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I Am David by Ann Holm

May7

So Powerful

I Am David by Ann Holm is a children’s classic published in 1963. It is perfect for ages ten years and over, with the power to affect your life whatever your age.

I Am David requires the reader to think as we become totally immersed in the life of David.

David is a twelve-year-old whose life, that he can remember, has so far been spent in an unnamed concentration camp. We do not know for how long or where. David is the microcosm for all those souls who endured the camps.

I Am David is a journey of discovery – literally, and mentally for both the reader and David. We hear about the lessons that a man called Johannes taught David in the camp. “Johannes said greedy people can never be happy, and I would so very much like to know what it feels like to be happy.” David is wise beyond his years but also retains an innocence about him as there is so much that he does not know about a ‘normal’ childhood.

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The Girl Who Dared To Dream by Diney Costeloe

May3

Going Against The Grain

The Girl Who Dared To Dream by Diney Costeloe is a marvellous historical novel and the first book in a fabulous new series entitled Girls Who Dared. I cannot wait for subsequent books.

The setting is London in 1912. The world is teetering on the edge between the old and new order. Girls have always been seen as the weaker sex but leading lady, Mabel Oakley is all set to prove her critics wrong! She knows her own mind and is able to break out of the traditional mould, not being afraid to speak up. She has her dreams too.

We see that in order to beat the system; one has to stand against it. Nothing will stand in Mabel Oakley’s way of her desire to have more education than was usual for a girl – until one fateful day when dreams must be laid aside.

The upper classes still flaunt their wealth and their opinions. The reader glimpses a life below stairs where not only do the upper classes rule, but the servants have a pecking order too. We witness the awful conditions for the young female servants, who are taken advantage of.

There is no welfare state. Following an accident to the breadwinner, all family members must get a job including the youngest, a thirteen-year-old boy.

There may not be much money, but there is a lot of love.

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The House At River’s Edge by Rachel Burton

May3

One Last Beautiful Summer

The House At River’s Edge by Rachel Burton is a powerful dual timeline that I just could not put down. I read it in just two sittings, pausing only to sleep!

The two time periods are 1914-1919, and 1997. The chapters alternate as we follow a family through the first World War years, and again after a long-lost photograph is found. Along with the characters, we have questions about the ancestors of a family. All is not as we first thought.

The summer of 1919 was the final summer of freedom. “I hold on to the memories of that summer.” With the advent of war, lives would be changed forever. A generation of young men left enthusiastically for war. Many never returned. Those who did, had often left their minds on the battlefields. “When I sleep, I’m back there, in the trenches.” We see the devastating effects of shell shock. “They can talk about peace and armistice as much as they like; he knows he will never find peace again.” People often suffered from shell shock for the rest of their lives.

We witness the heartbreaking results when a loved one dies. “Death doesn’t care about those who are left behind.” Characters know they will never love again like they did, making decisions to support each other.

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Being Dorothy: In A World Longing For Home by Michele Olson

May1

Coming Home

Being Dorothy: In A World Longing For Home by Michele Olson is a most delightful Christian tale. It is the second book in the Mackinac Island Stories but can be read as a stand-alone. I would recommend reading book one first for character continuity and progression.

Once more, the reader journeys to the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. The year is 1980 and there are references to the filming of the movie Somewhere In Time in 1979 (one of my favourite movies of all time), which was the focus of book one. We meet Piper and Cam, the leading characters in the first book.

In Being Dorothy, the focus is on another couple, Gideon and Dorothy. They are special agents running from an unknown threat, and have a marriage that is in trouble.

The couple do not know God. They have been running from Him but God is relentless in His pursuit of His children.

God uses people to accomplish His will. We need to have lives that are in tune with Him. “Thank you, Piper, for your boldness… I felt the nudge.” Sometimes God will ask us to do things that requires us to step out in faith, in order to help others in their faith walk. When God says ‘do it!’ Do not question, just do it! The fate of others may rely on our faithfulness.

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