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The Secret Locket by Catherine Hokin

Jul7

When The World Was Silent

The Secret Locket by Catherine Hokin is a powerful historical novel that I read in just two sittings, pausing only to sleep.

The novel is set in Germany from 1934 to the end of World War II. The action begins in a small village before moving to other locations – Munich, Warsaw, Dachau and more.

Within the village the bully-boy tactics of a powerful man sympathetic to the Nazi party, ruin the lives of the few Jewish residents. We see the power of one man to lie, manipulate, coerce and murder – and the crime of the villagers is to remain silent.

It doesn’t matter that the Jewish family do not practice their faith, their crime is simply being born Jewish. “Nobody would tell her why a faith she rarely practised and rarely thought about had turned overnight into the most important thing about her.”

Catherine Hokin has captured the atmosphere of fear and of liberties being eroded. Far too many fell for Hitler’s lies and had the belief that war was glorious.

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The Girl From Normandy by Rachel Sweasey

Jun28

Powerful

The Girl From Normandy by Rachel Sweasey is a powerful dual timeline that enthralled me from the start.

The novel is set during World War II in France, and also in 1998 in Poole and France. We see the intertwining lives that have come down the ages.

Fleeing Nazi-occupied Paris, the lead character suffers an unthinkable tragedy. She is made of strong stuff and uses the pain to propel her into working for the Resistance. We see the bravery and daring that was needed as well as the ability to hide her true thoughts as smiles whilst listening to Nazi secrets.

The Resistance was vital to the war machine. Everyone had a unique role to play. Without the Resistance, there would have been no D-Day.

In present day a grandmother’s family do not realise all that she went through. She is the matriarch of the family. Her strength is built on her sadness.

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Kitty’s War by Eimear Lawlor

Jun23

Powerful

Kitty’s War by Eimear Lawler is a powerful historical novel that I read in just one sitting.

The novel is set in Southern Ireland in 1941. As the tale opens, the leading lady is heading home from the mainland to look after her brother.

We see that German origins can be a curse even though the leading lady has no ties with Germany.

Although Southern Ireland was neutral, the war still touched lives as there were bombing raids and German pilots were shot down. The Germans had all been perceived as evil Nazis but many were just young men with families who missed them.

Catholic Southern Ireland had some harsh and cruel laws for unmarried mothers and homosexual men. There were those who were kind and passed no judgement. It is awful to see how many had to hide their true selves.

Grief is a terrible master. It threatens to sink characters.

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Shrapnel Boys by Jenny Pearson

Jun17

Moral Courage

Shrapnel Boys by Jenny Pearson is a powerful, children’s historical novel that entertained me from the start.

The action is set in London from 1939 and seen from the point of view of a young boy called Ronnie. It is told in the first person and therefore we get to know Ronnie intimately. He is extremely likable, always trying to do the right thing.

We follow Ronnie and his younger brother Mickey and best friend Lugs as they try to navigate life, family and war.

The war was a mixture of excitement and being scared after the Phony War of 1939. “Life in London didn’t change much in those first few weeks… War, it seemed, had forgotten to show up.” Once World War II begins in earnest, there is more than just bombs to navigate as an opportunist turns up, turning Mickey’s head.

We witness those who profit in war, thinking nothing of preying on the misery of others.

Jenny Pearson has shown the danger of the banned group The Blackshirts, whose ideology lined up with Hitler.

As we follow Lugs, we see his fears as a Jewish boy in London. His father is a pacifist but still conscripted into the war as a stretcher bearer. “It was courageous to march onto a battlefield with a gun in your hands, but treading the ground without one… was even braver.” As Ronnie declares “to me, Lug’s Dad was a hero.” The reader can only echo that statement.

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