fiction

Book Review: The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank

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The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank
by Ellen Feldman

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Historical fiction

What if Otto Frank wasn’t the only survivor of those who hid for years in the Secret Annex? What if Peter also survived the war and went to America afterward, reinventing himself like he’d told Anne he would do if he made it out? This is the story of what could have been, as Peter van Pels keeps his identity a secret, even Anne’s diary becomes public and subsequent adaptations are released.

I’ve had this book on my shelf for a while, but finally read it because my daughter recently read The Diary of a Young Girl (and I re-read it to be able to remember it enough to talk to her about it) and was curious about this book. I think the author handled a very difficult subject well—severe PTSD of a kind that most of us will never be able to understand. The fact that Peter reminded me a bit of the Art Spiegelman’s father in the Maus books makes me think that Feldman did a decent job portraying someone who survived the horrors of the Holocaust. However, I think the title is a bit deceptive, in that it gives the impression that the story will delve at least a little into Peter’s time in the annex, his time with Anne. Instead, a large part of what Peter does in the book to protect himself is to completely disown his past, even in his own mind, so he considers the day he landed in America as when his life began and doesn’t think about the time before that at all. Understandable, but not quite what I expected from this story.

In fact, I think that’s a lot of what I felt about this book: understandable, even decently written, but not really what I was expecting or my normal reading preference. So I will just say that if you are intrigued by the concept and stories that delve into psychology, PTSD, dark subjects, etc., definitely give this book a try. I wasn’t the right audience, but maybe you will be.

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Book Review: The Hidden Staircase

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The Hidden Staircase
Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #2
by Carolyn Keene
read by Laura Linney

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic mystery

Continuing on with listening to these old books that I somehow didn’t pay attention to when I was younger, one of the things I enjoyed about this book was the setting and the feeling of being transported back in time. Communication was slow, houses were thought of as haunted, and teenage girls were tasked with solving mysteries. Okay, that last one might not have been true-to-life even in the 30s, but somehow it just feels plausible in these books. And though there are some fairly obvious coincidences in this book, I’m sure that the kids in the age group it was meant for wouldn’t pick up on them as easily and would enjoy the excitement of the mystery. Laura Linney again does well bringing Nancy to life, making the audiobook a great option for this series.

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Book Review: The Captain’s Daughter

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The Captain’s Daughter
by Jennifer Delamere

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Historical Christian romance

Chased to London by a false accusation of theft, Rosalyn Bernay soon finds herself without any possessions or a place to stay. A chance encounter lands her both a job and a friend who offers to let her stay at her small flat. The job is at a theater that is currently running the most popular show in London and also happens to be where Nate Moran is working as a stagehand. Nate is recovering from an injury, after which he intends to return to his army unit in India. Meeting Rosalyn has made him question the plan to return, but he is determined not to let her shake his resolve.

In a lot of ways, this book checked boxes that normally make a book in this genre perfect for me. However, I think the plot may have had too much going on for my taste. The focus on the theater and Rosalyn beginning to find a passion to perform herself was interesting, and it probably would have provided enough plot on its own. But add to that Nate’s stubborn insistence that he must return to India to make up for a mistake he made there before he left and the brothel owner that Rosalyn runs afoul of when she first comes to London, and there are side plots that aren’t resolved well enough for my taste. The false claims that chase Rosalyn to London in the first place to have a satisfactory conclusion, at least.

I do like that the romance is overall pretty subtle, and I appreciated Nate’s family—full of kind, wise, fun people. I don’t know that I really understand the choice of title, in that Rosalyn’s father being a captain is a pretty small part of the book. But I do wonder if I might have gotten more out of the story in general if I actually knew anything about the opera that’s being staged in the theater throughout the book (H.M.S. Pinafore). Though the next book in the series has a considerably higher rating on Goodreads, I don’t plan to continue this series. However, if it sounds interesting to you, please do check it out.

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Book Review: Bury the Lead

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Bury the Lead
Andy Carpenter #3
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

Defense attorney Andy Carpenter takes on a client who has been receiving communication from a serial killer, tasked with protecting the journalist by his boss. But then the man is accused of the most recent murder, and Andy’s job has changed drastically. The only problem is that he’s not 100% certain that his client isn’t actually guilty.

This book takes some definite turns from the series so far, with Andy being brought in even more unwillingly as defense attorney for an accused murderer. The story takes a lot of turns near the end, and I’m not really sure that Andy himself does a lot to solve the various mysteries tied up in the case. Certain things are kind of handed to him or done for him, though not in a way that made me feel like he was a weak MC. The cast of side characters he’s started to draw around him add to my enjoyment of this book.

There were a couple of things that I didn’t care for in this book, like the over-the-top dog love that actually lacked logic at one point for me (it’s not okay to make a dog sleep outside, but it is okay to expect a dog to live on a boat?), but overall, I enjoyed the mystery and the characters. Fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas should consider reading this book. Grover Gardner is the definitive voice of Andy Carpenter, bringing Andy’s wit and sarcasm to life, so if you’re an audiobook listener, I’d suggest trying that out for this series. 

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April in Review

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I read 8 books last month, which definitely reflects me backing off on reading a bit after pushing so hard to finish the reading challenge at my local library in February and March. I’ve also been working a lot on VBS prep as director at my church, which takes up a decent amount of my free time as well, and will continue to do so until mid-June.

Here are the books I read in April:

juliet
bee
embers
Illusion
dragonback-5
marvels
Anne 1
39 black book
white placeholder

The Juliet Code by Pepper Basham (3 / 5)
Bee’s Gift by Dana Romanin (4 / 5)
Embers in the London Sky by Sarah Sundin (4 / 5)
Illusion by Frank E. Peretti (5 / 5)
Dragon and Judge by Timothy Zahn (4.5 / 5)
A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell (5 / 5)
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (5 / 5)
The Black Book of Buried Secrets by Mallory Kass (4 / 5)

This list includes 3 ARCs and 2 re-reads. My favorite book from April was A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventures. I started 1 series, continued 2 series, and finished 1 series*. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

*This includes 1 series I didn’t reach the end of, but decided not to continue reading, after being at least 2 books into the series.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.

Book Review: The Black Book of Buried Secrets

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Storm Warning
The 39 Clues
by Mallory Kass

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s mystery, adventure

Spoiler notice: The following review will contain some spoilers for the previous books in the series, starting with The Maze of Bones.

After the 39 Clues finale, a new threat has arisen, leading the separate branches of the Cahill family to come together and share their secrets. Broken down into a section for each of the 5 branches, this book covers founders and agents (though I’m not 100% sure what the difference is, since some of the founders are current…how can they be founders 500 years after the branch was founded?), strongholds, and tools and tricks used by each branch. It’s a good follow-up to the series, with some reminders of locations, names, or events that were brought up during the series, as well as new information. The brief vignettes that show some of the major characters from the series after the end of the clue hunt were great to have, and there are even a couple of short stories about historical characters looking for clues or being recruited by Cahills. There are a few things explained in this book that I at first thought must be spoilers of what is technically the final book in the series, though also a launching point for the first spin-off series. That book was published after this one, so I hope that’s not the case, but I won’t know until I read it (Vespers Rising).

The introduction by Rick Riordan, which depicts the different authors from the series as members of the Cahill branch, meeting to discuss sharing their secrets for this book, is clever and enjoyable. Fans of the 39 Clues series will probably find the brief stories and extra information in this book worth reading.

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Book Review: A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure

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A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure
by Angela Bell

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Christian historical romance

A failed engagement leaves Clara playing protector to her family of eccentrics, lest her ex-fiance have them committed as insane. When her grandfather takes in an apprentice for his clockmaking shop, a broken vagabond with a false name, Clara is certain he’s a spy sent by her ex-fiance. Then her grandfather takes to the skies in a flying machine he invented, bidding both Clara and Theodore, his apprentice, to follow his clues in a scavenger hunt across Europe. As Clara attempts to find her grandfather before the wrong people do, she may just have to let go of the idea that protecting everyone she loves is entirely up to her.

This book has everything I love in this genre and then some. Both of the main characters are complex, well-crafted characters. Side characters are colorful and fun. There’s adventure, symbolism, and romance that doesn’t take over the story. Though perhaps the heavy burdens that both Clara and Theodore carry throughout much of the story is a bit overdone, they both separately culminate in ways that I loved. There’s one scene in particular on Theodore’s side that brought tears to my eyes. There is quite a bit of Christian-related content in this book, but to me, it’s not the amount of references to God or the Bible that can make that content feel forced or preachy but the way it’s used, whether it’s well-infused with the story being told or not, and I felt Bell did a great job of having it all work together.

What really made this book fun and adventurous was the side characters, namely Clara’s mother (lovingly denoted “Mrs. S.” by Theodore), with her penchant for collecting abandoned or broken critters, and Clara’s grandfather (“Grand” to her and “Drosselmeyer” to Theodore), who isn’t present for much of the story overall, but drives the plot with his scavenger hunt and words of wisdom about Clara’s tendency toward self-reliance. I don’t know how realistic Grand’s automaton inventions were for that time period (or for modern times, even), but I truly do not care. They appealed to my escape-room-loving heart and added so much whimsy to the story.

I’m a fairly picky reader, but I loved this book and recommend it for fans of historical Christian fiction. If you enjoy this book, I strongly suggest checking out the author’s contribution to The Lassoed by Marriage Romance Collection, a book of short stories by different authors. Her story was my favorite in that collection (and also involved automatons) and what led me to look for other writings of hers just in time to read this debut novel, and I’m so glad I did!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bethany House for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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Book Review: Dragon and Judge

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Dragon and Judge
Dragonback #5
by Timothy Zahn

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi adventure

Spoiler notice: The following review will contain some spoilers for the previous book in the series, Dragon and Herdsman.

As Jack continues to try to help Draycos, the dragon-like symbiont that uses him for a host, track down who killed his people, the pair take what is meant to be a brief detour to a planet where Jack’s Uncle Virgil used to visit a bank to replenish his funds. But as soon as they arrive on the planet, Jack is mistaken for a circuit judge, and he and Draycos are whisked away to an inescapable canyon to hear several years’ worth of disputes.

I really expected this book to be quite a departure from the series, but I think it was a bit more connected even than the previous book. Real answers are given to the investigation into the impending K’da genocide, and secrets from Jack’s past are exposed. The unusual race of beings that force Jack into presiding over their disputes showcases Zahn’s worldbuilding abilities; however, I felt that there was a lot more that could have been explained about their system of uprights and number names. Though I’m not a huge fan of Alison Kayna, I also enjoyed her side story, as she’s abducted and brought to Neverlin, due to being the one who actually ends up opening Uncle Virgil’s bank box. Her growing connection with her own K’da symbiont is quite different from Jack and Draycos’s but also an intriguing part of the story. Overall, I’ve really enjoyed this series and am highly anticipating the last book and hopefully the salvation of the K’da and Shontine.

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Book Review: Embers in the London Sky

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Embers in the London Sky
by Sarah Sundin

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Christian historical romance

While fleeing the Netherlands that has just been invaded by the German army, Aleida’s abusive husband sends their son with strangers, shortly before losing his own life to the Germans. Once in London, she starts a long, difficult search for her son. There, she meets Hugh Collingwood, a BBC radio correspondent trying to inform the public and boost morale while reporting on the Blitz. When his uncle and friend are murdered, it looks like the bombs falling on the city every night aren’t the only danger.

In a way, this book almost seems like two different stories. The first is a combination of Aleida searching for her son while also trying to shine light on the way some of the kids are treated as they’re evacuated out of London during the Blitz and Hugh trying to maintain integrity in his reporting while struggling against the threat of censorship. This main part of the story kept me engaged, and I liked seeing these different sides of London during this part of history. Then the book turns into a murder mystery as Aleida and Hugh, both apart and separately, try to solve a series of murders. I’m a fan of mystery, and the rest of the story was interesting enough that I didn’t need the mystery angle to be expanded on. Still the pacing of the mystery being in the background for a long time to then suddenly jump into the foreground threw me off just a little. 

I appreciated the development of the relationship between Aleida and Hugh and that it didn’t come across as the main point of the story. I prefer a subtle romance, and Aleida and Hugh developed a great foundation of friendship first. Though some of the drama involving their relationship felt too much like it was thrown in there just to prolong the inevitable declarations of love. I look forward to the next book, which appears to be about Aleida’s sister, who is still in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands, and I recommend this one to anyone who likes historical fiction from this time period in the Christian romance genre.

Thank you to Netgalley and Revell for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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March in Review

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I read 18 books last month, a high number for me that was definitely due to to taking part in a reading challenge at my local library, which not only pushed me a little to read some books I might not otherwise have read, it also pushed me to try to finish books a little more quickly than normal for me. I read a lot of younger-audience books for the last few books I needed in order to finish the advanced part of the challenge (I made sure the rules do not say what length or for what age group the books have to be). The event ended mid-way through March, and by the time it was done, I was glad to be able to get back to my normal, slower pace. What’s really amazing is that I managed to get reviews posted for all of those books by now!

Here are the books I read in March:

faith-hope-hilarity
oliver
masterminds-2
stars
zoo
outsiders
mcgee-5
hh-1
wow1
cj
nd1
alcatraz-1
fortunately
architects
imposters-2
butterflies
poirot-2
number-four

Faith, Hope and Hilarity by Dick Van Dyke (3 / 5)
The Magic Factory by Morgan Rice (3 / 5)
Criminal Destiny by Gordon Korman (5 / 5)
Stars Beyond Realms by Marie-Hélène Lebeault (2 / 5)
We Bought a Zoo by Benjamin Mee (3 / 5)
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (5 / 5)
Twister and Shout by Bill Myers (5 / 5)
Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary (5 / 5)
World of Warcraft, v. 1 by Walter Simonson (4 / 5)
Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Circus Clown by David A. Adler (4 / 5)
The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene (4 / 5)
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko (5 / 5)
Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman (4 / 5)
The Nazi Architects of the Holocaust by Corona Brezina (4 / 5)
A Noble Scheme by Roseanna M. White (5 / 5)
Butterflies in the Storm by Gary Warner (2 / 5)
Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie (3.5 / 5)
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (5 / 5)

This list includes 3 ARCs and 1 re-read. My favorite book from March was A Noble Scheme. I started 5 series, continued 3 series, and finished 0 series. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.