Tag Archive | Harper Collins

Small Acts Of Resistance by Anita Frank

Nov6

Choices

Small Acts Of Resistance by Anita Frank is a powerful historical novel that consumed me from the start.

The action is set in a village in Northern France that is occupied by the Germans in 1915. We witness what life is like for a grandmother and her two granddaughters who are hiding a British airman, at the same time as having two Germans billeted with them.

We witness the bravery of ordinary folk to do the right thing. “That is my duty; to resist, however and wherever I can.” Hiding a British airman takes guts and ingenuity. Hiding in plain sight does produce raised heart rates at times!

With occupation, people have choices to make. “The day will come when we will all be held accountable for our actions.” Any collaborators would have to answer for their actions later.

We see that not all Germans are hard-hearted, cruel masters. There are those who still retain their humanity. When faced with hard choices, he will pass muster, doing what is right rather than what is expected of him.

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Graffiti Girls by Elissa Soave

Nov6

Sisterhood

Graffiti Girls by Elissa Soave is a powerful contemporary novel that consumed me from the start.

Graffiti Girls is set in Scotland and surrounds four female friends in their forties. The book is about sisterhood and supporting each other. The four have felt marginalised all their life but now they are in their forties, they seem invisible too. “The feeling of being useless as a shadow, and as insubstantial as one too, had crept up on her.” Together they highlight some of the wrongs in society.

Society has always been a patriarchal one. Even as children, they were exploited by a male teacher, feeling that they had to do as he said without question. “The way old Mouldy put it, it felt like we had no choice.”

Graffiti Girls is about having a voice and using it. “It is about striking back, making our voices heard.” They want to break out of society’s traditions and be free to be themselves. “We’re worth something, our lives matter.”

Each of the women is unique and with a very different home set up. What unites them is the way that they are all treated by the males they come across. “We’re here, we’re over forty but we’re still here. We won’t be ignored; we won’t be airbrushed out of the picture.” Graffiti Girls is about taking control – and as they do this, their lives are enriched. “It’s taken Graffiti Girls to wake me up and make me realise I need more from life.” The friends empower each other, and the wider female population too.

There are some very moving scenes where the women individually touch the lives of others. They see the lost and the hurting. They do not walk on without stopping and touching lives whatever the personal cost to them.

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All Together For Christmas by Sarah Morgan

Oct23

An Imperfectly Perfect Christmas

All Together For Christmas by Sarah Morgan is her perfectly wonderful festive offering that I adored.

This is a book about family. Family can be messy. Family can be complicated. And it is also love that is the glue that holds the family together. The family in the book, meet together at the parent’s house for Christmas. It is a multi-generational household as there are elderly parents and grown-up siblings, and a dog. Everyone is battling problems, and everyone receives love.

Newly married Jamie’s wife, Hayley, has never had a family Christmas, and therefore his mum is determined to give her a Hallmark Christmas to remember. Hayley fears being an outsider but nothing is further from the truth.

Love has never been in short supply. “He’d never been without love in his life. And he’d never had to earn that love.” Love has been given unconditionally. This is strengthened by his sister’s thoughts on family. “Her family home. She felt a sense of security. It was nothing to do with the building… but the people. Her wonderful parents… Whatever had gone wrong in her life they’d been there to cushion the blow.” The parents provided a firm foundation of love for their children.

It is hard being a parent to adult children. “As a parent your job to let go, even when your instinct is to hold on.” Our children need to be given wigs to fly.

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The Second Chance Cinema Club by Thea Weiss

Oct23

Absolutely Charming

The Second Chance Cinema by Thea Weiss is an absolutely delightful contemporary book about love, memories and second chances. I read the book in just one sitting and am sad that it has ended.

The plotline is unique and extremely well executed. It is a bout looking into the past at edited highlights, sharing memories with your present partner, and being honest with each other. Lives cannot be built on lies. Where there is truth, lives will prosper.

Family is important. “My family didn’t have a lot of money, but… they knew how to make things special.” Family and the bonds of love which they share are beautiful to witness. There is a family whose foundation is love. Another character has lost her way, building her life on wealth and connections.

We see how a family is fractured following a tragic loss. Each family member has retreated into their own grief bubble. The grief journey never goes away. “People always say the grief fades, but I find it just evolves.”

Guilt goes hand in hand with grief. “I just can’t shake the guilt from all the tiny decisions that led to what happened.” Guilt is a part of grief with nowhere to go. It is destructive. A character needs to forgive herself for actions that were not her fault. “You need to give yourself permission to move on.” Moving on does not mean forgetting, but it is part of life.

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