#20: The Plum Tree

I haven't been reading much lately, but I did finally finish The Plum Tree by Ellen Marie Wiseman.  This is a WWII story about a poor, German girl who is in love with a rich, Jewish boy.  Throughout her life, Christine has had a crush on Issac and her friends and family have told her is it not likely that they will ever be together.  In the beginning of the story, we learn that Issac also loves Christine and wants to be with her.  Just when they thought things would work out for them, Hitler came and things got even more complicated.

Christine's father is sent off to war, Issac and all other Jews are told to leave Germany, everyone is starving, and all the classic images we know of WWII.  Christine's main concern is whether she will ever see Issac again.  In this story there were a surprising amount of German citizens who were secretly and sometimes openly going against Hitler's orders.  Unfortunately, no one could do enough to stop the Nazis and safe the innocent lives.

I really don't want to give anything away, but I will say that things get way worse as the story progresses.  While I felt some of the ending was a little predictable, there were also some nice surprises.  It wasn't one of my favorite WWII stories, but I did enjoy it.

Currently Reading:  The Devil Wears Prada

#19: The Library of Souls

Last night I finished The Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs.  This is the 3rd book in the Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series.  I will just start by saying that I loved the first 2 books in this series.  I loved how the vintage pictures worked with the story to make it come alive.  The photos were really unique and fit so well with the story that was being told.  We learned so much about the world of peculiars, wights, hollowgasts, etc. in the first 2 books.  After the ending of the 2nd book, I couldn't wait to see what would happen in the 3rd.

After waiting so long to read it, I was a little disappointed.  For one thing, I didn't really remember where the 2nd book left off.  I was hoping for a little refresher, but we were just thrown in.  There is no way you could pick this book up without reading the other 2 and have any idea what is happening.  I feel like the 2nd book had some snippet reminders of who people were and other details, but this time I had to think back and struggled to remember who was who and who did what.

I also felt that the vintage pictures did not go along with the story as much as they did in the first 2 books.  There were a couple unique photos, but overall they seemed very plain in this book.  I felt like they were just kind of randomly thrown in instead of helping to tell the story.

I'm still glad I read the book and I am happy with the ending.  Maybe if I would have read the 2nd and 3rd closer together the story would have flowed better.  I still recommend the series for people who like unique stories and fun vintage pictures.

Up Next:  The Plum Tree by Ellen Marie Wiseman

#18: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

For my "Iowa Author" book for book club I read The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson.  I really liked learning some history about Des Moines while reading this book.  I had heard that Yonkers was originally based out of Des Moines, but I didn't know how big the store had been.  And that the huge store wasn't closed until 2005.  Seems like something that I should have known while growing up and living around Des Moines.  There were some other interesting historical facts as well.

The book also had some other interesting stories about Bill's childhood.  History in general from the 1950s and 1960s was also covered.  I found that the book had some interesting parts, but it didn't really excite me that much.

Our book club on Iowa Authors had to be rescheduled, but now I'm ready for when we have it.