Once There Was a Town by Jane Ziegelman ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

By the close of World War II, six million Jews had been erased from the face of the earth. Those who eluded death had lost their homes, families, and entire way of life. Their response was quintessentially Jewish. From a people with a long-history of self-narration, survivors gathered in groups and wrote books, yizkor books, remembering all that had been destroyed. Jane Ziegelman’s Once There Was a Town takes readers on a journey through this largely uncharted body of writing and the vanished world it depicts.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer ~ a Review

by MK French

Rachel is the daughter of a prominent rabbi and reproductive endocrinologist and has always tried to meet everyone's expectations. Because of that, she can't tell them about her love of Christmas and her life as a writer of Christmas romance novels. Her publisher insists that she write a Hanukah novel instead, so she must find inspiration where she can get it: the high-end Matzah Ball Max that is run by Jacob Greenberg, who she had last seen at summer camp at twelve. Even so, he still irritates her, and she's convinced he's still the awful prankster he used to be.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

The Backyard Secrets of Danny Wexler by Karen Pokras ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

When my niece and nephew were younger they read some of Karen Pokras's books and I've read some of her adult books as well as her middle grades books. We have enjoyed everything we have read from her. I was excited to see a new book from her and had high expectations as her books are always well-written and the characters are fun, but also realistic.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

4 More World War II Stories

by Susan Roberts

Like a lot of people, I've had extra time to read during the pandemic.  Even though the stay-at-home orders have loosened some, I still stay in as much as possible due to my age and underlying health issues.  I've always viewed World War II as a time that all Americans worked together for the common good of America, unlike the current crisis where it appears that America is more divided than ever. With that comparison in mind, I pulled several World War II books off my shelves and here are my reviews.

Where Butterflies Go by Debra Doxer ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

"I was the luckiest unlucky person I knew."  (loc 1317)

999 by Heather Dune Macadam ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

I read a lot of WWII set fiction so when I saw a nonfiction book was the first Jewish transport to Auschwitz at Netgalley I had to request.

2 Memoirs about the Holocaust

by Susan Roberts

Amsterdam Publishers is specialized in Holocaust memoirs & WW2 historical fiction. Every year survivors with unique testimonies are passing away. Their stories need to be kept alive. Especially today, these accounts seem more important than ever. As a publisher, it is my task to publish Holocaust testimonies with gratitude and become the witness of witnesses. – Liesbeth Heenk

I have recently read two memoirs published by Amsterdam Publishers.  Here is a quote from one of them:

"This narrative will assure that her descendants will know about her family members, her history, her indomitable spirit, her courage, determination and pluck and her ability to move forward and live a productive and fruitful life despite the traumas.  it is an attempt to comprehend the incomprehensible - the horrors of history's largest act of genocide and of inhumanity itself.  Almost as important, it is an act of defiance against the revisionists and Holocaust deniers who shamelessly defile the memories of all those millions who were killed and the surviving souls who experienced indescribable torture and abuse."  (A Holocaust Memoir loc 148)

8 More February Books You Don't Want to Miss

by Susan Roberts

There are lots of fantastic books publishing in February.  Earlier I posted about the books I've read that published on February 5.  Now I have reviews for you of several fantastic books that published mid-February and 3 books that come out this coming Tuesday.

What were some of your favorite February books?

Bess and Frima by Alice Rosenthal ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

5 New Novels for Fans of WWII Stories

by Susan Roberts

Now that the holidays are over, there are lots of new books being published.  There are some fantastic new historical fiction books set during the WWII era.  Here are reviews of five of them.

Unreasonable Doubts by Reyna Marder Gentin ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

This may be categorized as a legal thriller but it's so much more. It's a book about love and friendship and trying to decide what's really important in life. This is a debut novel for this author and based on this book, I expect that we'll see many more fantastic books from her in the future.

2 New Books about Life after WWII

by Susan Roberts

There are so many WWII era books that it always amazes when someone writes a book from a perspective that I haven't read before.  I recently read two new books that look at WWII in the years following the war.  A Quiet Genocide takes place in Amsterdam and is about the after-effect of the war on a family.  The Lonely Tree takes place as the Jewish people attempt to establish the country of Israel after the war.

3 World War II #Books You Need to Read

by Susan Roberts

There are a lot of new books about WWII, a war that ended over 60 years ago.  It always amazes me that the new books are rarely a re-telling of the same story but instead, they look at the war from differing perspectives.  I have reviews of three new books today and even though all three of them are about the resistance, they take place in different countries - one is set in Italy, one in France and one in Germany.  In all three books, the authors did extensive research and give the reader fictionalized accounts of real events and real people.  If you enjoy historical fiction about this time in history, give these books a try.

3 Novels about WWII

by Susan Roberts

There are many new books about WWII and it amazes me that there are so many new ways that the story of the war are being told.  I have reviews of three books that all show how horrible the war was for the people in Europe but they are told from different perspectives even though they are all based on real people.  I have read all three in the last month and after the sadness of these books, I think it's time to start reading Christmas books.