Skeletons at the Feast

I finished this one last night and it was really excellent.

It's another book that takes place during WWII. I really love books that are based during this time period, because the stories are engrossing and you learn things at the same time.

I have such a hard time accepting that these kinds of things happened as recently as 60 years ago. It's horrendous the loss and the pain the Jewish people had to endure. One thing I really loved about this story was that it was mainly told from a German family's point of view. There were Jewish viewpoints as well, but the main characters were German and it really shows that the general population wasn't necessarily aware of the disgusting, horrible things that were going on.

It honestly took me a bit to get into this book. I'm a huge fan of short chapters, because short chapters mean I can pause frequently without frustration. This book had a 35 page PROLOGUE! I was mildly disturbed by this. And the rest of the book pretty much followed suit. There were a couple of shortER chapters, but for the most part they were long ones. Long chaptered books take me longer than normal to read.

Anyway, I definitely recommend this one. It is an excellent read.

Boneman's Daughters

I am a HUGE Ted Dekker fan. When I saw that he had this book that was recently released I had to get it on book on CD. Seriously. This man never fails to entertain me with his writing.

The BoneMan, a serial killer, who murders his victims by breaking their bones, but not their skin, re-emerges after a two-year hiatus and abducts 16-year-old Bethany Evans, the estranged daughter of military intelligence officer Ryan Evans. Having recently returned from Iraq, where he was captured and psychologically tortured by insurgents, Ryan is an emotional wreck. His mental state not only impedes his efforts to find Bethany, but also gives the authorities reason to suspect him of being the BoneMan himself.

It doesn't necessarily have a "and they lived happily ever after" ending, but it had an ending of justice.... I like the bad guys to get it in the end. :)

The bit of the book is a little hard- it's about Ryan's experience being tortured by insurgents. Part of the torture is him having to watch children getting murdered with a hammer. It doesn't go into it graphically, but If you 'see' the book as you are reading it, then it's a little disturbing.... but this only lasts just a little bit.

Ted Dekker is a great writer. He very rarely uses swear words and he isn't into sex scenes. He also has colorful characters in each of his books.

I don't think I'd ever own this book, but I definitely am glad I read it.

Outlander

I started this book thinking I wasn't going to like it. It was picked by my book club and when I read the reviews online there seem to a be a lot of negative things said and it was also listed as a romance novel. Then I receive the book and it's 850 pages long!!! I thought great this is going to take me forever to read. The book starts in the year 1945 with a man and wife who are recently reunited. She had been away working as a combat nurse. As I start reading about this couple I really wasn't into them. Then there is a sex scene between the two and it was very detailed and all I could think was this is going to be like one of those Harlequin novels and I'm not going to be able to read all 850 pages. As the story goes on Claire, the nurse, goes out for a walk and comes across this ancient stone circle. When she touches one of the stones she is transported back to Scotland in the year 1743. From this point on I am sucked into this book. As soon as Claire steps foot in Scotland her life is immediately in danger. She is rescued by a group of Highland warriors. From there her life takes an exciting turn after another. This books is filled with lot of suspense and action. I stayed up last night until 2 am just so I could finish the last 250 pages. I could not go to bed without finding out how this book ended. This book is also the first of a series. I believe there are 7 more books and I am definitely going to be reading the second one. Okay, here are the warning parts. There is a lot of violence, during this time period it was very common for people to be flogged so there is quite a bit of physical violence inflicted in this book. There is also a lot of sex. Some of it was mutual, some of it was not. With all that being said I really loved this book. I know we have talked about it before, but this is one of those books you just want to crawl inside of it and stay.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I've seen this book on the bestseller lists and the Barnes and Noble's table and recommended lists but didn't give it a try because I didn't think I'd like it....I was wrong :) And, I'm really glad I tried it. It's a light read and the characters are really lovable. But the thing that I loved the most about it was the history that winds through it. Set in the English Channel Islands just after the end of WWII, it deals with a lot of dark topics but it definitely isn't a dark book. I learned a lot about England during WWII and the German Occupation of Guernsey Islands. It doesn't read like a history lesson, though. If you're looking for quick read with a little bit of history, love, and lots of witty characters, this is your book :)

Oh, and it's written as a series of letters which is why I wasn't at first interested. But, I think that format really worked for this story. Enjoy!

A Child Called "IT"

I also read this last week.

I didn't post about it, because I figure I'm one of the last people on the planet to read it

I was so horrified by it, as I'm sure everyone who read it was.

I can't believe things like this actually happen. I can't imagine a mother doing these things to her child she gave birth to. It's so worse than I could have even imagined.

I ordered the next two books in this series from PBS because I'm so curious as to how his story plays out. I hope he talks more about his birth family in the next books.

I'd love to know what you guys, who've read these books, think of them.

Sarah's Key

I just finished this a minute ago. I don't really have the words to describe how much I loved it. It's definitely in my list of all-time favorites, though.

It's set in France and takes place both during the holocaust and present day.

It follows the tragic story of the little girl, Sarah, and her family.

I have to warn you, this is not really a happy story. Even though I know in my brain that it's fiction, my heart is still hurting by this story's events. I guess it's because I know that it very well could be true. Something like this could have happened during this period. It hurts. Every part of this book hurts. But it is so enriching, so educational. I had no idea that France had such a roll in the Holocaust as they did.

Another reason I probably loved this book so is that I have always had an intense interest in this part of history. My grandma loves history and now I realize how odd it is, being that I am grown with children, but I can remember my grandma telling me all about World War II, the Holocaust, that awful man Hitler, and everything she had ever learned about that time when I was a little girl. She always talked about it. I guess the things she had learned and the stories she had heard really affected her, because she made sure I knew all about it.

I loved this book and I recommend it to all. Even if you're not big on sad stories, I think this is a story everyone needs to read, due to it's historical value. I can't imagine that Europe accepted what went on during that time. It hurts my heart so much to think about it.

I know I'll read this book again in the future, it's just that kind of book.

The Weight of Heaven

Loved Thrity Urmrigar's book "The Space Between Us" so when I saw this...had to get it. Really good read, but if you're not into really happy books with happy endings, I wouldn't suggest it. It's about a couple who lose their only child, a 7 year old boy, to a sudden illness. Trying to start a new life and find each other again, they accept a transfer to India with the husband's job. Frank, the husband, befriends a young local boy. Frank becomes desperate to save the boy from his alcoholic father and the poverty he is destined to grow up in, but does the boy really need saving? Or is Frank just trying to replace his missing son? A surprise twist at the end :)...but like I said....not exactly a happy one.

Goodies

Speaking of slackers ;), I've been one. Besides being sick and super busy (who knew February was such a hot month for pictures?!) I realized I haven't posted ANY reviews yet. Shame. I have been reading, though. I figured I'd post some of my fav. reads from the past few weeks.

Loved this book! It's all about a bully of a preacher who packs up his wife and 4 daughters and heads to the Congo, in a time of political instability, with a grand plan to change and enlighten it. It's the Congo, though, that ends up changing him and his family in ways they will never recover from. It's actually told from the point of view from his wife and daughters. One of my new all-time favorite books. My only qualm with it is it could have ended 50 pages sooner than it did.

Another great read! This one was hmmm, for lack of better wording, beautiful and horrifying. It HURT to read it at times, like someone punched me in the gut. I couldn't get the book out of my mind. It haunted me. It is told from the past and the present and revolves around a little girl named Sarah and her story during the holocaust.

This one was a quick read. I liked it well enough but have to admit, the main character drove me a little crazy with her stupidity. Seriously, is it ever a good idea to marry a man you have known only a week and head off to live in his very remote mansion? Especially when you have two little girls? And really, isn't it a red flag when he wants you to wear his mother's nightgown on your wedding night...and every intimate night after that. Hello! I suppose it made for a good story.

I'm currently reading this book

and loving it. I've actually read it before but it's good enough to read again.

Oh, almost forgot. I finished, A Million Little Pieces but lost the card Candace gave me telling me who to send it to next. Help. Thanks.

I'm a SLACKER!

Ok, so I haven't even started Still Alice. I know, it's sad. Please don't boot me from the group. I'm gonna have to read it in March. The thing is, my husband is leaving for a 13 month deployment in less than two weeks. I've definitely had time to read it, but I know myself. If I start a book I have a hard time doing ANYTHING else. My kids sometimes go hungry when I'm reading a good book. It's horrible. So, the last thing I need right now is any distractions. So if you guys will give me leniency this once, I'd appreciate it. But in a couple of weeks, I'm gonna need ALL the distractions I can get!!!

No Place Like Home

I thought I wouldn't have time to read more than one book this month, but last Wednesday when I had nothing to do on my lunch break at work, my co-worker handed me this book. It was a page turner for sure! I have yet to be disappointed by Mary Higgins Clark.

The book is about a woman who in her early 30's gets the biggest shock when her new husband surprises her for her birthday by buying her a beautiful home (without her pre-approval). Little did he know that she had a secret past that she had never before shared with him. When she was 10 years old she shot and killed her mother on accident, trying to actually save her from her step father. This beautiful home that her new husband surprised her with turns out to be the very same house that she killed her mother in all those years ago.

As the book progresses it's clear that someone in her old town recognizes her as 'Little Lizzie', the deranged little girl that murdered her mother (as that was what was painted of her at her trial)... and is trying to set her up for committing more murders .

She tries her best to protect her little boy from the truth as well as her new husband.

I really liked that in the end of this book it turned out really happy- with an unexpected turn. :)