop the main love story.  Though that was a huge part of the story, I thought the authors were able to make Sophie's own story stand out well and not get lost in the midst of Grace Kelly's history and the two were merged well.  Through Sophie's story you learn more of the perfume industry and through the story of James Henderson the reader gets a glimpse into the life of the early paparazzi.  James, on assignment from England,  was the one  who sent Grace fleeing into the perfume shop in the first place.  His side of the story brings an interesting perspective of the life of those trying to take pictures of the rich and famous.  The setting is lovely and story is sweet and this would make a great summer beach read.

I gave it a 9.5/10

Universe of Two by Stephen P. Kiernan ~ Book Review

 Nineteen year old Brenda Dubie works in her parents organ store and her dream is to attend a music school.  Her young life is pretty easy, working at the store, practicing her organ and flirting with the young soldiers who are in town.  Then in 1943,  she meets Charlie Fish.  At first he doesn't leave much of an impression.  A Harvard educated mathematician, he is reserved and quiet, nothing like the fun loving soldiers she hangs out with.  But Charlie keeps coming around the store to see her.  In a short time they become a couple but his mild nature holds Brenda back from fully committing to him.  Then Charlie is drafted into a special top secret military project where he gets very little time off.

Working for the Manhattan Project, Charlie finds his life fully consumed.  Soon he is assigned the task of designing a detonator without knowing what it is for.  But as he continues to work on the project and the reality of what it is he is having a hand in building starts to become very real, Charlie starts to have reservations.  His highly ethical nature is rising up, yet he is not allowed to talk to anyone, including Brenda, about it.  As he struggles with his conscience, Brenda unaware of what the project is, urges him to be a man and step up to the task.  If it helps the war effort, then what could be the problem?  When the war is over Charlie ends up receiving a scholarship to get his PhD in physics, a dream as there is no way he could afford it.  But it comes at a cost.  As the guilt continues to lay ahold of both Charlie and Brenda of what they had a part of, Charlie quits school and the two build a life trying to make amends.

This is my second book by this author and I have loved both.  I didn't really know what it was about when I bought it a couple of years ago, but funny that I happen to pick it up right when the movie "Oppenheimer" is all the buzz.  The story is loosely based on the life Charles B. Fisk, who was a mathematician and world renowned organ maker.  It explores the guilt and remorse that followed him throughout his life for his part in the development of the atomic bomb.  It's a love story set in a time when payback and stopping the enemy was forefront in the minds of most Americans and most were willing to do what it took without really understanding or looking into the consequences of what producing such a weapon would have for the future.  I learned a lot about a part of the WWII effort that I've never really understood before and, if truth be told, never really thought of at all.  And that is the guilt that some of these ordinary people had to live with for their whole lives.  They were not soldiers or military but ordinary people who had been drafted into the making of a horrendous, top secret weapon just because of the skills they possessed.  In all honesty, I find it hard to believe why this book is not being talked about, or reviewed more.  I did read another story that dealt with the making of the atomic bomb last year, reviewed here, that explored the question of how the scientists working on the bomb could justify the end result.  This one took the angle of the guilt that plagued some of them as the revelation of what they were using their talents for comes to light and their struggle to make sense of it.  Very good read that held my attention with it's compelling and flawed characters and it's twists and turns based in history.  

I rated it a 9.5/10

The Last Exchange by Charles Martin ~ Book Review

MacThomas Pockets is part of the Scottish Special Forces and has been hired by a film director he met on a plane to help get some of the action scenes right.  Through this he meets Joe Sue, a recent Hollywood legend and her actor husband.  And from this he is hired to become Joe Sue's bodyguard.  As he gets to know Joe Sue, Pockets starts to see that the Joe Sue the public sees and the private Joe Sue are two very different people.  Discovered as a young woman, Joe Sue has come from a hard, traumatic childhood that didn't necessarily change when she became a star.  But her dream to have a child of her own is dwindling as she cannot carry a pregnancy to term. Trying to hide the past and present hurt she turns to pills to get her through the day.  After several stints in various rehabs, Joe Sue is still struggling with her hidden addiction.  As her husband's career is taking off, Joe Sue is left to deal with her present problems on her own.  But she isn't really alone.  Even after Pockets was no longer working for her, he kept up with what was going on with her and watched from afar.

This book asks the question "how far will you go in selfless acts to help someone you love?" and "are you willing to give up your own life to save that loved one?"    The story goes back and forth between Joe Sue's voice and Pockets' voice and between past and present.  At times I did have to reread a small portion when I wasn't paying attention.  It was a heart wrenching, tough story that presented a lot of moral implications in actions that were taken.  It definitely makes you think and there is a background thread of Christ sacrificing Himself for us woven into the story without it actually stating it outright but if you know, you know.  It's a story of deep friendship, of commitment even when one party no longer wants the relationship.  There is twists and turns that keep the story moving along.   Charles Martin is a favorite author and I rated this a 4/5 on Goodreads with their 5 star rating system but an 9/10 on my own.  What kept it from a 10 star read for me, was just the believability of some of the things that happened and a small, but still something that kept it from being that 10 star for me, was the odd names.  It took me a long time into the story to get used to all the odd names and that kept it from being enjoyable for me as I'd had to pause and think about who the character was again.  That's my own issue but it still detracted from the total enjoyment of the book for me.  But still a powerful story that, as is the norm for Charles Martin books, made it so I couldn't pick up another book for a few days as I pondered this one.

Rating 9/10

The Women by Kristen Hannah ~ Book Review

Frankie McGrath is a young woman barely out of her teens from a well to do California family where they live a typical all American lifestyle.  Image is everything in their circles and the men in the family serving their country are upheld highly.  Women go to school and then marry and become mothers.  That is the way of things. For various reason her father never did serve but has a family wall of heroes in his study of all the men in the family who served.  When her brother Finley gets drafted to the Vietnam war everyone is very proud and throws him a huge going away party.  But once he is gone, Frankie is at loose ends without her beloved brother and so she makes a rash decision to take her nursing degree and sign up with the Army Nurse Corp  hoping to see her brother in Vietnam.  Thinking her family would be proud, she is shocked when her father is angry and her mother is devastated.  When she arrives in Vietnam she is immediately thrown into the middle of the destruction and horror of what the war really is.  Nothing like the upbeat letters her brother had sent home.  When she finally comes home she does not find the rest and peace she hoped for or deserved for her 2 years of service on the front.  She comes home to a country divided, full of protests and is spat on when in uniform.  Her parents refuse to talk about Vietnam and what she experienced.  In fact, wherever she turns, people deny that women were even over in 'Nam.  As the anger in her builds, Frankie fights a whole other battle within herself away from Vietnam that has everything to do with being in Vietnam.

This is the most talked about book at the moment in any of the fb book groups that I am a part of.  The author first conceived of it more than 20 years ago but felt she wasn't, at that point in her writing, to do it justice.  She finally wrote it now.  It is intense.  Very, very intense.  So many trigger warnings but a story that must be told.  I was just a child when this war was being fought and I really had no idea. The story for me had 3 parts:  The first being the background of Frankie's life growing up in the idyllic American dream.  Then her two tours in Vietnam as a combat nurse.  And the last part being her experiences returning to a divided America who's government had been lying to them about the war.  The author does not hold back on the horrors experienced by the soldiers or the medical teams that tried to save their lives.  There is lots of descriptions of the combat and the injuries that came into medical units and what they had to do to save the men's lives.  The author did a good job in telling the story of the women who were over in Vietnam helping to save lives and the strong friendships that were formed amongst the nurses and the medical teams and other relationships that were formed.  She also did a really good job of relaying the experience of PTSD, from what I can tell as I've never had it or known anyone who did.  But she was able to bring in my emotions as the characters experienced it in the story.   It certainly opened my eyes to how easy it is to make wrong choices and decisions when experiencing and reliving the horrors that someone in combat does.  I learned a lot about a war I really knew nothing of.  The only thing that kept this from a 10 star read for me was I felt there was some repetition of things.  I especially remember one specific paragraph that jumped out at me because I felt it was literally copied and pasted from an earlier part in the story.  But that being said, it is an important book that finally tells the heartbreaking story of the women and and men who fought in an un-win-able, awful war and who for years to come were certainly not held as heroes.  

A note: if you want/need to know the trigger warnings before getting into this story email me as I didn't want to give spoilers in the review.

I gave it a 9/10 rating

A Silken Thread by Kim Vogel Sawyer ~ Book Review

 

Laurel Millard is the youngest sibling in her family.  Her father passed away when she was three and her Mom had never remarried.  All her siblings are married with families of their own but Laurel still lives with her Mom (who is in her forties).  Unbeknownst to their mother the siblings issue Laurel an ultimatum that as the youngest without a family of her own she must forgo her dream of one day marrying and having that family in order to take care of their Mother.  In shock that they would expect that of her, Laurel holds out hope that she can actually find a good man who would not only love her but would also take her Mother under his household also.  When the Atlanta Cotton Exposition of 1885 comes to town, Laurel's mother encourages her to apply to work there in the hopes that maybe she can meet a suitor.  Laurel does meet a very wealthy Langdon Rochester who is heir apparent to his father's steam engine business.  He is charming and wealthy and sets his sights on Laurel in order to appease his own mother who is pushing him to get married.  Laurel also meets a young security guard named Willie who may not have two cents to rub together but has a good and kind heart.  In becoming friends with Willie and his black friend Quincey who is a groundskeeper at the exposition, Laurel starts to see first hand the the division of class and education and racism that is prevalent in her city.  As the exposition contends with some disasters the two young men Laurel has gotten to know are pitted against one another.

I really enjoyed this Christian fiction from a favorite author.   Under the historical setting of the exposition the author explores themes of racism and bigotry, the have vs the have nots, friendship and integrity, the desire in all humans to be loved and to belong, injustice and standing up for what is right.  The characters were interesting and though sometimes Laurel might have seemed a tad naive and therefore frustrating, it would come from her sheltered life as a younger sibling in those times.  Willie and Quincey's friendship was beautifully written, I thought, and the struggle, misunderstandings and turmoil that the situation they found themselves in really brought out what it might have been like back in that time.  The love to hate character did his job well, I loved to hate the character.  And though the ending was not a surprise the journey to get there was moving and thoroughly kept my attention.  

I rated this a 9.5/10