Tag Archive | Kate Hewitt

The Girl On The Boat by Kate Hewitt

Feb10

Powerful New Series

The Girl On The Boat by Kate Hewitt is a powerful historical novel that completely consumed me. It is the first book in The Emerald Sisters series which promises to be fabulous.

The action is set from 1939 – 1942 as we travel from Germany to New York. As the story opens, we ‘hear’ from after the war in the prologue. We know the time and the place and we ‘hear’ the outcome for several characters but we have questions – questions which will follow us through the series. I am assuming all answers will be revealed in the final book – I can’t wait but I’ll have to!

We follow a Jewish family as they board a ship, with other Jewish families, fleeing Germany for Cuba. Alliances are formed on board, and promises made to meet up in Paris one year after the war ends.

We ‘see’ the damage inflicted mentally on physically tortured souls. Men, who were the heads of families, are reduced to mere shells. It is the women who have to step up and become strong.

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The Mother’s Secret by Kate Hewitt

Sep16

Emotionally Charged

The Mother’s Secret by Kate Hewitt is a powerful contemporary novel that had me gripped from the start.

This is a story about two mothers, both with similar feelings but at two different stages of motherhood – the new mum and the mum of teenagers. Both are English teachers. Both feel like misfits. Both lay down their career hopes to do as their husbands wish. Both bond together, as the experienced mum helps the new one as she understands her.

We see just how hard motherhood can be. The adjustment to being a new mum is hard, with the lack of sleep, a baby who cries and a husband who works away. Kate Hewitt writes in such a way as to elicit sympathy from the reader.

Being a mum to teens is a whole different ball game. There are different problems. The isolation felt is huge, after a wife and mother is ripped from her home and a job she loves, in order to follow her husband’s dreams.

Both mums suffer at the hands of their husbands’ jobs. Both are caring and compassionate. And both are fighting demons. The novel is emotionally charged. The two lead characters are easy to identify with. We understand the guilt they feel as they try to balance motherhood with jobs and external problems are not of their making. Guilt and innocence exist side by side.

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When We Were Innocent by Kate Hewitt

Apr12

Emotionally Draining

When We Were Innocent by Kate Hewitt is a powerful and heart breaking dual timeline novel.

This is a book that will mess with your emotions as we follow a character through a myriad of emotions as her gentle father is charged with Nazi war crimes. All she has ever known about her father is in opposition and comes crashing down. “This is my dad, and I love him. I know I do, even if it’s hard. Even if I’m not sure I should anymore.” Her love for her father is in conflict.

The novel is set in 1942 – 1943 in Sobibor and also in present day America. It alternates chapters between the time periods and the voices – her father in 1942 and the leading lady in present day. The story is told in the first person so we get to know the characters intimately, their emotions and their fears.

We witness a life unravel in 1942 as choices are made with disastrous consequences. Undoing one’s choices was not possible under Nazi rule. “He made choices … Everyone must face the consequences of their actions.” A character has lived with his choices for seventy years. He kept silent but his guilt remains.

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