The Only Thing to Fear by Caroline Tung Richmond

What if Hitler had won WWII? What would our world look like? That is what this book sets out to answer

This is a young adult book, which was highly recommended to me by Darcy. She read it in grade 5 and then bought it when given the opportunity at a used book sale at school. She was fascinated by the book and kept on insisting that I read it too. I finally picked it up this past weekend.

Germany and Japan have divided the former United States between them, with Italy taking the west coast and Germany ruling the east coast. So 16-year old Zara St. James is growing up in the Eastern American Territories. She is an orphan (abandoned by her Japanese father and her mother died in a rebel-led raid against the Nazis) being raised by her Uncle in the Shenandoah region of the former United States. She is forced to work cleaning a school for German students where she meets Bastian, the son of the local Nazi Colonel. Rebel forces are assembling throughout the former United States, determined to overthrow the Nazi regime. That is how Zara's mother died and it makes her Uncle extra protective of her.

As you can imagine, the world created by the Nazis is not a pleasant one. Zara is determined to join the rebels and fight for her freedom. Her uncle is hesitant to allow this, but Zara has special skills that could be vital to the success of the rebel's mission. And what are Bastian's true feelings? Can he be trusted?

This was a fun little book and an interesting concept. How would life be different if WWII hadn't ended the way it did? It is definitely far-fetched (humans with super powers have been developed) but still interesting. It's a great way for a younger audience to think a bit about the freedoms they enjoy and what was necessary to make those possible.

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Our book club took a funny turn this month and I'm so grateful! While dealing with fairly serious subject matter, Sophie Kinsella has come up with a funny, engaging novel full of great characters. I wouldn't have expected a book about a teen dealing with mental health issues to be so funny, but it really is.

Audrey is a teenager in England who experienced some serious trauma at her school. That is not fully explained, but it seems to have been some serious bullying from a group of girls who are jealous of her academic and sports success. As a result of this bullying she suffers from anxiety and panic attacks and likely some PTSD (her medical diagnosis is also never fully explained except to say that she is not bipolar). She needs to leave school and spend some time at home getting healthy before moving to a new school.

At home she is surrounded by her parents and her brothers Frank and Felix. Teenaged Frank is, according to their Mum, a video game addict and Mum is determined to get him off the computer and into the outdoors. Felix is only four and adds a lot of humour to the different situations. Frank's friend Linus is also a frequent visitor to their house and becomes very special to Audrey and a big part of her healing.

It doesn't seem like a book about extreme bullying and the subsequent anxiety should be funny but these characters just seem so real. The Mum is absolutely hysterical in her determination to end Frank's video game addiction. Audrey's counsellor gives her the task of making a movie as part of her therapy and the scenes she captures of her family around the house are so funny. I once found myself laughing out loud in a medical waiting room while reading this book.

I do find that Audrey's healing is a little too tidy and easy. I've never dealt with anxiety myself but from what I understand from others who have, it's not that easy. But I do understand that's what fits with the tone of the book. It does seem to give a fairly accurate picture of what happens in an anxiety attack and how someone living with them has to adapt their life as a result of them.

It is a very quick, easy read and highly enjoyable.

A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell

This was our book club's selection for our January meeting (we met on January 17th) and I finished the book today (February 5th). I think that's my worst ever finish for a book club book, unless you count the one I didn't read at all. We had a lot going on in January and I wasn't always in the mood to read a book about the ending days of World War II, so I didn't always want to pick it up at the end of the day. When you're only reading a few pages at a time, 426 pages can last a long time!

The last 100 pages, although brutal in their depiction of the end of the war, were completely compelling and I have been reading a lot over the last two days to get to the end, but I'm getting ahead of myself...

This isn't the story of one person in particular, but many people living in Italy in the early to mid-1940's. It is mainly the story of Jewish Italians (and also some others from nearby countries who had fled to Italy) trying to survive the German attacks of WWII and the Catholic Italians trying to keep them safe. Because there are many characters and interweaving storylines it can be hard to keep everyone straight. Especially when characters are changing their names to protect themselves! I really appreciated the character list included in the beginning of the book to help keep everyone straight. If you choose to read this book, I would recommend a print edition rather than an electronic one, so you can easily refer back to this list and some maps printed in the front of the book.

It is a story of faith, hope, perseverance in the worst possible circumstances, family, and bravery of many different kinds. Characters will grow and stretch themselves in ways that didn't seem possible at the beginning of the book. People who would likely have never had anything to do with each in peace time will risk their lives to save each other. It's really unlike anything else I've ever read and an incredibly powerful portrayal of the final days of the war.

When I had the privilege of visiting a Canadian War Cemetary in Holland one thing that struck me was the number of soldiers who died in the final days of the war, or even after the war was over. After reading this book, I have a better understanding of some of those final battles and the desperation that led to many of those deaths, and the deaths of many civilians as well.

It's been a while since I cried while reading a book, but the last few chapters brought me to tears a few times (a scene of Last Rites being given in a torture chamber wiped me out). Some shocking things happen and are written in a way that completely caught me off guard. The ending of one chapter even made me think of the ending of The Sopranos. Very powerful, captivating writing that told the story beautifully.

I rated this book a 5 on Goodreads. I rarely do that. I would like to read it again one day to get a better understanding of many of the little storylines. But not for a while. I feel like this book will haunt me for a long time. I'm glad our next selection is much lighter. My brain needs a bit of a break!