A Brief History of Seven Killings By Marlon James
A Brief History of Seven Killings By Marlon James 3 stars.
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This Strange Eventful History By Claire Messud
This Strange Eventful History By Claire Messud 3.5 stars.
Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge By Lizzie Pook
Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge By Lizzie Pook 5 stars!
Beneath the Scarlet Sky By Mark Sullivan
Beneath the Scarlet Sky By Mark Sullivan This story follows Pino Lella, an Italian teenager, who becomes enmeshed in World War II when he is enlisted as the driver for a high ranking German official. Pino is sent to a mountain getaway/school by his parents in order to keep him safe when the bombing reaches his Italian city. There, he helps to get Jews across the border to Switzerland to escape the Nazis. Afterward, when he returns home and is at the age of enlistment to be drafted into the war effort, he is noticed by General Leyers, who asks for Pino to become his driver, taking him around Italy to various appointments and battle positions. Pino saves Leyers's life a couple times, even though Pino himself is against the Nazis and is working undercover as a spy, relaying information to his uncle who is part of the resistance movement. Throughout the story Pino is forming a romantic relationship with Anna, who is the maid to Leyers's mistress, and a woman he asked out on a dat...
The Song of Achilles By Madeline Miller
The Song of Achilles By Madeline Miller This is a retelling of Greek and Trojan stories of Helen of Troy, her kidnapping, and the war that ensued to get her back, though it appears she didn't want to go back. The book is told from the point of view of Patroclus, a prince who was the aide de camp/companion of Achilles who was the son of the sea goddess Thetis and King Peleus. Patroclus meets Achilles when he is sent/exiled to Peleus to be brought up. The two young boys become best friends and soon become lovers as Achilles, who is prophesied to be the greatest fighter the world has ever seen, is sent to Chiron to learn the arts of fighting and healing, and to be educated. When Achilles is called to the war for Helen's rescue (which he first refuses to attend) Patroclus goes with him and the two endure the tragedies of war together. This was both a romantic love story for the ages and a gruesome war drama full of Greek and Trojan characters we've all heard of, including Men...
The Diary of a Young Girl By Anne Frank
The Diary of a Young Girl By Anne Frank This was my first time reading Anne Frank's diary. I don't know what I expected, but Anne was far more intelligent, witty, and observant than I ever would have expected a thirteen year old to be. Her observations and descriptions of herself, her surroundings, the war, and the people in the annex were incredibly astute, often gut-wrenching, and always honest. Her self-awareness and self-consciousness were amazing for someone her age. The Diary follows Anne from her birthday on June 12, 1942 when she received her diary as a birthday present from her father through to her time in the annex with her parents. her sister Margot, the Van Pels family, and Albert Dussel up until they were all discovered by the gestapo. Anne recounts the difficulties of living in secret for such a long period of time (2 years) with people in such close quarters. She also tells us about their helpers, heroic non-Jews who helped to keep them hidden and to provi...