Review: The Paris Children

The Paris Children: A Novel of World War 2 by Gloria Goldreich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I won this book through a Fall Preview giveaway at bookreporter.com. 

I enjoy WWII fiction so it was a good bet that I would enjoy this one. A plus is that it is based on the stories of real people. I felt like a got a good look into the lives of the French people, and especially the French Jews, during the Nazi occupation. I also felt like a got a better appreciation for what those that joined the Resistance went through — the planning, the dedication, the risks of daily life as a member of the Resistance. This book met one of my key wants in historical fiction; it inspired me to read and learn more. I spent time on Wikipedia reading about Madeleine Levy’s grandfather, Alfred Dreyfus, and his trials. Sadly, there is at this time no entry for Madeleine Levy.

While I enjoyed this story and found it very readable, I also found it repetitive at times. The fact that they were living in dangerous times and that Madeleine and Claude might not survive the war to have a future was mentioned every time they got together. There were similar repetitive lines. I wish some of this could have been cut. The book would have been shorter and the story flowed a little more quickly without the repetition.

I also felt that the story didn’t have the emotional impact it might have, had the author not included a spoiler in her author notes on the very first page—before the story even started!. Once she did, I read between the lines and knew what was going to happen. The only questions were when and how. But the time it did happen, I was resigned to it. My suggestion is that you save the author notes for the end!

I did enjoy the book and learned some history from it. I think readers of WWII historical fiction, and particularly fans of Kristin Hannah’s ‘The Nightingale’ will enjoy this one!

My rating: ✭✭✭½

View all my reviews

The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan
My rating: 2½ of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book through there Library Thing Early Reviewers program. I read this one almost two years ago and have yet to review it. I just didn’t know what to say about it. I read it, but it was a very slow read and I never really connected to it. I’m not sure why, because it gets high ratings on the review sites.

It wasn’t a particuarly memorable story for me. The story reminds me a lot of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—The setting is a small town in Great Britain during World War II. The people are facing hardship. They bond together and prove to be resilient. But still, there is a difference. I can’t put my finger on it, but I connected much more to ‘Guernsy’ and enjoyed it. ‘Guernsey' was a book club selection and often a good discussion improves how I feel about a book, so that may be part of why I feel that was a better book.


I won a copy of this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewers program.

View all my reviews

Review: The Kennedy Debutante

The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’ve been wanting to read this for awhile, but hadn’t gotten to it. Last week, I'd finished my book club read and was on Overdrive looking for my next read when I came across this one on my wishlist. It was available so I checked it out. I’m really glad I did!

This book is exactly what I want from historical fiction! I learned something new—a lot, actually! Being a Boomer, I grew up knowing a lot about the Kennedy’s, but while I knew the name ‘Kathleen’, I really didn’t know much about her. In fact, until a few years ago, I think I had her and her older sister, Rosemary, fused into one person in my mind! So this was really an interesting read. The book also propelled me to Google, Wikipedia, etc. in search of more information! And I even picked up two ‘Kick’ Kennedy biographies at the library this weekend! Historical fiction at its best!

The story starts with Kick’s society debut, as she is presented to the King and Queen. I loved reading about the ‘requirements’ of society in the era, and how mother Rose positioned her family to be insinuated into society. In many ways the book reminded me of the ‘rules’ of Gilded Age society that I had just read about in A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts. Kick turns out to be a bit of a rebel, falling in love with a Protestant who would be exactly what her mother was looking for in a son-in-law had he been a Catholic. Her mother, and to a leser extent, her father, go to great links to keep the couple apart. I guess I was a little surprised to learn just how rigid her mother was, not only about this, but about many other things. While she had a reputation as a great mother with an ideal family, that was a smoke and mirrors image. She often placed appearances and her desires before her children’s well-being, at least in this story.

It was also interesting to read about the events leading up to WWII, especially from the perspective of the British. Father Joe Kennedy was the US Ambassodor to Britain at the time, so Kick was in London with her family in the years leading up to the war. One thing that really surprised me was the calm approach Londoners took to the bombings. They were prepared, and it was always in the back of there minds, but they seemed to take it in stride, going about their lives as normally as they could under the circumstances. I guess I’d pictured them as cowering in shelters just waiting for the next bombs to fall. I’m sure I would have!

Really, I can’t think of anything I didn’t like about the book. Rose was not a pleasant person, and of course I didn’t like the ending, but this story is based on fact, and a lot of times facts aren’t happy. If you are curious about Kathleen, a Kennedy afficiando, or just want to read more about the atmosphere in the times leading up to the war, pick up this book! You won’t be sorry!

read Jan 2019
5 ★★★★★
ebook borrowed from library

View all my reviews

Review: City of Thieves

City of Thieves

by David Benioff

Why did you choose this book? This was a book club selection

When did you read this book? March 2017

Who should read this book?

Source: library book club set

My Rating: ✰✰  2 Stars

Here is a synopsis of City of Thieves from Goodreads

From the critically acclaimed author of The 25th Hour, a captivating novel about war, courage, survival — and a remarkable friendship that ripples across a lifetime.

During the Nazis’ brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and thrown into the same cell as a handsome deserter named Kolya. Instead of being executed, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet colonel to use in his daughter’s wedding cake. In a city cut off from all supplies and suffering unbelievable deprivation, Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and behind enemy lines to find the impossible.

By turns insightful and funny, thrilling and terrifying, City of Thieves is a gripping, cinematic World War II adventure and an intimate coming-of-age story with an utterly contemporary feel for how boys become men.

My Review

This was the book club selection for our March meeting. It is probably not a book I would have picked up off the shelf had it not been a  book club selection. It took a long time for me to feel any connection to the characters, and I never really felt fully invested in the story. While language, violence, or sex scenes are not normally an issue for me if it is integral to the story, I felt that this book sometimes was a bit too much. I also wasn’t too pleased with the ending of the journey when the men finally returned to Leningrad. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but it was a lot to go through, only to have the story end that way.

The story begins with an introduction where the narrator listens as his grandfather tell his wartime remembrances. The grandmother is in the background and at first is reluctant about the whole idea of a book about their wartime experiences. I really have to wonder if I might have enjoyed this story more had it been told from the grandmother’s point of view.

I need to mention that my book club did not feel the same way I did about the book. Our reviews were mixed with ratings as low as a 2 and as high as a 4. So even though I did not enjoy the book, many people do and you might be one of them. If you do read the book, here are some fun links for you.

✽ Conversation with author David Benioff about the book.

✽ Lev Beniov’s Twitter account

✽ Lev Beniov’s Blog

.I suspect these last two were down as a high school student project during study of the book!