Archives

The Orphan’s Mission by Glynis Peters

Apr3

Of Love & War

The Orphan’s Mission by Glynis Peters is a compelling historical novel that consumed me from the start.

The action begins in London before moving briefly to the south coast and then over to mainline Europe during World War II. We follow a teenage orphan whose father was French, and mother was British. Now she has nowhere to call home. She answers the personal call to fight the Nazis from inside France.

We witness the bravery required to sail to Holland, walk several miles to a rendez vous point, and then be parachuted into France.

A small cell of resistance fighters occupies a French farm. They live in plain sight as a family unit – until they realise someone has betrayed them.

We see the wits, bravery and cunning needed to survive the most dangerous of times.

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Five On Kirrin Island Again by Enid Blyton

Apr1

Derring Do & Loyalty

Five On Kirrin Island Again by Enid Blyton is a thrilling children’s adventure and just perfect for ten years and over. It is the sixth book in the Famous Five series but can be read as a stand-alone.

Once more we join the children and Timmy the dog as they have another adventure on Kirrin Island, foiling the baddies plans.

We hear of derring do and loyalty from Timmy.

Though first written in 1947, there is a timeless appeal to the tale. It will entertain a new generation of children.

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Secrets Of The Desert Rose by Marilyn Turk

Mar31

The Bonds We Form

Secrets Of The Desert Rose by Marilyn Turk is a powerful Christian dual timeline novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The novel is set in 2019 America and Algeria, and during World War II in Algeria. The time periods are linked by a great grandmother and her great granddaughter as the latter wants to step into her great grandmother’s wartime footsteps.

We see that friendships formed in the early 1930’s between English Audrey and French Monique have strong bonds. They both share a secret which they keep for many years.

The two women are more like sisters than friends. Audrey spent years searching for love from her cold-hearted parents. It is in Monique’s family that she finds love.

Audrey is the more adventurous of the two. Monique prefers to watch from the sidelines. Monique’s family are wealthy. During the 1930’s there were many parties with a common goal “to find a husband.” This changes with the advent of war. Both women fight two very different wars but both are very brave.

In both time periods we hear of the archaeological digs and the landscape of Algeria. It is vibrant and comes to life under the author’s descriptive pen.

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The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Mar29

Love Is The Beginning & The End

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is such a powerful book about women during World War II. Everything about it is fabulous, which makes it a hard book to review – what to include? What to leave out?

This is a book about women at war and the love that binds them together.

In war, it is men’s stories that we hear. The Nightingale addresses this balance. “It’s a fact that women are useless in war. Your job is to wait for our return” says a male character! It is women who are the glue that hold everything together. “Maman had been the glue that held them together.”

We follow two sisters. The younger one works for the resistance. The older one has her own battles at home where she lives with her young daughter, who has to grow up very quickly during war. The setting is France and both are very much on the frontline.

The younger sister has spent her whole life searching for love. “She was tired of begging people to love her.” The truth is that she has always been loved. It proves to be a love that makes the ultimate sacrifice, which will end up breaking her.

We witness the bravery needed to help allied airmen to safety, evading capture – but the more successful trips, the bigger the target on a sister’s back.

Life inside concentration camps was brutal. Luck and a strong willpower to survive were needed. Bodies were broken but minds remained free. “In the camp, she fought back the only way she knew – by caring for her fellow prisoners, and helping them stay strong.” The women had to be their own support system to hopefully, survive. There are some very hard to read scenes of Nazi brutality.

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