Sarah's Key

My mother was anxious for me to read Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay so that we could discuss it. In hindsight I wish I had not read it right after The Boy in the Striped Pajamas as it also deals with the subject of the Holocaust. Sarah's Key however focuses on another group of victims not much talked about: Parisan children. The story follows present day American journalist Julia Jarmond as she discovers the story of a young Parisian child caught up in the Vel'di'Hiv' roundup in July 1942 when thousands of Jewish families who were French citizens were arrested by the French police and eventually sent to their deaths at Auschwitz. Although the story is fiction the horror of the roundups is fact. Sarah's story becomes intertwined with Julias and the result has a profound impact on both the journalist and the reader. There are no happy endings here and I think it would be disrespectful to the true victims and survivors of those tragic events if there was. More than 6o years after the Holocaust people still do not want to talk about it. I have learned more reading these last 3 books (2 fiction and one true story) then I ever learned in school. My fifth grade son was assigned a project on the Holacaust and in helping him research I read more than most of us would ever want to know on the topic. It is difficult to put yourself in the time frame and mindset of the people who stood by and watched this happen. Now that I am aware of many of these tragic events like the journalist in Sarah's Key, I will never forget.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

When I was ordering the book Destined to Live from Amazon the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne was recommended as similar reading. It is described as a fable and written through the eyes of a 9 year old boy. (It is not written for children, though.) It gives the reader another view of events from the Holocaust. Although very short it is still long enough to have an impact. It has been made into a movie though without wide release. It is a must read for fiction about the Holocaust.

Terminal Freeze

Terminal Freeze is the latest novel by Lincoln Child. I've ready just about everything Child has written both alone and with co-author Douglas Preston. The books mostly are in the adventure/thriller category. The pair has written a novel set in the ice (Antarctica) already, Ice Limit. I've also read another thriller by James Rollins, Ice Hunt and one by Matthew Reilly, Ice Station. I think the setting has been explored to its fullest now. In Terminal Freeze some undefined monster is terrorizing the characters at a remote military base. Sound familiar? Some of these adventure novels are starting to be repeats and I'm ready for some fresh material. Don't get me wrong Terminal Freeze is a good novel but it is a far cry from my favorites from this author including: Thunderhead and Utopia. Other thrillers I recommend would include Subterranean and Amazonia by James Rollins or anything written by Michael Crichton. That is the problem with reading as many books as I do - Every book can not be a best seller.

The Lamora Wink

Somehow in my methodical plodding through Martha Grimes Richard Jury series I missed The Lamorna Wink and I'm glad that I found it now. This book finds Melrose Plant, Jury's usual sidekick rambling about Cornwall on his own. He enlists the help of Detective Macalvie to help him solve a disappearance and a four year old murder. Of course Jury shows up toward the end just in time to solve the murder and disappearance and steal all of the thunder from Plant. It was fun to read more about Plant and the what makes him tick. We also get a update on the Long Piddleton group and Plant's Aunt Agatha. The mystery solved we even see a more compassion side of Macalvie and the novel leaves you wishing you could make a visit to Northants.

Light of the Moon

Luanne Rice takes a journey away from her usual setting in Black Hall, Connecticut for her book Light of the Moon. In this book the main character has taken a trip to France to visit a shrine that had special meaning to her recently deceased mother. There she discovers the close-knit communtiy of Romanys, the famous Camargue white horses, and the love of her life. As always, there are complications and the story plays out to a happy ending. I've read many of Rice's novels and this one although an enjoyable story was not as good as many others.

Destined to Live

I read a children's book recently that my son's fifth grade class read. It is the true story of a survivor of the Holocaust, Ruth Gruener, Destined to Live. Ruth was a young girl in Poland when the Germans invaded. The story is written from a child's perspective and written for children. It follows Ruth's story as she survives years of hiding in Poland until she is able to emigrate to the United States. It is an important story and I believe anyone who reads it will appreciate it.

Tales of Beedle the Bard

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of fairy tales written by the Bard himself and edited by J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame. It was originally available in only 5 copies in 2007 as a kind of artifact from the Harry Potter series complete with silver ornaments and moonstones it was published for general purchase in late 2008. Although a bit pricey for such a slim volume part of the proceeds to go to support the Children's High Level Group. The fairy tales feature witches and magic but all contain some lesson. The book also contains notes from Hogwart's famous headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. The book is cute and whimsy and can be read in an hour or so. Although not remarkable by itself it is a necessary edition to your Harry Potter collection.

The Plains of Passage

Whew! It has been a month since I blogged about my reading but I have been reading so I'll try to catch up now.

The Plains of Passage is the fourth book in the Earth's Child Series by Jean M Auel. Best known for the first installment, Clan of the Cave Bear, this novel follows the two main characters, Ayla & Jondalar as they travel East across the continent on a year long journey toward Jondalar's home. This is my least favorite of the series so far. I absolutely loved Clan of the Cave Bear and was delighted when The Valley of Horses was even better but for different reasons. The Mammoth Hunters was entirely different and not as enjoyable. While Plains has an interesting story line and quite honestly is an interestingly told story it is stagnated by long narrations on the plant and animal life of the ice age. While I am sure it is well-researched and very interesting to those who are interested I found it quite boring. I think the story could have been told quite successfully in about half the number of pages(868 in my copy). Furthermore, the lengthy descriptions of the characters love-making grew quite tedious after a while. I have the next book on my to-read list but I think it will be a while before I begin it. It took me almost two weeks to plow my way to the end of Plains of Passage.