The Nightingale

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah   440 pages

In love we find out who we want to be.

In war we find out who we are.

FRANCE, 1939

These are the first words on the dust jacket and truly sum up this marvelous novel.

Vianne Mauric lives in a quiet village outside Paris with her husband, Antoine, and their eight-year-old daughter. Antoine has been called into service, but no one in the village believes that the Nazis will invade. Well, we know how that turned out.

Vianne’s younger sister, Isabelle, is eighteen, rebellious and searching for passion. When the young man she falls head-over-heels in love with betrays her, she vows to take an active part in freeing France from the Nazis.

In this incredible story, readers have a chance to witness “an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women's war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France--a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.”

Author Hannah made me feel like I was in France, both trying to eek out a living as Vianne was doing or joining the Resistance with Isabelle. I had trouble putting this book and was sad when it ended.

I give The Nightingale six out of five stars. Of the 65 books I’ve read this year, The Nightingale is one of the best.

Dress Shop of Dreams

Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna Van Praag
326 Pages

 "Since her parents' mysterious deaths many years ago, scientist Cora Sparks has spent her days in the safety of her university lab or at her grandmother Etta's dress shop. Tucked away on a winding Cambridge street, Etta's charming tiny store appears quite ordinary to passersby, but the colorfully vibrant racks of beaded silks, delicate laces, and jewel-toned velvets hold bewitching secrets: With just a few stitches from Etta's needle, these gorgeous gowns have the power to free a woman's deepest desires. Etta's dearest wish is to work her magic on her granddaughter. Cora's studious, unromantic eye has overlooked Walt, the shy bookseller who has been in love with her forever. Determined not to allow Cora to miss her chance at happiness, Etta sews a tiny stitch into Walt's collar, hoping to give him the courage to confess his feelings to Cora. But magic spells--like true love--can go awry. After Walt is spurred into action, Etta realizes she's set in motion a series of astonishing events that will transform Cora's life in extraordinary and unexpected ways."

This book had a lot of good reviews and read alike nods to Sarah Addison-Allen and Alice Hoffman so I wanted to like it.  However, I never really connected to any of the characters and had a really hard time getting through the book.  

A Touch of Stardust

A Touch of Stardust by Kate Alcott               304 pages

Alcott has made a career out of writing book whose backstories are near an anniversary day. Her second novel, The Dressmaker (a fabulous read BTW), was published during the 100^th anniversary year of the Titanic’s sinking. Her new novel, A Touch of Stardust, comes out on the heels of the 75^th anniversary of the movie Gone With The Wind release.

Protagonist Julie Crawford wants nothing more than to become a Hollywood. After graduating from Smith College, she leaves her hometown of Fort Wayne behind and heads west. We first meet Julie in 1938. She has a menial job with David O. Selznick Studios. She is making her way to one of the backlots with an important message for Selznick. Julie founds herself on the set of GWTW’s burning of Atlanta set.

When she finally finds the director, he’s atop a tower, watching the action. After climbing to deliver her message, Julie gets to meet a lovely young woman, Vivien Leigh; the King of Hollywood, actor Clark Gable; and screwball comedy sensation, actress Carole Lombard. That night she also meets Andy Weinstein, Selznick’s right-hand man.

Alcott’s novel has many layers. First there is the Old Hollywood connection before WWII.  Second is the love story of Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara. Third is the love story between Gable and Carole. Fourth, the one between Julie and Andy. Five, the story the Jews and WWII.

I wouldn’t call this a romance novel, not by any means. I felt as if I was at Selznick Studios watching the filming of that remarkable movie. I felt as if I was a witness to the great love Gable and Lombard shared.

I give A Touch of Stardust 5 out of 5 stars.

Isla And The Happily Ever After

Isla And The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins, 339 pages

Isla has been in love with Josh since she was a freshman but the few times they’ve interacted she’s never been able to talk to him and looks like a fool.  Finally, senior year, everything falls in place and the two of them become an item.  Isla is bright and studious, on track to being valedictorian at their exclusive American boarding school in Paris while Josh is bright but unmotivated except for his art.  He is also a little bit of a troublemaker, skipping class and breaking rules.  When he and Isla leave town overnight, something expressly forbidden, they get caught and Josh, having been in trouble so often before, is expelled.  Isla isn’t sure how she can stand to be apart but also doesn’t completely trust that his love for her will stand this test.  This is a really sweet but typical teen romance.  Although it’s kind of formulaic, it is a fun little story and I liked it.  Fans of teen romance and definitely people who have read Perkins’s other books in the series will like this addition.

Champion

Champion by Marie Lu, 369 pages

This appears to be the third book in the Legends trilogy and I felt like it wrapped up pretty well.  June is one of the three Princeps-Elect, meaning she is being groomed to possibly be the head of the Senate.  Day has become the hero of the people and is occupied with caring for his younger brother, Eden.  Busy with their individual lives, Day and June haven’t spoken in several months.  However, a crisis looms once more.  Just as peace negotiations between the Republic and the Colonies begin to look hopeful, a plague breaks out in the Colonies.  Because they believe it is from an old Republic weapon (and they are probably right) they are demanding a cure before they will consider a peace treaty.  The Republic doesn’t have a cure, but with further testing on Eden, who they think is patient zero for this illness, they may be able to create one.  Day, of course, is not willing to risk his brother, now that he has him back.  The situation appears to be at an impasse, but things are not always what they seem.  Although the book is tied up a little too neatly, it’s still a fun read and teen fantasy/dystopia fans will probably enjoy the story.

The Paper Magician

The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg, 214 pages

Ceony Twill didn’t get to choose which branch of magic she would get to study.  She wanted to be a Smelter, but there is a shortage of Folders, so she is stuck with paper.  She is apprenticed to Emery Thane, who is odd but nice.  Almost immediately, she finds out that he was actually the unknown sponsor that financed her year of study at the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined.  Thane turns out to be a good teacher and Folding turns out to be different than what she expected.  When an Excisioner, a worker of Blood magic, breaks into Thane’s home and rips his heart from his chest, Ceony must find a way to track down the Excisioner, get back Thane’s heart, and save his life, without getting herself killed, of course.  A really good story, fantasy fans will probably like this one.

We Were Liars

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart                      225 pages

This was a wonderful, beautiful, sad, magical book.  Four teenagers, Cadence, Johnny, Mirren, and Gat, three of whom are privileged Sinclairs, and one who is not, have spent every summer together on their family’s island since they were eight years old.  They have the best summers together.  During the school year they don’t keep in touch well, but when summer begins they pick up right where they left off the previous summer.  The summer they are fifteen, after their grandmother, Tipper Sinclair, has died, something happens.  Cadence has some sort of accident and can’t remember most of the summer.  Her mother doesn’t allow her to come to the island the next summer.  Instead, Cadence goes to visit her father in Europe for the entire summer.  The summer after she turned seventeen, her mother wants her to go to her father again, but Cadence insists on returning to the island.  It is there that Cadence finally begins to regain some of her lost memories, and to understand why she may have chosen to block those memories for so long.  This is a coming-of-age story that a lot of teens would like.

Gemini

Gemini by Carol Cassella
341 Pages

Carol Cassella is known for her medical novels and Gemini again deals with medicine as the protagonist Charlotte Reese is taking care of a Jane Doe who is in a coma.  The book alternates between this story and the story of Raney and her relationship with Bo, a childhood friendship.  Eventually (and not unexpectedly) the two stories merge into one. 

In my opinion the book wasn't as good as Cassella's two previous works but still presented an enjoyable read.