The Kommandant's Girl by Pam Jenoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Kommandant's Girl is an engaging story about a young jewish girl from Poland who reluctantly becomes involved with the resistance. Emma is a young newlywed when the war breaks out and when her husband fails to come home, she returns to her parents house only to find them gone. Searching for her parents leads Emma down a path to an assumed identity and ultimately to a relationship with a powerful german officer. While the characters were well developed, the story itself was incredibly unrealistic. While some jews were able to hide in plain sight, this story felt so unbelievable. The Kommandant's Girl is a dark story about a terrible time in history, yet the author manages to include some moments of hope.
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Beartown by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow! I have loved all of the books from Fredrik Backman, but Beartown is unforgettable. This story was so moving, so heart wrenching and so so so good. Beartown is a story about a small town and its obsession with hockey. The Beartown hockey program is such an integral part of this community that the highly successful team provides a source of hope and identity, but its star player makes a choice that will divide the community and threaten to tear apart the hockey program itself. Bachman tackles so many important topics with subtlety and authentic emotion. The characters are so well developed and the story is compelling, but the writing itself is what makes this book so special. Bachman has a gift for using very few words to make a big impact. This book is the kind of story that will keep you awake reading far into the night. Yes this is a story about hockey, but it is so much more than that. Bachman shows us the best and worst part about sports and it impact upon all of us. I highly recommend this book, you don't need to love hockey to love this book. Put Beartown on your to-read list.
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Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have read quite a few stories from WWII but I had never heard the tragic story of the Wilhelm Gustloff. I found this book to be fast paced and interesting, but the constant switching from one character to another's point of view made the story feel choppy at times. The characters were well developed and I enjoyed the relationship that began between Florian the 'Prussian Spy' and Joana the nurse. I especially enjoyed the Shoe Poet character. The story explored a horrific time when some terrible atrocities were committed on both sides of the war. One particular line in the story illustrated this so well, "No one wanted to fall into the hands of the enemy. But it was growing harder to distinguish who the enemy was." The struggles and hardships that each of the characters had faced drew the reader in and created tension and the ending felt genuine, unlike many stories where the author feels the need to tie everything together neatly. Although the writing was not my favorite, I found this story compelling and would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
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Let it Snow by John Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Let it Snow is a quirky collection of three intertwining stories with a fun holiday theme. This book is a quick enjoyable read, with three separate authors coming together to combine their talents for a sweet young adult story. Various groups of teenagers deal with life and love in the middle of a colossal snowstorm that brings adventure and romance into each of their holidays. A snowed-in train and an all night Waffle House add extra chaos to the mix to create a sweet, yet predictable trio of stories that will brighten anyone's holiday season.
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