Happy Wednesday! Thank you for all the comments and encouragement on Monday. I’m hoping to have some extra computer time early tomorrow morning to respond to you all, but today I’m going to share what I’ve been reading lately. I am in such a rut and not much has been holding my attention, but a WWII novel and a Maisie Dobbs will almost always do the trick!
Books Recently Finished:
I put Tears of Amber on my TBR simply because I loved The Murmur of Bees but I wasn’t expecting a WWII story! This is set in what was East Prussia and follows two families through their evacuation of their homes as the Russians approached from the East. For the last decade, I have been fascinated by how the German people allowed Hitler to do what he did; books like this illustrate it perfectly. This one, especially, shows how forcefully the Nazi Party indoctrinated the children, which made it difficult for the adults to show any sort of disloyalty to the party. It was all truly horrific.
The characters in this book are indelible and Segovia is a superb writer who reaches straight into my heart. The scenes of the Hahlbrooks nestled into their wagon with their quilts, hot bricks, and sleep sacks will stay with me for a long time. My only complaint: I wish the storylines would have intersected much earlier!
Another excellent book that details the Evacuation of East Prussia is the YA novel, Salt to the Sea.
As usual, Maisie Dobbs was a cure for my lack of reading mojo last week. Leaving Everything Most Loved is the tenth in the series and almost felt like a goodbye, given that Maisie spent the entire novel considering closing up her investigation agency and traveling to India. Coincidentally (?), Maisie is asked to investigate the murder of two Indian women living in London. Who would kill these gentle women? Was it because of their race or something even more personal?
I love how Maisie is still struggling with her new-found wealth and trying to control her instinct to just fix everyone’s problems. She’s also trying to understand her feelings about James and battling her misgivings about marriage. She is so complicated and I’m glad that there’s more to this series!
Bronwyn and I finished Happy Birthday, Kit last week. Kit is dying for a big birthday party, but knows that her parents can’t afford one. When her Aunt Millie visits unexpectedly, Kit shares her birthday wish with her. Aunt Millie is a whiz at saving money and creating something out of nothing, so she could certainly make this happen, right??!
What Kit doesn’t anticipate is her embarrassment by all of Aunt Millie’s tips and tricks. Will the kids at school learn how poor her family actually is? And how will she be able to cope if they find out? I am really enjoying these Kit books. Two more and we’ll be on to Molly!
Bronwyn and I also finished Zoey and Sassfrass: Dragons and Marshmallows last week. This book was “assigned” in the science section of her Kindergarten curriculum and it was a lot of fun. Zoey’s mom is a scientist who is about to go on a trip for work when Zoey learns that her mother has been caring for magical creatures in their barn since she was a little girl. Zoey takes on the family business while her mother is away and helps a dragon recover from an illness. She uses the scientific method again and again to determine what’s wrong with the dragon and to test out her hypotheses to help it recover. We’ll be reading the second book in this series in a few weeks and I’m excited to get to it!
Booker Update
My books for the Booker Prize are starting to arrive. I was planning to start Pearl last night but then my hold on A Spell of Good Things came in so I started with that one instead. I’d hate for the loan to expire while I was reading something else. I’m only a few pages into A Spell of Good Things so I have no opinion on it yet, but I’m excited to dig into it! And tomorrow I’ll be able to use an Audible credit on Western Lane, so I’m looking forward to spending some time with that story.
I started If I Survive You and could barely maintain my interest in the first story. For those of you who have read it: Does it get better? Or any different? I’m trying to decide whether it’s worth powering through to the good parts or if I should just abandon it now. The loan will expire in a few days so my decision might be made for me!
And that’s all for today. I hope to be back on Friday with an update on what’s been bringing me joy lately. Until then – take good care.
The Cozy Burrow 
For some reason, Zoey and Sassafras caught my attention. Maybe it’s the combination of magic and science. Right now, because of your mini-review, I am reading Endling. Applegate certainly doesn’t shy away from the dark side, does she?
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Even though I’ve read more WWII books than probably any other genre, I always value one from a different perspective, and I agree that Tears of Amber was a really phenomenal one. (Salt to the Sea is good, too, but be prepared to cry!) It is a little frightening that we’re starting to see some of that indoctrination of children in the form of some states limiting what can be taught in schools; I just hope our kids’ generation really rebels against it.
I just listened to Western Lane on Monday (it was available on Hoopla for me), and I’ve got several books on hold and four titles on their way to me from Blackwell’s from the Booker list. I hope these new titles ignite your reading mojo!
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Ooo! Okay, I am adding in Tears of Amber to my TBR list! Thank you!
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Salt to the Sea was so good! I read it in like 24 hours. I couldn’t put it down! Adding Tears of Amber to my TBR.
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I read Tears of Amber a couple of years ago and loved it. The fact that I still remember so much of it says a lot! The author’s note at the end made the story even more meaningful.
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I can’t wait for my Blackwells books to start arriving … and my hold for Spell of Good Things is also in! Booker season is my favorite! also, I’ve had Tears of Amber on my shelf for a few years. clearly need to prioritize it! There are significant parts of Andrew Krivak’s Dardan trilogy – especially in Sojourner and Like the Appearance of Horses that talk about WWI and WWII from “the other side” and they made me reconsider some things. Thank you for the push!
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Your reading posts are always inspiring. Maisie Dobbs is always good for a boost, I think. The series isn’t too heavy but certainly thoughtful. Multiple perspectives (families leaving East Prussia under threat of invasion) are always a good idea.
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I’m adding Tears of Amber to my library list right now! Your description has me sold.
I’m currently reading a compilation of short stories by Deesha Philyaw (I read one a night before I go to bed) and Hollow Kingdom. Im reserving judgment on Hollow Kingdom as I’m only a few chapters in!
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Tears of Amber and Salt To Sea sound interesting and have added the both to my list. Indoctrination during the time of Hilter was horrible and apparently we have not learned anything from it as we are seeing that happen still yet today in both adults and children. Read post !
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Meant “great post” sorry
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So glad you’ve enjoyed your last two reads. Hope the streak continues.
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