The Gown, by Jennifer Robson

I received a complimentary copy of The Gown, by Jennifer Robson from William Morrow for review purposes, a fact that makes me very happy. It's been awhile since I've accepted a book for review, but I do love the Royal Family and read up on them all of the time so a novel about the dressmakers who made Queen Elizabeth's dress sounded right up my alley! Indeed, it was!

Robson tells her tale of the dress through the lives of three different women and in two different time periods. If you are the type of reader who enjoys stories which hop back and forth between eras, then you will enjoy this. Robson clearly did a good job researching the dress, dressmakers and various points in history in writing this book which made it all the easier to relax into. The writing is engaging and the subject matter a win for me so I really have mostly positive things to say, with one caveat which I'll explain (without spoilers) at the end.

The Gown takes us on a journey during life in post-World War II England with the royal wedding fast approaching. Anne Hughes and Miriam Dassin are two embroiderers who have been chosen to create the stitchwork design on the Princess's gown and veil. Anne is British and has lived in London through the Blitz, suffering her own heartaches and losses. Miriam has left France to move to England and she also has hardships in her past which she would rather not discuss. The two girls friend one another and form a bond that is sweet and endearing. During the book we learn about how the gown was created, what the media circus was like surrounding the royal wedding, and, of course, we get to know Anne and Miriam.

The third woman in the story, Heather, lives in Canada and she is the granddaughter of Anne. How she stumbles into the story of the gown and her grandmother's involvement is something of a mystery itself. In delving into the unknown parts of her grandmother's past, Heather discovers both things about her grandmother that the family had often wondered at, and also how to live her own life in the process. I'm a fan of books which tell you the story in fits and starts so this book suited me well, although I suppose it is a style that could annoy some.

Over all, I thought The Gown was superbly enjoyable. The only caution I would offer is to the conservative reader. There are a handful of moments where Robson used foul language. The words popped up maybe five times at most through the course of the book. They weren't altogether necessary and I will always find it regrettable to think that storytellers believe that they must use such words at all! They rarely add anything to the dialogue and are completely unnecessary in my opinion. There is also a rape scene in the book which some might wish to take note of. I didn't find it overly gratuitous and it can be skipped entirely. (It's brief, thank goodness.) But it's there and I know that some of my readers here at Reading to Know will want to know about this. So there it is.

Would I read this book again? No, I won't. I enjoyed it very much but I'll probably find someone else who would like to read it and pass it along to them.

Many thanks to William Morrow for sending me a copy to check out. Much appreciated. It should be duly noted that I received no additional compensation for my reading services and all opinions expressed above are entirely my own (although I wish my opinion about the use of foul language in books was universally shared).

You can find me on Instagram: @1000lives_and_severalcupsoftea
You can find me on Goodreads at: Carrie Readingtoknow

Favorite Reads of 2018

I still have reviews in my head which I'd like to write out but somehow the month of December just flew right by! So I've spent the past few days trying to wrap up reads and make sure I marked all of the books that I managed to read down.

This year was the first in which I utilized Goodreads' Reading Challenge program. If memory serves, I originally set my goal at 35 books, wanting to err on the conservative side of things. But then a good friend of mine suggested that I could do better than that so I upped it to 50 which made her happier. Ha! (Everyone needs a friend who will gently push them in the right direction!) Turns out 50 was just about right. I managed 52 books - that's including books read aloud with my kidlets - giving me a 104% success rate on Goodreads! My little over achieving self is made happy.

Now, let's get to the point of all of this. What were my favorite reads of 2018? Here they are, in no particular order:

FAVORITE WORK OF FICTION

Hands down, no contest, it was A Gentleman in Moscow. The title is linked to my review of the book, which is remarkable because I didn't write very many reviews at all this year. I read A Gentleman in Moscow back in March which honestly feels like a lifetime ago. This is a beautiful piece of work and I highly recommend it.

FAVORITE PIECE OF NON-FICTION

This one is always harder because each piece of non-fiction that I ended up reading was read for a different reason and was impacting in different ways. However, I will do my best to narrow it down and go with The Pursuit of Holiness (which, when I re-read my review again, makes sense). I definitely recommend this read if you've never picked it up.

FAVORITE BOOK READ ALOUD W/ THE KIDS

TOUGH QUESTION! I'll go with The Adventures of Hamish and Mirren which we read ahead of our family trip to Scotland. This was such a rich, delicious and entertaining read! Highly, highly, highly recommended!

LEAST FAVORITE BOOK

Well, there are four that I didn't quite care for for one reason or another but if I were to issue a warning, I guess I'd place The Royal Rabbits of London at the top of the list. I don't really have anything much to say about it except that it's stupid. Cute idea in theory but it is slap-stick in the worst possible way appealing to the worst in the reader instead of to the best. I hoped to read it with my kids. Instead I skimmed it by myself and then tossed it.

Runners up:

- Raven, Seek Thy Brother by Gavin Maxwell. This was the third book in a series of memoirs penned by Maxwell, a Scottish author who raised and cared for wild otters up on the Northern Coast. The first book (Ring of Bright Water) was brilliant. The second was disappointing. The third was just depressing as Maxwell showcased his inability to love people over animals and how to take relationships for granted.
- When People are Big and God is Small. This book I found imbalanced in its approach to God and humanity. It pre-supposes that the most holy approach to life is to set aside every God-given emotion that you possess, and the wisdom gained in life to apply wisdom to life's circumstances, and suggests that we must all behave like Lt. Commander Data from Star Trek instead. As we just weren't made that way (on purpose!), I couldn't take the author very seriously. I wouldn't recommend this read as a result.
- Brick by Brick: How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry, by David C. Robertson. MAJOR SNOOZE ALERT! I like non-fiction reads and I enjoy learning about how business have grown and expanded themselves but this book was boring. Absolutely boring. Save yourselves a read and find a different title about the Lego Company to enjoy.

FAVORITE NEW-TO-ME-AUTHOR

Enid Blyton. The kids and I read her Christmas Stories over the month of December and I honestly cannot ever remember reading a better book of short stories, aside from E. Nesbit's The Book of Dragons (linked to review). If you know me and know my love of The Book of Dragons, you will recognize this as high praise. When we were traveling in Scotland I picked up Blyton books wherever we went and we are now in the process of devouring them! I bought some of her Famous Five books for my 9 year old who started reading them and specifically requested that he be given more titles from the series for Christmas. Ye who know how to give good gifts to your children . . . 

Read a Blyton and change your reading world! (Possible Reading Slogan for 2019.)

I'll stop there. If you're curious to see my entire 2018 Reading List just click on that link there and it'll take you to it. Meanwhile, if there's a book you think I ought to consider reading in 2019 I am happy to hear of it! Leave me a comment or shoot me a note if you please.

HAPPY NEW READING YEAR to everyone!!!

Anne of Windy Poplars & Other Reviews (Snippets!)

This past month has been a busy blur! Mostly I've been occupied with a head cold which has led to this. However, the Christmas season is now upon us and more than anything I just want to sit down and blaze through a bunch of books and Christmas stories. So the paintbrush has been set down and I'm back to the books, many of which I have finished. My normal practice is to write up a review on each individual title but I fear if I tried to do that, I'd never catch up. So here's a snapshot of the books I've been reading of late.

I've lost count of the number of times I've read Anne of Windy Poplars but this was my choice for a November read. When I was younger, this was my least favorite of the Anne books. After all, there's no Gilbert and without Gilbert there's no tension. However, this is probably one of my favorite Anne books to read as an adult chiefly because, as it turns out, life is not all romance. There are jobs to do and circumstances to grow through and that's what Anne spends her time doing in Windy Poplars.

In this particular story we find Anne enduring a teaching job and learning to thrive in a small community which consists largely of the Pringle family. The Pringles didn't want her to be hired at the local all-girls high school as they had favored one of their own relatives for the job instead. Despite initially persecuting poor, dear Miss Shirley, she wins them over in her Anne-ish way and we make new friends alongside her in the journey.

My favorite quote from the read this time 'round comes out of a letter which Anne is writing to Gilbert in which she is describing her young neighbor, Elizabeth:

"I'm glad I don't live in Yesterday . . .  that Tomorrow is still a friend."

Yes and amen.

My yesterdays are full of beauty and joy and good times. They are also filled with real struggles, challenges and hardships. Some struggles were more difficult than others but God has been faithful and has seen us through. I wouldn't trade or change a single experience, friendship or joy. All the same, I'm glad that there is always Tomorrow ahead, full of new dreams and new hopes. Why the hope? Romans 15:13. I'll bank on that.

****

All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr came to me highly recommended by multiple friends and through #Bookstagram. As a result of the hype it was almost - but not quite - doomed to failure. Readers know how it goes when everyone around you begins to rave about a certain book and exclaims that you absolutely must make time to read it. The book is set upon a pedestal and the fear in reading it becomes that when you finally get around to it, you won't like it as much as you are "supposed" to. I'm afraid that's what happened to me with this one.

I enjoyed this book for two reasons in particular:

1. It is a work of historic fiction based on one of my favorite time periods in history: World War II.

2. The book travels through time, taking you to a period before the German occupation of France, through the occupation, and straight through to the end. I like books that move you all around the place. The only downside of that is that you really ought to read the book in just a few sittings so that you do not become confused by the characters or point in history.

The writing style is very short and choppy. Chapters are just a few pages long which has the benefit of allowing the reader to read it in snippets if they prefer (just note the danger of forgetfulness). The characters are very memorable and easy to empathize with. Doerr paints a picture of life in an occupied country in such a way that I am not likely to soon forget the atrocities of war. It really is quite the memorable book and I would recommend it without fanfare in hopes that other readers will enjoy it more than I did.

That's not really a stunning recommendation is it?  Hmm.

*****

Lastly, I read The Gospel Comes With a House Key and this book really deserves a lot more than a snippet of a review. I have thoughts. I have words. They'll have to wait.

Review coming soon . . .

A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles

I was introduced to the existence of this book by my blogging buddy, Lisa. I believe she introduced A Gentleman in Moscow by saying that anyone who reads this book and discovers that they do not like it ought not to tell her. That's fairly high praise coming from her and so, with that endorsement, I went ahead and purchased a copy.

If you are unfamiliar with this story please allow me the introduction. Chiefly you should know that it is exceptionally well-written. Truly, not much happens between the pages of this book that could be considered wildly exciting (by some people's standards). It is not a thriller or a mystery but a marvelously written account of one fictionalized Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov who is placed under house arrest inside the Metropol Hotel in Moscow in 1922. The reason for this sentence is due to a poem which was published in his name in 1912. The Bolsheviks weren't altogether fond of the poem and wished to punish Rostov. Instead of sentencing Rostov to Siberia - or to death - they place him under house arrest. He is warned that if he is ever to set foot outside of the Metropol he will be shot. The entirety of the book recounts the thirty plus years of his captivity, or, life inside the hotel.

I realize that the story might sound a bit dull on its face but it is most definitely not. The Count is forced to adapt with the changes in the political winds over the years and he has to find his own joys and contentment in being part of the small but glamorous world of the hotel. His likes and loves can still be explored and enjoyed although his freedom is limited. He makes friends, establishes connections, and takes comfort in relationships and a well-ordered life. To a large extent, I feel incredibly unqualified to be writing a review of this book because Towles is a master of the written word. What could I possibly write to describe his skills as a storyteller?! You are far better off finding a copy of the book and reading it for yourself.

One thing I particularly appreciated about A Gentleman in Moscow was that it somehow contains the magical ability to pace the reader. Trust me, I can fly through books when I am enjoying them but this one wouldn't let me! For reasons inexplicable, this book wants to be read in tiny bites and not in chunks. Curiously, as you are learning about Rostov over the course of thirty years of his life, you want to take your time to get to know both him and his world. I can't claim that I devoured this book in the way that I have any number of other stories. I wasn't "in control" of the read insomuch as it was in control of me in that it set the pace and I followed. I read a chapter here and a chapter there up until the final three chapters where I found myself unable to put it down. The end is exceptionally satisfying. I'll warn you that when you arrive at the end of the book, prepare to be fully engaged with the story such that you will feel an overwhelming desire not to be bothered with anyone or anything until you have completed the read. Warn the people around you not to take offense with your preoccupation.

Would I also recommend A Gentleman in Moscow alongside Lisa? Absolutely. It is charming, insightful, interesting and informative, and the characters are people you will want to know. I loved it from beginning to end. Don't be surprised if I mention this as one of my top favorite reads of 2018. It's really quite spectacular. Grab a copy. If you read it and you find that you don't like it quite as well as I did . . . well . . . just don't tell me!

The Girl in the Castle, by Santa Montefiore

Oh, how I wanted to love The Girl in the Castle, by Santa Montefiore! Set in Ireland, this is the fictional story of Kitty Deverill. The story is set during the Irish Revolution shortly before World War I. Kitty lives with her family at Castle Deverill which has been owned by their ancestors for generations. Although they are Anglo-Irish, Kitty feels more connected to Ireland than England and finds herself essentially between two worlds.

The Girl in the Castle is the first in a trilogy of books that Montefiore is planning to write about the Deverill family. This is a great thing if you loved the book and not so great if you aren't feelin' the love. As I say, I wanted to love it but I simply could not. I enjoyed learning more about the history of the Irish Revolution. It was like getting to know the other half of Tom from Downton Abbey and having his political positions explained more thoroughly. It's a time period and situation I know little about which is one of the reasons I was drawn to reading the story in the first place. On the whole though, I could not relax with the book because, aside from Kitty herself, I could not admire a single other character.

Montefiore is a conservative writer by modern standards but not conservative enough for my tastes. All of her characters seem bent on destruction in some form or fashion and frequently this involves sexual exploits. It's fair to say that if you've seen Downton Abbey (and I have) you won't find anything more shocking within the pages of this book, scene-wise. Still, it's there and so I found myself having to skim and skip along to get past descriptions that I didn't want to read.

The first half of the book is all about character development and in this I enjoyed myself well enough. I was easily lulled into the history of the Deverill family and interested in their outcome. However, by the second half of the book things were much more intense and everyone's life was in almost perfect shambles. There was nothing to love, nor even to like. It was hard for me to finish this book, but finish I did.

The Girl in the Castle has many promising things going for it in a spirited leading lady who loves the land she is born into. It's an interesting story from the historical perspective, but when it comes right down to it it's full of dishonorable men and women who care little for doing what is right and more about doing what they want.

Some will find my opinion of this book harsh. Some will find it very vague and I'm keeping it that way on purpose because if anyone out there wants to dive into the history of the Deverill family and read this trilogy then I don't want to offer spoilers as to the storyline. In my opinion, the storyline is fascinating. It's the cranky, immoral characters who did me in. Who wants to spend time with a group of people that they cannot in any way admire (or barely stand)? If this were a true history I might suffer through it, but as it is a piece of fiction I'm going to take a pass on it and I won't be recommending it to others.

I will say a  quick thank you though to William Morrow Paperbacks who sent a copy of this book in order to facilitate a review. I received no additional compensation and if you doubt that the opinions expressed above are any but my own I shall find you very funny indeed.

The Year of Miss Agnes, by Kirkpatrick Hill

I picked up a copy of The Year of Miss Agnes on a whim. I was visiting a friend in Northern Idaho and we went to her hometown bookstore (which is, in my opinion, the best bookstore in the entire country). The owner of the bookshop, while not very talkative or friendly, clearly was a reader and the shelves were filled with books I'd either read myself or knew to be quite excellent. (See? We had similar tastes. Clearly it was the best bookstore in the country! You doubt!?) I hadn't ever heard of The Year of Miss Agnes before but the selection of books upon his shelves recommended this tile to me. It was a safe bet that I was going to like it and like it I did!

The Year of Miss Agnes is a short and simple story told from the perspective of ten year old Frederika (Fred). The story opens with Fred explaining how many teachers have come and gone from their village's one room schoolhouse out in the Alaskan wilderness. Recently the village lost another teacher who couldn't hack the conditions of the community. A new teacher by the name of  Miss Agnes was being flown in to try her hand at teaching in the area, and Fred is wondering just how long she'll last. Expectations in the village are low but Miss Agnes seems to rise to the challenge. As it turns out, Miss Agnes isn't like any of the other women who have come to teach. Hailing from England, she doesn't seem at all put off by the environment but chooses instead to focus on the adventure of it all, desiring nothing more than to foster a love of learning in her pupils.

This is a sweet story and, at 113 pages, a fast read for an adult. I read it first and then handed it over to Bookworm1 (age 10) who also polished it off in short order. It's easy to breeze through and enjoy this book. The Year of Miss Agnes is a story about a passion for learning but even more so, about the powerful influence that a teacher can have on the life of their students.

I loved this one and am happy to recommend it to others. If you find a copy, pick it up! I sure am glad that I did.

Christy, by Catherine Marshall

Back in 2015, when the Reading to Know Classics Book Club was up and running, the group read Christy, by Catherine Marshall. I did not manage to read it at that time because I couldn't seem to locate a copy. It was all very ridiculous, really, but eventually I decided to buy mass market paperback (like the one you see pictured here) in order to read it. I might be delayed in my reading goals by one year but I'm delighted to say that I finally did get around to reading it and that I loved it very much.

For those of you who are unaware of the story line, Catherine Marshall wrote a fictionalized tale of a young school teacher who travels to Cutter Gap, Tennessee in 1912 to teach in a mission schoolhouse. The character of the teacher, Christy Huddleston, is based on Marshall's mother, Leonora Whitaker. Marshall said of this novel that it's about 75% historical fact with some fun fiction sprinkled around to make the story line a bit more interesting. Much of what the character of Christy experiences in this book are things which were experienced by Marshall's mother. Several characters in this book were based on people that Leonora Whitacker personally knew.

In the story of Christy we are introduced to a backwoods people who are steeped in tradition, folklore and a proud history. They are a self sufficient lot who aren't sure about the work Christy and others who work at the mission have come to do. Christy herself comes from an affluent family and arrives unprepared for the harsh realities of the mountain folks. The smells and lack of hygiene, for one thing, prove a shock to her system. Her initial reaction to the mission life was to flee and return home and she might very well have done so without the loving intervention of one Miss Alice, a woman who challenged Christy to determine what her true motivation were for taking the position in the first place. In the end, Christy decides to muddle through. Ultimately, she does manage to bring small changes to the mountain people but, more importantly, she herself is changed.

This is a very endearing and memorable story and is highly engaging, I read through it relatively quickly, wavering between wanting to fly through the story and wanting to linger awhile. At the conclusion, I felt like taking a reading break before picking up anything else. Some books are just hard to move quickly past and this was one of them.

I loved Marshall's slow pace in the telling of her story. Even though I was anxious to find out how the story concluded, I enjoyed having to spend time getting to know the people that she was writing about. Characters and their backstories are unraveled and explained slowly enough that you come to appreciate their individuality.

My favorite character by far was Miss Alice. She might be what you'd call the matriarch of the mountain folk, although she is a relative newcomer herself. Miss Alice is greatly respected among the locals and with good reason. She has a calm assurance of faith in the Lord but is not at all overly anxious to thrust her faith upon others just as much as she's quite content to hold her own when a situation calls for it. My favorite description of Miss Alice is as follows:

"In both the woman and her home there was an effortless beauty, never a straining for effect, a harmony that seemed to come from having one's roots drawn in the place where the roots were meant to be.
There was something else I had noticed too: an initial acceptance of herself as she was and so of other people with their foibles. And so she did as little scolding or criticizing of others for their foolish behavior or their sings as anyone I had ever known. It was not that she was willing to compromise with wrongdoing or poverty or ignorance, just that she was a long step ahead of waiting emotional energy on fretting. And she never put pressure on the rest o us to accept her opinions. The secret of her calm seemed to be that she was not trying to prove anything. She was - that was all. And her stance toward life seemed to say: God is - and that is enough."

I think all I want to say to that is that, if when I die, people say the above of me then that'll be alright.

Although I was a bit late to the Christy party, I am very glad to have read this book. Highly recommended.

Greyfriers Bobby, by Eleanor Atkinson

Last year, when we traveled to England, we made a day trip to Edinburgh. We didn't have any firm plans or even remarkable expectations for our day there. We selected a few sites that we wanted to see, and beyond that we figured on wandering around and being surprised.

My focus when planning the trip was always on England and a day in Scotland was more just to say we'd been there than anything else. (I know that sounds like an awful attitude to have towards Scotland but we are planning to one day travel to that country and explore it more thoroughly. It's turn will come! Patience, patience . . . !) Because I hadn't really done any research on Scotland, I really had no idea what to expect and found myself surprised by a few literary discoveries. One such surprise was discovering that Edinburgh was the home of Greyfriars Bobby.

First, we passed by his statue which caught my eye immediately. Glancing rapidly around I saw Greyfriars Kirkyard and my excitement increased. I recognized all of this from my list of Disney movies based on books. (Yes, I am remarkably educated, thanks. Heh.) Greyfriar's Bobby has been on my list of books I'd been wanting to read, but I had not yet purchased a copy. It seemed like the perfect day and the perfect location to buy a copy of the book! As it turns out, it was a good idea to buy the book there because nice looking copies do not seem to be readily available in the U.S. The copy I picked up is the one I have pictured here.

Here's a photograph of the statue, if you'd like to see it:

Now here is where I also must confess that at the time of our visit I had no idea what the story was about, other than it being about a dog (that apparently lived in Edinburgh). In case you are also unaware of the story line, I'll fill you in so that you can decry ignorance and be better informed than I was. Greyfriars Bobby is the true story of a highland terrier that was extremely loyal to his master, a man by the name of John Brown who died of tuberculosis in 1858. After his death, Brown was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. The profession of John Brown is in dispute; some say he was a shepherd and some say he was a policeman. It is more commonly believed that he was a policeman but author Eleanor Atkinson decide that, for the purposes of her story, she would make him out to be a shepherd. One thing is certain, no matter Brown's profession was, it is pretty safe to assume that no one would remember him at all if not for his dog. Bobby was an extremely loyal animal and mourned his owner's death for the remainder of his life. Bobby refused to leave the graveside, keeping company with it for the next fourteen years. Dogs weren't allowed in the Kirkyard but they had a hard time keeping Bobby out! This loyal little dog, through persistence and loyalty, was eventually made a pet of the neighborhood but spent every single night sleeping on his master's grave, no matter the weather.

What I did not realize until I was done reading the book is that the author, Eleanor Atkinson, was an American who never actually visited Scotland. (So if anyone is upset with me for not doing more thorough research on that portion of our trip, I think I should win back some brownie points for at least visiting.) The story was written in 1912 and although she wrote a handful of other books, this is the one that she is best known for. The Disney version of the film is based on her version of events. Critics have argued that she didn't understand the geography of Edinburgh very well and that is a fair thing to note. Having walked the city, I was confused a bit by her placement of the castle, in particular, but for someone who had never been I think she did quite well. She is assumed to have researched the names and people directly related to Bobby's story, keeping as true to his account as possible. Obviously she embellished the tale a bit with the use of her imagination but that is to be expected of any author.

While this story is thought a great one for children (and it is) I had a hard time reading it even as an adult because she wrote dialogue using a Scottish accent. Here's the example that Wikipedia provides to give you an idea of what I mean:

"I wullna gang to the infairmary. It's juist for puir toon bodies that are aye ailin' an' deein'." Fright and resentment lent the silent old man an astonishing eloquence for the moment. "Ye wadna gang to the infairmary yer ainsel', an' tak' charity."

Because of this, I had a really hard time working my way through the story. I found myself skimming past dialogue, hoping to pick up enough out of the conversations between characters to track with the events until I could get back to the narrative. I can't imagine this being an easy read for a middle schooler (although not impossible). I confess that I will never attempt this book as a read aloud. The story is interesting enough but it doesn't feel accessible. I suspect that watching the movie is going to be the easiest way to educate one's self about this remarkable dog. I'll have to let you know whether that is true because now that I've read the book, I am permitted to watch the movie. (*wink*) I am very curious to see the Disney film now.

For more information about Greyfriars Bobby, check out this website. It is a rather interesting tale.

If you want to learn more about Greyfriars Kirkyard, there are plenty of videos available through Youtube that will broaden your knowledge of this small portion of the globe. Our family spent some time wandering about the graveyard (because apparently J.K. Rowling named some of her famous characters after names she found on tombstones at this site!), While I like wandering around graveyards as a general rule, I have to tell you this one was a little creepy. It wasn't until I was doing a bit of research for this post that I discovered why I felt the way I did about it. If you're curious, see Youtube. Videos there range from informative to downright spooky!

Have you read this story? I'd be curious to know, if so!

Paper Wishes, by Lois Sepahban

Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban is a beautiful treasure of a story. Set in World War II, it tells the story of ten-year-old Manami and her Japanese American family. Manami and her family live on Bainbridge Island off the coast of Washington state until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. As the armchair historians among you will recall, after Pearl Harbor Americans were suspicious of Japanese (and Asians in general). To preserve a sense of safety, the government allowed for the removal of Japanese American families to internment camps for the duration of the war. Such is the case with Manami's family in this piece of historical middle grade fiction.

Paper Wishes begins after the attack on Pearl Harbor has taken place and tracks life with fictional families for the following year of upheaval and change as they are moved from the island to the Mojave Desert in California. Sepahban describes this experience to her readers chiefly through the characters of Manami, her parents, and her grandfather. Manami also has a brother and sister who are both away attending college in the Midwest. Through this family, the reader comes to understand how the internment camps effected entire family units and individual lives through use of creative story telling.

Manami's family was given six days' notice before they were to be transported to the camp. They weren't told where they were being sent, they were only told that they could bring one suitcase each. Manami's mother packs and repacks their suitcases, deciding which clothes to take, which family heirlooms are important to hold onto, and has to think about what dishes they need to bring along to use for meals. Manami and her grandfather both share a special love for the family dog which they are required to say goodbye to, for dogs were not initially allowed into the camps. Leaving her dog Yujiin behind ends up causing Manami the most emotional distress, ultimately leading to such grief that she finds herself unable to speak. People in the camp understand her grief and it is generally understood that she cannot talk due to the stress and the pain of relocation and loss of home and normality. We understand Manami's thought processes, but her voice is removed from the story as it progresses.

Through Sepahban's characters the readers come to understand how schooling was arranged for the children in the camps, how gardens were attempted, what jobs people might have taken on, and generally how life was lived in this bizarre captivity. Paper Wishes is a brilliant introduction to this period in American history. Although the treatment of the Japanese Americans can clearly be deduced as being unjust and unfair, Sepahban is not here to present a political argument. She tells her story with grace and humility, wanting us to understand and love the characters for their own sake. This, I found, was easy to do. I appreciated her straight forward manner of story telling which allows the readers to draw their own conclusions, avoiding any forced ideas or political arguments. The story speaks for itself, exactly as it should.

Paper Wishes is a quick read for adults (it took me all of an hour and a half to consume). It should make for easy reading for burgeoning readers. I borrowed a copy from the library but I'll be purchasing my own to have in our home library. It's worth owning.

If you are looking for a way to introduce your children to the plight of Japanese Americans during the war, I doubt you'll find a better story with which to do so. Beautifully told, this book is a memorable winner of a tale.

The Magic of Ordinary Days, by Ann Howard Creel

This review has been a couple of weeks in the making. I keep sitting down to write up my thoughts and then am distracted away from the computer yet again. I have a few reviews that are begging to be written and I'm hoping to get to some of them this week. (Fingers crossed.)

As I mentioned in my nightstand post, my church ladies' book club was set to read The Magic of Ordinary Days, by Ann Howard Creel during the month of February. Life intervened and I wasn't able to attend the discussion of this book, but I did get it read all the same. I'm not sure what anyone else's opinion was, or what was shared, so I feel like this blog post can only been one dimensional in certain respects. This title was spoken highly of and so I approached it with great interest.

If you are unfamiliar with the story, it tells of a young woman named Olivia Dunne who is the oldest of three sisters and daughter to a minister. Upon the death of her mother, Olivia finds herself reeling. A few bad decisions lead to an unexpected pregnancy which, during the 1940's, was deeply frowned upon. Her father arranges a marriage for her in order to hide the shame which she has brought upon their family. Sent from her home in Denver, Colorado, she is moved to the countryside where she marries a farmer. The book tells the story of Olivia and the farmer's growing relationship. It also focuses on some of her interactions with two second generation Japanese girls who are being held at a local internment camp.

I dove into this book wanting to love it and finding it a very enjoyable read. I love historical fiction and enjoyed the arguments Creel made about holding a people in confinement due to a perceived threat to national security. Our country is facing this very issue again - but with a difference group of people. Once again we're struggling to learn from past mistakes and yet make wise choices in order to keep ourselves safe from those who wish us harm. This is an interesting topic and this book makes you think through what it means to put someone's life on hold by placing them into confinement. You also come to understand the risks that people believed they were facing in World War II with the Japanese-Americans. This was a tricky subject then and it's tricky now in this modern age with the new threats we face. The need for wisdom is fantastically great as usual making this an interesting side plot.

The romance (or lack thereof) in The Magic of Ordinary Days is also intriguing. While it might be easy to identify with the Nation's struggle to deal with their wartime enemies appropriately, it's harder to understand what a person might feel about an arranged marriage because that is not something we typically face in this modern age. As the story progresses, we see a growth in both Olivia and her farmer husband as they come to know one another. Their joys, uncertainties, stresses and misunderstandings all read off very believably. Their love story is ultimately one I would deem "cute" to read about, if I'm going to read a romance. Strangers falling in love through a set of rather extraordinary circumstances typically makes for enjoyable reading.

Like I said, I wanted to love this book and I rather did up until the second half after which point I began to despise it. My reasons for ultimately not enjoying this read are two-fold:

1. Olivia is a major, discontented idiot. Her discontentment with life stems as a result of having grandiose opinions about herself. She had high ideals and goals for a woman in that time period (and perhaps any other time period), but her choices failed to reflect or further her goals. Instead of accepting the consequences of her actions and learning from them, she spends a great deal of the book moaning about "what might have been." Chiefly, what got to me is the fact that she thought she was better than her farmer husband. She "rationalizes" herself into believing that she's smarter, prettier, has more potential, etc. than he does. While on the one hand I can believe that diving into a marriage before thinking it through very well is going to cause second guessing, I also take the position that if two people are Christians (which Olivia and her farmer were presented as being) then divorce is not an option and God permits and directs anything and everything in our lives for His glory. After you say "I do" the time for second guessing has come to an abrupt end (excepting cases of abuse, of course!!) and whining and complaining about your circumstances from that point out - while taking no pains to apply yourself to the success of the marriage - is something I flat out have no patience for whatsoever.

What Olivia needed was an in-your-face lecture about what was true and what was false. Her closest friends (i.e., her sisters) gave her horrible advice and failed to encourage her to pursue truth. They took no pains whatsoever to encourage her to walk the hard road and learn from it and so I had no tolerance for them. Advisers who only ever tell you what you want to hear are positively useless creatures. What I think the book does ultimately show is that Olivia was a whiny cry baby who wanted to have her cake and keep on eating it. In reality, God sent her the greatest gift she could ever ask for in her quiet, farmer husband. He is the epitome of grace to Olivia if she would just quit thinking of herself for half a second and realize it.

2. Creel becomes far too descriptive about Olivia and husband's sexual encounters. Really, if you prefer to avoid scenes in books, then you should just avoid this story. It made for especially embarrassing reading considering the ages of various other book club members. (Our group includes women 17 years on up and I wouldn't want them reading this.) Due to the scenes included, I found this title a rather poor selection for our book group. I certainly don't feel as if I can recommend this read as Creel becomes far too descriptive (and, again, Olivia is an idiot). Consider this your Conservative Reader Alert.

I can't really claim to be glad to have read this title. I liked our last book - Far From The Madding Crowd (linked to my thoughts) - ever so much more. Next month is an Agatha Christie and although I already know I'm going to miss the meeting, I'm still going to read a Christie so that I can participate "in spirit" if not in flesh.

A Civil Contract, by Georgette Heyer

Several years ago I read a Georgette Heyer book with my in town book club. I don't recall enjoying it. In fact, I think I probably didn't. However, someone somewhere out there in book bloggy land read and reviewed A Civil Contract. It sounded like an interesting read and I marked it down as a "want to read at some point in the future."

Fast forward until just a month or so ago when my friend (who had recommended the first Heyer book) mentioned that she was reading A Civil Contract. Aha! She owned a copy and she promptly agreed to lend it to me so that I could enjoy it as well. She assured me that I would enjoy this story and she was absolutely right about that! I found this to be an absolutely absorbing book.

A Civil Contract tells the story of an arranged marriage between Jenny Chawleigh, daughter of a self-made financier, and Adam Deveril, a nobleman without a fortune. Jenny's father wants her to marry into a title and Adam finds himself with a practical need to marry for finances. The two had come into contact with one another through a mutual friend named Julia. Adam really wanted to marry Julia but without financial means to support her, Julia's father instead encouraged Adam to accept the arrangement proposed by Mr. Chawleigh. Jenny admires Adam but knows that he does not love her. Instead of asking for love, she spends her time studying to know him better and prove herself a credit towards him.

The romantic tension in this book comes between Julia and Adam as they occasionally rub elbows post-Adam's marriage. The reader can clearly see that Julia wasn't made for Adam and that Jenny is a much better fit but, as is the case in real life, personal dreams of what we believe we "should" have had overshadow the blessings staring us right in the face. As my friend pointed out, this book is unique in that it focuses on a marriage relationship instead of a courting/dating relationship. The vows have been said but the couple doesn't really know each other. (Again, this is also like real life. *wink*)

While I didn't really care for the first Heyer book that I read, this one I had a hard time putting down. To be more truthful and blunt, I found the story so interesting and compelling that I resented every interruption that came my way. This is not a good attitude to have about a book when you are in the midst of a family. It's probably a really good thing that most books do not capture my attention in the same way or else I would be forced to quit reading entirely.

I liked A Civil Contract for many reasons. Number one, it's very well written. I have been duly informed that Georgette Heyer is an expert on the time period she writes in. She apparently researched her books thoroughly and included many true tidbits from history into her stories. That made it fun reading because you know that when she is talking about something that the Prince Regent said or did, it really happened. Secondly, her characters are extremely believable. Not one person is over the top or jars you out of time and place. Thirdly, although this is a romantic story it is extraordinarily tame. No worries about scenes or language or anything sketchy which would set the conservative reader on edge. I could totally relax and follow the storyline without worry. Then too, I find the story more real than most that you read. Not all relationships (any?) are blissful through and through forever and ever amen. Nor are all struggles the volcanic type. Sometimes life is just a a quiet challenge, and we're all just trying to figure out how to get through and make as much of a success of things as possible. Such was the case with Jenny and Adam which makes them truly likable people. They have ideals and standards, but they also are honest about their weaknesses and have to work out their own boundaries.

If you're looking for a fun book which takes a different look at relationship, check this one out. It's fascinating, educational and, again, just an easy good time. After this experience, I am no longer adverse to Georgette Heyer. I can very well see myself reading another of her works someday.

Many thanks to my friend who lent it to me!

Luther and Katharina, by Jody Hedlund

I was given an opportunity to review Luther and Katharina: A Novel of Love and Rebellion, by Jody Hedlund and I accepted out of curiosity sake. It being a fictional retelling of the meeting and marriage of Protestant Reformer Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora, a former nun, I wanted to know how Hedlund would handle the topic. I was raised learning about the Reformation of the church and am fairly familiar with Luther and his bride's story but it's always interesting to hear someone else's take on a topic you feel connected with somehow or another.

Luther and Katharina is basically a piece of Christian historical fiction. I'd never read a book by Jody Hedlund before and so I have nothing to compare it to. My regular readers know that the Christian fiction genre is not my favorite because I find most Christian writers to be rather unskilled in the art of storytelling, generally speaking. As far as Hedlund's ability to tell a story goes, I can't say that I harbor any complaints. I found the story interesting from start to finish in the sense that I was captivated by her story. I never felt jarred out of the tale by a poorly crafted phrase, which is my usual complaint against the modern Christian author. (Ann Voskamp seems to have convinced everyone that a high percentage of adjectives exalts both writer and reader to an an almost ethereal state of being.) I appreciated Hedlund's more direct and practical approach in her style of communication.

The story opens with Katharina's escape from the nunnery where she had been raised. She and several other nuns had read the writings of one Martin Luther, who preached a Gospel that had not hitherto been heard. Part of his new teachings included the idea that that marriage was designed by God and ought to be entered into, not avoided for piety sake. As a result of his writings on marriage, many monks and nuns began leaving their cloistered lives. In the case of the nuns, they frequently found themselves abandoned by family and without means of supporting themselves and so many were married off  in order to care for husbands and build families of their own. Katharina von Bora was one of the final nuns in her "group" to remain unmarried. Eventually, of course, Luther marries her himself and they had a very happy marriage. Theirs is a rather unique love story and interesting to hear.

Hedlund uses facts in her story whenever she finds them available to her. However, there are plenty of unknowns in the story of Martin and Katharina and to fill in the blanks Hedlund used her imagination to explain what their relationship might have looked like and how it came to be. As I say, there are gaps which Hedlund fills, but she also went above and beyond and created scenes and incidents which are fancies of her own imagination and with these moments I took issue. Where the history books leave out the hot and heavy interactions between these two famous love birds, Hedlund leaves much less to the reader's imagination. This habit of hers in wanting to create passion on the page is ultimately what leaves me feeling rather hesitant in recommending the book to others.

My chief complaint is that aspects of romantic relationships which absolutely can be left to the reader's imagination were spelled out in greater detail than I think necessary. If you don't agree with me, and think that including a more gritty picture of romance is an acceptable practice, I'd point to Jane Austen and suggest that less is more. How many females do you know who absolutely love the relationship between, say, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett? We know what ultimately happens: they get married and probably they kiss a lot. (Heh.) We are so thoroughly satisfied with their relationship without needing to know anything more and I would say that's not just Austen being subtle but that is an artist's skill. Austen tells us all we need to know and we are happy. Hedlund (and others in modern novels) must think we wouldn't be able to figure out and be satisfied with the idea of love unless we "see" it played out in tiny details. With me, such authors assume incorrectly. I can be very happy that Martin and Katharina eventually  got together without needing the sultry details.

Why do publishers and authors feel the need to say more? What is the purpose behind being so descriptive and so racy? I tend to think that shows a lack of skill in writing when the author falls prey to the desire to express the seductive aspects of the story. I can't in good conscience tell anyone now that Luther and Katharina makes for clean reading. But I'm still left with the question of "Why?" Tell me a meaningful story for I would love to hear one. Use historical character because I think that's fun. Label it Christian fiction and I'm going to hold you to a higher standard as an artist than I would a non-Christian. Christians should not be prudish but we should absolutely think on what is good, right, true and beneficial. When I ask myself how beneficial it was for me to read the love making scenes I conclude that it was not beneficial or necessary to the story one iota.

You can argue that "facts are facts" and if a writer is telling a true story, straight narrative, with some sketchy, dark, or horrific parts I'm not inclined to mind that so much because they are communicating something which actually happened in history and is (I trust) essential to understand. I don't think we should ignore historical facts out of some sense of prudishness. However, I am opposed to gratuitous violence and romantic descriptions when they are simply not necessary. Yes, Martin and Katharina had a romantic relationship but I don't need to know about their first night together for a multitude of reasons, chief being that it's not a necessary component to understanding the story. It's gratuitous. Hedlund made it up. The publisher included it. Why? I suggest that it is not for the sake of a good story.

Yes, my opinion is growing harsher by each "Christian fiction" book I read. If you want me to quit complaining about unnecessary scenes then leave them out. This was all unfortunate in my opinion because Hedlund has skill a story teller and I liked her style with the huge exception of an overactive imagination in the romance department. I did not feel that was suitable to the story itself or the genre it is published under.

Personally I find the story of Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora quite fascinating. I think history is best understood when it's told in story form and so I'm completely in support of any attempts a person would make to bring to life the Luthers and their unique relationship and how it affected the world. It's a fascinating story which is why I was enthusiastic to read this book. In the end though, I can't think of a single person I could hand this book to and say, "Read it. You'll love it!" I think most of my reading friends would take exception to this title for the same reasons I did. Which is a pity.

Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora are two characters very much worth reading about and I would heartily encourage anyone is unfamiliar with them to learn more about them. I'll leave you with an image of oil painting made of Katherina von Bora in 1526:

I know I don't necessarily sound grateful here, but I do appreciate having read this book because I wanted to be familiar with it and know what it was about. While my hopes for loving it and being able to recommend it were dashed, this does not in any way effect my appreciation for the opportunity I had to read it.

Many thanks to WaterBrook Press who sent a copy of the above title my direction in order to facilitate this review. I received no additional compensation and if you do not believe that all of the above opinions are 100% my own then I don't know what else to say here.

Buffalo Coat, by Carol Ryrie Brink

As I mentioned last week, in preparation for a planned trip to Moscow (which failed to materialize due to sickness the likes of which we haven't know for awhile - thank you, Lord!) our family did some reading to learn more about a former local author Carol Ryrie Brink. The kids and I read All Over Town together (linked to our thoughts) and then I decided to read Buffalo Coat for myself. I read it over the course of a week and found it pretty depressing all the way through. It's interesting to read but, in my opinion, quite depressing.

Carol Ryrie Brink wrote this book long after she had moved away from Moscow. She based the story on the life of her grandfather, William W. Watkins, M.D. (linked to a short bio). Watkins was the town of Moscow's chief doctor, a formidable figure and a progressive thinker. It was actually Dr. Watkins who championed the cause of creating an institution for higher learning in the town of Moscow. His work and effort helped win the town the University of Idaho. He also purchased the land for the town's gravesite in which he is now buried. Dr. Watkins was a successful, head strong fellow with a personality that liked to get things done. People either loved him or hated him; he tended to have a polarizing effect. (Note: I was under the impression for some reason that Brink is also buried in this cemetery and spent quite a bit of time looking for her gravesite last time we were in town. However I was mistaken. She was cremated in California and her ashes were scattered in an undisclosed location. It is only her ancestors/family who are buried in Moscow.)

When Brink published Buffalo Coat, she felt herself so removed from Moscow that she didn't think anyone would even remember her or make the connection that this book was about her grandfather's life. She underestimated what good memories people in small towns are apt to have; it was quickly and easily assumed that Brink was speaking of her family in Moscow. (Why she thought that this would remain a mystery to people is a small wonder. Granted, she renames the town "Opportunity" for the sake of the book but then she specifically listed the actual names of towns surrounding Moscow, such as Orofino.) In a follow-up edition of the book Brink explains:

"As a child in Moscow I grew up hearing all of the town histories. They interested me as much as the novels that I read so avidly in the old Carnegie library. One of those true stories was particularly close to me as it concerned my grandfather, Dr. William Woodbury Watkins, who came to Moscow in 1887 and was killed there on August 4, 1901.

. . .

I first wrote a completely true story, using my grandfather's office on Second Street just off of Main as the link that bound the various stories together."

Her Author's Note is four pages long so I'm not going to type it up but those few sentences rather set the stage adequately. She decided to merge fact and fiction instead of writing a strictly true account. However the main fictionalized components of the story were timelines of when various of her characters lived in Moscow. She also included a romance which did not likely exist at all. Otherwise, reading this book is a good way to catch the flavor of the history of this small, seemingly insignificant town.

Brink clearly thought little of her grandfather's personality. Or, at least, it is hard to feel the love for him in this book. She paints a picture of a brilliant man who knows he is brilliant and lords that over other people. Her favorite character in this book is clearly Alice Ledbrooke (a.k.a., Caroline Woodhouse Watkins), her grandmother. Brink was raised by her grandmother whom she clearly adored. She writes of her in the Author's Note:

"Alice Ledbrook was one of the plainest - ugliest is an ugly word - let's say one of the least pretty women I have ever seen, but she was one of the delights of my childhood."

The story is introduced with so much history that it's hard to be surprised by what happens in the end so I don't necessarily feel that I'm offering spoilers by describing the book to you. Even if you know how the story ends, there is some delight in the way that Brink brought characters to life and weaved them all together so that each had an effect on the other in some form or fashion. One of the storylines in this book follows Dr. Hawkins (aka Watkins) as he doctors the people, makes decisions for the town and toots the glories of opportunity for expansion in the west. The other storyline follows young Jenny Walden, the beautiful and extremely intelligent daughter of the Methodist minister in town. Following these two characters hits on two rather sensational stories of the time: the murder of the doctor and the double-suicide of Jenny Walden and her already married lover. (You can read the real story of Winifred Booth and the double suicide here. It really is quite fantastical and bizarre. And rather morbidly fascinating.)

I trust that you can see that if these are the two main storylines, Buffalo Coat makes for a fairly depressing read. However, if you are as interested in history as I am, it also makes for a fascinating read. It's not one that I'd likely go around recommending to others but it's not totally worth avoiding either. I think one of the reasons which I feel so drawn to hunt down the history of particular areas and people is that America really doesn't have much of a history, globally speaking. As I've mentioned, our family is currently planning a trip to England and history just abounds over there. Every time you turn around you are met with an opportunity to learn about some fascinating place, person or event. Out west in America we mostly have tree rings to count and not a whole lot else (unless you count Lewis and Clark which is really exciting but exploring anything about them mostly just involves topography. We haven't built a ton of things in their honor, although we have marked their trail). When we travel about in country I have a really hard time finding things for the family to do out here in the Northwest because we just haven't taken the time to make notes, remember stories and engage with the past. I'm not totally sure why that is but it is. When I find that there is a story, I feel very much inclined to track it down and raise monuments in its honor or something! I think knowing your history is important and making the true and accurate facts accessible to children today extremely important.

There are a lot of parallels between All Over Town and Buffalo Coat. As I was reading them both simultaneously (one to my children and one by myself), I had to remind myself which book I was currently immersed in because the facts do overlap. This made reading them both at the same time rather curiously fun. I don't know that anyone else out there will want to read these books but I know that, ultimately, I'm glad that I did.

To see pictures of the real Dr. and Mrs. William Watkins and a picture of Caroline's hope chest, see this article by the Latah County Historical Society.

Other posts of interest:

• review of All Over Town
• review of Caddie Woodlawn

Ranger in Time, by Kate Messner (Or, Bookworm1's First Official Review)

Are you ready for this folks? I'm not exactly sure that I am.

We've reached that magical/horrible/terrifying moment in time when Bookworm1 is reading faster than I can keep up with him. Now thankfully I've been a long term fan of middle grade fiction and have built up a library of things that I know are not just safe, but good for him to read. But he's read all titles I had available for him and now I am scrambling to find things that will suit him. I love that he's a voracious reader though so no complaints.

I received a copy of Ranger in Time #1: Rescue on the Oregon Trail in the mail for review. As it was not a book I requested or agreed to accept, I wasn't sure that I would get around to reading it. However, the thought occurred to me that Bookworm1 might like to do so. I perused the first chapter and flipped through the book a bit to see whether or not I could find anything instantly objectionable and I could not. So, without further ado, I offered it to Bookworm1 who thought it looked interesting and he read (and enjoyed) it.

The description on the book jacket reads as follows:

Ranger is a golden retriever who has been trained as a search-and-rescue dog, but can't officially pass the test because he's always getting distracted by squirrels during exercises. One day, he finds a mysterious first aid kit in the garden and is transported to the year 1850, where he meets a young boy named Sam Abbott. Sam's family is heading west on the Oregon Trail, which can be dangerous. It's up to Ranger to make sure the Abbotts get to Oregon safely!

This is what Bookworm1 had to say of it:

This book is about a dog named Ranger who goes on a trip to Oregon. It is a very long trip and there is a very big river that must be crossed. It was so big that some of the men got stuck and Ranger had to help them out.

Q: What was your favorite part of the book?

A: When people were trying to swim and get away from a big, rushing river.

Q: Would you recommend this book to a friend?

A: Yes, it is very exciting.

This book is roughly 125 pages long and the format is very easy to read (i.e., large font, ample spacing). It took him about 3 reading sessions to complete the book.

Rescue on the Oregon Trail is the first book in this series. The second, Danger in Ancient Rome is set to be released at the end of June.

Here is the description for Book #2:

Ranger travels to the time of gladiator fights and wild animal hunts at the Colosseum, where he rescues a servant boy from a runaway lion. But for gladiators and the servants who help to run the games, there's no escape from Emperor Domitian's brutal world of the arena . . . or is there?

Something tells me that I will want to preview the next title as Bookworm1 might find a little more excitement than he is currently bargaining for.

Still, I'm intrigued by this series and like that there's some historical fiction available to kids that is not related to the American Girls or even Magic Tree House. Not to say that we haven't enjoyed both of those series of books, but I think a search-and-rescue dog is a unique and fun twist on things. Glad to see it, Scholastic.

Many thanks to Scholastic Books for sending a copy of this title my direction in order to facilitate this review. We received no additional compensation and all opinions expressed are our own.

Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry

Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry is the selection for this month's edition of the Reading to Know Classics Book Club. Heather frin Don't Let This Universe Forget You chose this book for us to read and I am glad of it because I had never read it before. It is an easy, fast read and if you have any inclination at all to read it, I highly recommend that you do! It won't take you long and you will find it remarkably enjoyable/edifying/thought provoking.

The story of Number the Stars, if you are unaware, tells us of a young girl named Annemarie who lives in Denmark during World War II. Annemarie's best friend is a Jewish girl who, during German occupation of Denmark, is being forced to "relocate." Annemarie's family, who are linked to the underground resistance movement, purposes to help their Jewish friends escape to Switzerland. The story is simple, straight forward and also quite short. Yet for as short as the story is, it is also impacting and memorable because it focuses on the theme of bravery even in the face of certain danger and even death.

Number the Stars was written in 1989 so it's not been around for that long. Well. I guess it has been 25 years. Hmm. Does that make it a classic? I'm not terribly sure we can really call Number the Stars a classic, per se, but we can say that it met with instant acclaim. It was awarded the Newbury medal in 1990 and Lowry testifies to having received fan mail from parents who read this book when they were young and found it so impacting that they have taken great delight in sharing it with their children.  It is at least safe to say that this book has seen a few generations of readers.

Lowrey wrote the book following conversations she had with friends who related to her stories of what life was like during the occupation in Denmark. The character of Annemarie is based on a Danish friend of Lowreys who great up in Copenhagen in 1943. The question that the book asks is whether or not we, the readers, might also rise to the occasion and be brave if we were asked to be.

Annemarie is just a young girl of ten (the age which this book is targeted to) and although she is used to seeing German soldiers on the street corners, she knows and understands better than to interact with them. They are a feature of her life but not something that she needs to rub up against, until the moment in time when they threatens a person and a family that she holds dear. Annemarie begins in this book as an innocent. She thinks to herself that she is "glad to be an ordinary person" who will not "be called upon for courage." Little does she know what the future holds for her. Ultimately, she is asked to work subversively to save the lives of others. Doing so requires a great deal of bravery. She must ask herself if she can face evil in the face and do what is right even if it threatened her life as well as those that she loved. I think this is a good question to ask ourselves and therefore I think this is a good book to read.

What the world needs today are courageous people like Annemarie. (Specifically, what the world needs today are courageous Christians.) It seems to me that we Christians are so frightened of our own shadows that we can't bear to think that we might offend someone by making statements that we know to be true. We cower behind ideas of "diversity", "equality" , "acceptance" and "tolerance" because we know that those words do not include room for our positions or beliefs. It is very true that the idea of "being tolerant" does not mean anyone should feel tolerance for Christians. We Christians are bullied by others into sitting down and being quiet. In general, we tend tend to follow the public's cue and end up sitting by, watching people's lives fall apart all around us, simply because we are made to be afraid to share the truth that will set them free. Christians know what I am speaking of and non-Christians are just perturbed that I'm speaking at all. But it is very true that Christianity is the one and only thing not tolerated in this world today and it is the one and only thing that is needed to bring about true peace and reconciliation.

We Christians really do need to pray for each other to be brave. And when one of us does take a stand, it would be great if the rest of us would - at the very least - be supportive instead of trying to put a little distance between ourselves and the one who took the stand for right. Being brave sometimes means taking the stand and sometimes it means showing solidarity with love for the glory of God. Annemarie has to make the same decision in this story. She must take a stand for herself and she must also support the obedient work of others. She chose admirably and therefore she is a character that is interesting to read and think about. Sometimes fiction can be greatly inspiring. Because of Annemarie's obedience to truth, the lives of several individuals (and - it can be argued - generations of people who followed after) were forever changed.

If we speak up today and share the truth and the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ then I suspect we would also see things change, one individual at a time. Future generations are also highly likely to be served when truth is upheld in this very moment. Annamarie refused to let evil win without doing and saying something against it, even though it was not a simple act she undertook. It is never simple when you stand for truth but it is always honorable and it always has an effect of some sort.

We Christians fear the wrath and disdain of the general population which is ironic and unbelievable if you consider Who we say we believe in and Who we say we serve. Fear holds us back; faith pushes us forward. Belief that God is - in total fact - Who He says He is is vitally important to our own soul's health as well as for the health of others. Being brave is what Christians are called to be. The most wonderful thing is, that even if and when we find ourselves scared to stand up and say and do what is right, we can rest assured that He will give us the confidence necessary in the moment which we need it. Annemarie was able to be brave because she had the love and support of her family around her. When push came to shove, they were there to help guide her through the process. We, in turn, have a wonderful and loving God Who directs, guides and supports us as we walk through this tricky life. Truly we have nothing to fear because He has conquered sin and death already and on our behalf. We are free to be brave.

It should be noted that bravery doesn't always involve grand spectacles. Most of the time bravery is displayed in quiet acts of sacrificial kindness. That is how it is displayed with Annemarie and most any story of bravery that I have ever heard of or witnessed. Discussing bravery shouldn't scare you off but fill you with hope and confidence in the One who will walk you through every situation you face and work things out for your good and for His glory. This is comfort for the Christian indeed!

In the meantime, it is also great to read books - both fiction and non-fiction - which contain characters who have lived heroically and who will inspire you to live to the fullest every situation you find yourself in. Add this book to your reading list if you have not yet read it. It's a great story to be thinking about.

Thank you, Heather, for choosing it for us.