Turn The Page ... Tuesday

The Nightingale

From Amazon: "In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are. 

FRANCE, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn't believe that the Nazis will invade France … but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne's home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.

Vianne's sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can … completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others.

With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates 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."

Yo! Adrienne says: Many people were head over heels for this book. I liked it. I thought I was worth the time to read and a very interesting story line (remember I'm a sucker for any WWII storyline). I love a strong female character and The Nightingale provides several. The main characters were so different - opposites really (isn't that often true of siblings). Vianne and Isabelle both wage war according to their disposition and wills; in the end realizing that they were on the same front. An enjoyable read for sure. 

All the Light We Cannot See

From Amazon: "From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge.

Doerr’s “stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors” (San Francisco Chronicle) are dazzling. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, he illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, a National Book Award finalist, All the Light We Cannot See is a magnificent, deeply moving novel from a writer “whose sentences never fail to thrill” (Los Angeles Times)."

Yo! Adrienne says: Another "I LOVED THIS BOOK" from many. Again, I enjoyed it but I think the hype brought with it too high expectations. Continuing on the WWII theme but a totally different perspective (something else I love about WWII books - there is seems and endless supply of storylines). I often wonder after reading a book like this, "what would I do?" - "would I be able to survive/fight/stay strong?". One of my favorite parts of this story is the connection made through the characters via the radio. Compare that now to how social media is used and it seems small but during WWII the radio was a true lifeline. The fear of what was being spread/heard is the same for today. If you are late to the game like me, it's worth the read. Just don't let the hype get in the way.

After You

From Amazon: "“You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. But I hope you feel a bit exhilarated too. Live boldly. Push yourself. Don’t settle. Just live well. Just live. Love, Will.”

How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future. . . .

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await."

Yo! Adrienne Says: The sequel to Me Before You did not disappoint. I loved it just as much. Lou's family is just as lovable and kooky and people we meet along the way  were well developed and believable. I could not put this book down. I am eagerly awating the release of the movie Me Before You. I know it won't be as good as the book (they never are) but I could not get enough of sweet struggling Lou and those that love her in their imperfect way. Defiantly a summer read ... or now ;-)

She's Mine

From Amazon: "Her father was an American serviceman, her mother a young Korean woman confused by the ravages of war. Abandoned at age four, nameless, homeless, and utterly alone, this child roamed the bleak, war-ravaged countryside of South Korea for three years and was finally left for dead. But The Creator had other plans and revealed them through the words, "She Is Mine.""

Yo! Adrienne says: I actually won this book from the blogger Monica Swanson last year. I literally read this book in one sitting. I knew Stephanie survived (because she wrote the book) but as I was reading I kept reassuring myself that she did indeed survived and thrive despite her ordeal. It's beautiful to see how the Lord was present with her through her trials and has used her story to share His love for us. Even when we are facing what seems like insurmountable circumstances He is with us. A must read. Puts my cart traffic jam at walmart and my bad hair days in proper perspective. Stephanie is writing a sequel. I am eagerly awaiting it's debut.