TGIF! It’s Friday! Woop! Woop! Time for another Book Beginnings and Friday 56!
This week our Book Beginning and Friday 56 are from the same book, The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line: Untold Stories of the Women Who Changed the Course of World War II. By Major General Mari K. Eder (U.S. Army, Retired.)
Keep reading till the end for Our Rating!
Anna’s StoryNote: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
“How could I not write this story?” asks author Steven Kautner in this gripping and harrowing account about what happened to his mother, Anna Friedrich, and her family of ethnic Germans after World War II. The follow-on is, “How can anyone not read this story?” Because Anna’s Story is absolutely astonishing. Eye-opening. And jaw-dropping. It’ll blow you away.
You know Her Momness loves historical fiction, right?
“If historical fiction was a flavor, it’d be raspberry white chocolate cheesecake! With double hot fudge!” croweth Mom.
Why she says this, I don’t know. I do know she’s breaking out her Happy Dance. Because we’re reviewing three sturdy historical fiction titles today! All set during World War II.
Break out some extra spoons for Lilac Girls, Irena’s War, and The Orphan’s Tale:
The Children’s Train (Harper Collins, 2021)
By Viola Ardone
Historical Fiction
This book may not be what you think it is. Yes, it’s an historical fiction account of an effort to help impoverished children in southern Italy by transporting them by train to better off families in northern Italy in the aftermath of World War II. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg – or the shoe – in this hauntingly beautiful novel spanning some fifty years.
Combining history and biography can be a challenge, especially when the setting is a world war. But two recently read books do that and more, offering compelling reads that shouldn’t be missed. Both are set in WWII.
Here they are:
You know we’re big historical fiction fans here, right? Kimber here. Mom and I, we love the creativity of a novel balanced with actual people, places, and events. We eat that stuff up like gourmet dog chow! So when we were asked to review a historical novel about Nazi looting of priceless art items from Jewish owners during World War II, we ate it up!
The book is A Savage Kultur. It’s by Monique Roy. Read our full review here.
We reached out to Monique and asked her to do a guest post, telling us a little more about herself and her book. Why historical fiction. Stuff like that. Monique agreed. Here’s her post. Take it away, Monique!
Pages & Paws 