Emma wanted to tell her, I’m going in search of your son, and I won’t return until I’ve found him.  (from The Sins of the Father, page 51)

The Sins of the Father is Volume 2 in The Clifton Chronicles, a family saga by Jeffrey Archer that began with Only Time Will Tell (my review) and centers on Harry Clifton, the son of a Bristol dock worker who died under mysterious circumstances and an impoverished woman who went above and beyond the duties of a mother to ensure her son received the education he deserved.  The latest installment in the series picks up right where Only Time Will Tell left off, and because there are few explanatory references to the first novel, I think they really must be read in order — especially if you want to understand the characters’ connections to Harry and what sparked the chain of events that complicated all of their lives.

In The Sins of the Father, which spans the years of World War II, Harry is desperate to escape the revelations that upset his life and prevented his marriage to Emma Barrington, the sister of his best friend, Giles.  He finds himself in New York City, having miraculously survived a German torpedo attack, while his family back in England mourns his death.  Harry soon learns that it’s not really a good idea to assume the identity of a dead man you didn’t know very well, as it likely will bring you more trouble than simply facing your problems head on.

Meanwhile, Emma believes Harry is still alive and goes off in search of him, Giles goes off to war, and their despicable father, Hugo, shunned by his family and friends, jeopardizes the family business in a quest for more money and power.  At the same time, Harry’s mother, Maisie, struggling with grief, throws herself into her work and learns that happiness may actually be possible for a woman who’s had a rough life and never put herself first.

The drama of the Cliftons and the Barringtons continues at top speed in The Sins of the Father.  The book reads so quickly that I almost finished it in one sitting.  Archer grabs readers’ attention by plunging them into the action from the first page, shifting frequently between different characters’ points of view, peeling back another layer of the story in nearly every chapter, and knowing exactly when to leave readers dangling in suspense.

The book is divided into sections by character, with overlapping years so that readers follow each of them over the course of the war.  This narrative structure works so well here because the characters are well developed and could each have a novel of their own.  Moreover, Archer connects all of them a strong central character — Harry, a reluctant hero who is made out to be almost saintly at times but is very real in his emotions and mistakes.

World War II is at the forefront of The Sins of the Father.  Both Harry and Giles had dropped out of university to fight, and both ended up doing so despite taking very different paths into the action.  I really enjoyed reading Giles’ war story because it was a little bit like Hogan’s Heroes, one of my all-time favorite television shows.  There are a few combat scenes, which are exciting, but the impact of the war on those back home is muted as the other characters are too caught up in their own troubles, not to mention the fact that most are rich and not struggling as much as the “common” people.

As in Only Time Will Tell, Archer leaves readers with another cliffhanger ending.  That usually drives me crazy, but at least I was expecting it this time.  I highly recommend this series for readers who enjoy fast-paced books with a little war and a lot of family secrets and well developed characters.  There’s a lot going on in these books, and sometimes they might cross the line into unbelievable, but they really are meant to be escapist reads.  I just hope I don’t have to wait too long for Volume 3!

Book 21 for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Disclosure: I borrowed The Sins of the Father from my local library. I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.

© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader.  But one night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth.  What follows is a long and frustrating journey with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attached(!).  And on top of all that, there’s still more to deal with:  a major earthquake, boy confusion, and friends who turn out to be not so friendly.  Raina’s story takes us from middle school to high school, where she discovers her artistic voice, finds out what true friendship really means, and where she can finally…smile.  (publisher’s summary)

*Smile is a wonderful book.  I wanted to read it because I will be getting braces on June 1.

*I liked the main character, Raina, because she would do the same things in certain situations that I would do, especially when some fake friends do something really embarrassing to her.

*I liked following Raina through a few years of school and getting to know her.

*The illustrations drew me in right away because of the great detail and bright colors.

*The book made me a little nervous about getting braces because it’s going to hurt, but I’m glad to know more about what will happen.

*I hope my parents will do something special for my 12th birthday (in July) like Raina’s parents do for her. [Note from Anna:  Um...I think taking her best friend camping with us for a week counts as something special!]

*I recommend this book and think you should read it right away.  It was so good I read it in one sitting.

Disclosure: The Girl borrowed Smile from our local library. I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.

© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

Well, fairly civilized.

“What would you like on your steak, Leonie?  Tomato sauce?  Mustard?  Herbicide?”  (from Nadia Knows Best, page 170)

What I love most about Jill Mansell’s novels are her humor and her characters, and her latest U.S. release, Nadia Knows Best, doesn’t disappoint.  The book centers on Nadia Kinsella, who is in a long-term relationship with stock broker-turned-model Laurie when real estate investor Jay Tiernan rescues her from her car in a snowstorm.  The two are forced to room together overnight, and although she finds Jay attractive and is tempted to do more than just share a bed, she is committed to Laurie.  Besides, they’ll never see each other again, right?

Months later, when she unexpectedly bumps into Jay, there’s no denying the attraction between them, and Nadia readily accepts his offer of a job designing gardens for the properties he flips.  However, there’s still Laurie to worry about, not to mention Jay’s abrupt change in attitude, which has Nadia wondering if he really is the boss from hell.

Meanwhile, the entire Kinsella clan is embroiled in some sort of drama.  Nadia’s artist sister Clare is used to having the upper hand in relationships, but the more obvious it becomes that Piers is playing games with her, the more irresistible he becomes.  Their father, James, who hasn’t had a real relationship since his wife walked out on him and his daughters years ago, gets a little help in the romance department from their 13-year-old sister, Tilly, who struggles to fit in at school and really wants to build a relationship with Leonie, the free-spirited, irresponsible mother who abandoned them all as children.  There’s also Miriam, their spunky grandmother, who is busy trying to suppress a secret from her past that could mean jail time if brought to light.

Once again, Mansell has crafted a fun novel that’s the perfect mix of endearingly flawed characters, humorous misunderstandings, sexual tension, and family drama.  Mansell is one of a few authors whose books I know I’ll enjoy even before I begin to read them.  Her heroines are women we can relate to, her heroes are simply charming, and her novels are my go-to comfort reads.  I loved Nadia from the start, so I could overlook the fact that she was too wishy-washy when it came to the men in her life.  Clare was so rude and selfish that it was hard for me to like her, though she did liven things up a bit, but Mansell more than made up for it with sweet little Tilly and Annie, the friendly store clerk she befriends.

Nadia Knows Best is a lighthearted book about giving in to love and not settling for anything less than the real deal.  More than that, it’s about unconventional families and how the people who love you most may not be blood relatives, but more importantly, they accept you for who you are and give you the space you need to make your own decisions.

Disclosure: I received a copy of Nadia Knows Best from Sourcebooks for review. I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.

© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

Here’s what I received:

Sea Change by Karen White, from NAL/Penguin for review (Amazon/IndieBound)

For as long as she can remember, Ava Whalen has struggled with a sense of not belonging, and now, at thirty-four, she still feels stymied by her family.  Then she meets child psychologist Matthew Frazier and thinks her days of loneliness are behind her.  After a whirlwind romance, they impulsively elope, and Ava moves to Matthew’s ancestral home on St. Simons Island, off the coast of Georgia.

But after the initial excitement, Ava is surprised to discover that true happiness continues to elude her.  There is much she doesn’t know about Matthew, including the mysterious circumstances surrounding his first wife’s death.  And her new home seems to hold as many mysteries and secrets as her new husband.  Feeling adrift, Ava throws herself into uncovering Matthew’s family history and that of the island, not realizing that she has a connection of her own to this place — or that her obsession with the past could very well destroy her future.  (publisher’s summary)

My Dear I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young, from HarperCollins for an upcoming blog tour (Amazon/IndieBound)

From the day in 1907 that eleven-year-old Riley Purefoy meets Nadine Waveney, daughter of a well-known orchestral conductor, he takes in the differences between their two families: his, working-class; hers, “posh” and artistic.  Just a few years later, romance and these differences erupt simultaneously with the war in Europe.  In a fit of fury and boyish pride, Riley enlists in the army and finds himself involved in the transformative nightmare of the the twentieth century.

While Riley and his commanding officer, Peter Locke, fight for their country and their survival in the trenches of Flanders, Peter’s lovely and naive wife, Julia, and his cousin Rose eagerly await his return.  But the sullen, distant man who arrives home on leave is not the Peter they knew.  Worried that her husband is slipping away, Julia is left alone with her fears when Rose joins the nursing corps to work with a pioneering plastic surgeon treating wounded and disfigured soldiers.

Only eighteen at the outbreak of the war, Nadine and Riley want to make promises to each other — but how can they when their future is out of their hands?  Youthful passion is on their side, but then their loyalty is tested by terrible injury, and even more so by the necessarily imperfect rehabilitation that follows.

Moving among Ypres, London, and Paris, this emotionally rich and evocative novel is both a powerful exploration of the lasting effects of war on those who fight — and those who don’t — and a poignant testament to the power of enduring love.  (publisher’s summary)

What books did you add to your shelves recently?

Disclosure: I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.

© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

Staci, Amy, and Libby have won Shadows Walking by Douglas R. Skopp

Congratulations and happy reading!

© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

With wonder, she smiled.

That such a room existed!  (from The Book Thief, page 134)

There are very few books that I loved enough to re-read, and as soon as I dried my eyes and turned the last page of The Book Thief back in 2007, I knew that it was a book I could read again and again.  I’m glad that the second time I read this book was aloud to The Girl, as there’s nothing better than sharing one of your favorite books with someone you love and having them enjoy it, too.

The Book Thief is a coming-of-age story set in Nazi Germany.  Liesel Meminger, still grieving her brother’s death, is brought to the home of Hans and Rosa Hubermann on Himmel Street in the fictional town of Molching just outside of Munich.  She arrives with The Gravedigger’s Handbook, a book she stole at her brother’s graveside, but doesn’t know how to read.  Her foster mother, Rosa, comes off a little harsh, but her foster father, Hans, is a kind and gentle man who teaches her to read.  Learning to read opens up a whole new world to Liesel, and while her best friend and partner in crime, Rudy Steiner, is content stealing food, her thievery involves expanding her personal library.

Over the course of World War II, Liesel’s passion for reading grows, at the same time that conditions deteriorate under Hitler’s rule.  Money and food become tight, but Liesel has her books, the love of her parents and Rudy, and her friendship with Max, the Jewish fist fighter hiding in her basement.

What makes The Book Thief unique is its narrator, Death, who is tired of his job — and with the war and the extermination of Jews, he is quite busy.  Death is surprisingly compassionate, haunted by humans, and drawn to the story of the book thief.  How he comes to know Liesel and why her story is so profound are explained over the course of the book.  However, some might think that Death’s narrative style is a bit off-putting, as he often interrupts the mostly linear narrative with a heart-stopping sentence that tells readers what will happen before it actually happens.  For The Girl, it lessened the impact of the book by taking away the element of surprise, but it kept me turning the pages to see how it all played out.

The Book Thief packs a punch by personalizing the experiences of “ordinary” Germans during World War II, Germans who may have belonged to the Nazi Party and dutifully said “Heil Hitler” more out of fear than devotion to the Führer.  Zusak zeroes in on the people of one street in a small town, their squabbles and their hardships.  The novel is even more powerful because of its focus on an innocent young girl who comes of age during all the chaos, a girl who has lost so much already and still has more to lose.

Zusak uses Nazism and book thievery to emphasize the power of words.  Liesel’s most prized possessions are books, particularly the ones made by Max as he comes to terms with his situation and empowers himself through words.  Liesel learns that reading aloud in the bomb shelter during the nightly raids calms the children and adults crammed together, unsure whether they would live or die.  And she comes to understand that without words, Hitler was nothing.

I think I loved this book even more the second time around.  Over the course of 550 pages, you really feel like you know the characters, they feel like your friends and neighbors.  I cried the first time I read it, and I cried even more this time.  I had to stop reading several times to dry my eyes, which provided lots of laughs for The Girl, who insists that books don’t ever make her cry.  (Maybe someday.)

Here’s what The Girl (age 11) had to say about The Book Thief:

*I really liked the book because it was kinda unique to have Death narrate the book.  But I didn’t like how Death gave away big parts before they happened.

*My favorite character was Hans because he was really sweet to Liesel by teaching her to read.  The author gave so much detail on Hans you thought he was your friend.

*I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars.  You think you know all the characters, and the detail drags you into the story.

Have you read The Book Thief?  What did you think?

Book 20 for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Disclosure: I purchased my copy of The Book Thief. I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.

© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

I’m most excited about these:

The Second Empress by Michelle Moran, out in August (Amazon/IndieBound)

The Cottage at Glass Beach by Heather Barbieri, which was released May 15 (Amazon/IndieBound)

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein,  which was released May 15 (Amazon/IndieBound)
**My husband ordered this for me for Mother’s Day, and I can’t wait for it to arrive!**

Sea Change by Karen White, out June 5 (Amazon/IndieBound)

All Roads Lead to Austen by Amy Elizabeth Smith, out June 1 (Amazon/IndieBound)

Flight From Berlin by David John, out July 10 (Amazon/IndieBound)

Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister, out in paperback June 5 (Amazon/IndieBound)

I thought I’d also give you some summer reading recommendations based on books I’ve read so far this year. So…

*if you’re looking for light reading with romance, humor, and endearing characters, then try anything by Jill Mansell (I’m reading her latest novel, Nadia Knows Best right now and am enjoying it)

*if you’re looking for light, modern-day Austenesque novels, then try Victoria Connelly’s trilogy about Austen addicts (I loved the last installment, Mr. Darcy Forever), Persuade Me by Juliet Archer, or Dreaming of Mr. Darcy by Karen Doornebos (look for my review on AustenBlog soon)

*if you’re looking for a darker Austenesque book with some mystery and Gothic elements, then try The Disappearance of Georgiana Darcy by Regina Jeffers

*if you’re looking for light, historical mysteries, then try A Lesson in Secrets (or any Maisie Dobbs book) by Jacqueline Winspear or The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose

*if you’re looking for quick reads with substance, heavier than what you’d expect for a beach read but great for readers who don’t want lighter fare, then try I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits, The Baker’s Daughter by Sarah McCoy, The Golden Hour by Margaret Wurtele, or The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey

So, now I want to hear from you, dear friends. What books are on your summer reading list, and what books do you think I should add to mine?

Disclosure: I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.

© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

First, I want to just gush about the greatness of this book club.  Serena and I had been searching for a group that clicked, and we’ve finally found it.  We all have different reading tastes, but our club works simply because we are all willing to go outside our comfort zones and give any book a chance.  Moreover, we’re all willing to chat (and most times at great length) about the books, which means we don’t have to prepare any discussion questions because we always have something to discuss.

Anyway, back to City of Thieves, a novel set during the Siege of Leningrad during World War II and focused on two young men sent on a dangerous and futile mission to find a dozen eggs for the wedding of an NKVD colonel’s daughter in a city where the lack of food has prompted some residents to resort to cannibalism.

Our discussion touched upon the cinematic quality of the writing, with Lev and Kolya’s adventure becoming more and more absurd, with one far-fetched scene after another, yet we all found it entertaining.  We talked about how some of us thought a scene involving a Nazi killer and a Soviet girl forced into sex slavery was particularly gruesome, but how at least one of us thought that Benioff lessened the impact of that scene by placing it after a scene involving dogs equipped with bombs to blow up German tanks.  And the mention of the dogs led to a discussion about how scenes involving animal cruelty can generate a greater emotional response than those in which humans inflict pain upon one another.

We also discussed whether we thought the brazen Kolya was smart in his actions or very dumb and lucky, why the partisans looked down on the Soviet women forced to be the Nazis’ sex slaves in order to survive, whether the eggs were symbolic of the absurdity of war or how fragile the people were during the siege, and how “The Courtyard Hound,” a book mentioned by Kolya throughout City of Thieves, symbolizes classic Russian literature.

At lot of the discussion focused on the prologue, which sets the story up as being a tale told in the present to Lev’s grandson.  Given that the author injects himself into the story through this prologue (leading many people to believe that it’s based on a true story) yet has said the book is purely fiction, some of us thought the prologue simply stroked the author’s ego.  From watching a video interview of Benioff, I’ve learned that it was a way for him to pay homage to his grandparents, whose stories he didn’t learn before they died.  Either way, most of us thought the prologue wasn’t necessary, but it didn’t detract from our enjoyment.

The guys in the club especially liked the book, with the war, the action, and Kolya’s womanizing.  I was amused when my husband (who read the book before I did) kept telling me that he didn’t think I was going to like it because of the gruesome scenes and the sex talk.  I guess he doesn’t really pay attention to what I read, does he?

June is an exciting month for the book club, as The Girl will be leading the discussion of Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick.  I can’t wait, as I felt bad that she had to sit out this discussion because the book definitely wasn’t age appropriate.

© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

I Am Forbidden is an utterly enthralling family saga focused on the Satmar sect of Hasidic Jews.  Anouk Markovits, who left her Satmar home at 19 to avoid an arranged marriage, paints a detailed portrait of a family bound together by faith and tragedy and pulled apart by secrets stemming from desires they are unable to quell.  Markovits takes readers from Transylvania in 1939 to Paris in the 1940s and 1950s and eventually to New York in the present day.

The novel focuses on Josef Lichtenstein and Mila Heller, both Hasidic Jews whose families were murdered in Transylvania during World War II.  Josef’s parents and baby sister are slaughtered by the Romanian Iron Guard when he is just five years old, and it’s a miracle that he survived.  By the time he witnesses the murder of Mila’s parents, the boy knows too much about loss.  He helps Mila make her way to Zalman Stern, a rabbi and friend of her father’s, and she and Josef’s shared grief makes them kindred spirits.

Mila becomes a part of the Stern family, and she and Zalman’s daughter, Atara, are raised as sisters.  After the war, Josef is sent to the Satmar community in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York, while the Stern family moves to Paris.  Mila and Atara grow apart, with Mila focused on her faith in order for her parents to live again and Atara wanting to taste freedom and to know what it means to think for herself.  With all the details Markovits provides about the laws and observances of Hasidic Jews, readers easily understand how Atara feels stifled, but they also can see how these rules strengthen and comfort the believers.

I Am Forbidden shines a light on what it means to be a woman in the Satmar sect when Mila and Josef marry, what it means for someone to say, “I am forbidden, so are my children and my children’s children, forbidden for ten generations male or female.”  There is such a heaviness to the novel, but it was so fascinating that I didn’t want to put it down.  Markovits enables readers to sympathize with the characters, even when they might not agree with their religious convictions.  I really felt for both Mila and Atara throughout the book, and I teared up many times while reading.  The book was perfectly paced, yet at times I felt the pages turned too quickly because I knew I wouldn’t be ready to let these characters go.

Markovits has given readers a captivating glimpse of an insular religious community.  I felt like I learned a lot of new things while reading I Am Forbidden, and it certainly was my first trip to Transylvania during World War II.  Markovits doesn’t give a lot of background about the Romanian Iron Guard, and the scene in which Josef’s family is murdered is seen through his five-year-old eyes, so I’ll have to do some research on my own.  I Am Forbidden is that kind of book — it grabs you, doesn’t let you go, and inspires you to read more about the history of the people detailed within.  It’s a thought-provoking novel, and it definitely will be on my best of 2012 list.

Courtesy of Hogarth, I am giving away a copy of I Am Forbidden. Because the publisher is shipping the book, this giveaway is open to readers in the U.S. and Canada only and will end at 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, May 27, 2012. Comments are always welcome, but to enter, please fill out this form.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for having me on the blog tour for I Am Forbidden. To follow the tour, click here.

Book 19 for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Disclosure: I received a copy of I Am Forbidden from Hogarth for review. I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.

© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

Here’s what I received:

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler, bought at the library sale (Amazon/IndieBound)

Jane Mansfield has long wished to escape the confines of life in nineteenth-century England.  But awakening as twenty-first-century Los Angeleno Courtney Stone is not what she had in mind.  Nor is Courtney’s barred-window urban box of an apartment.  Gone are the rolling lawns and hovering servants of Jane’s family estate.  Gone is even a single friend who sees her or knows her as Jane.  Nothing — not even her face in the mirror — is the same.  The only thing familiar, the only thing she appears to have in common with the strange woman in whose life she has landed, is a love of Jane Austen.

Not everything about the modern world is disagreeable.  The apartment may be tiny, but it has a delightful glass box in which tiny figures act out scenes from Pride and Prejudice.  And Jane may not be rich, but she has her first taste of privacy, independence, even the chance to earn her own money.  Granted, if she wants to leave the immediate neighborhood on her own, she may have to learn to drive the roaring, horseless metal carriage.  And oh, what places she goes!  Public assemblies that pulsate with music.  Unbound hair and unrestricted clothing.  The freedom to say what she wants when she wants — even to men without a proper introduction.

There are, however, complications.  Such as the job she has no idea how to do.  The bills that must be paid, despite the dwindling bank account.  The confusing memories that are not her own.  And the friend named Wes, who is as attractive and bewildering as the man who broker her heart back home.  How is Jane to navigate a world in which kissing and flirting and even the sexual act itself raises no matrimonial expectations?  With only Austen’s words and a mysterious lady to guide her, Jane cannot help but wonder if she would be better off in her own time, where at least the rules are clear — if returning is even an option.  (publisher’s summary)

The Sadness of the Samurai by Victor del Árbol, from Henry Holt (Amazon/IndieBound)

A betrayal and a murder in pro-Nazi Spain spark a struggle for power that grips a family for generations.

Fierce, edgy, brisk, and enthralling, this brilliant novel by Victor del Árbol pushes the boundaries of the traditional historical novel and in doing so creates a work of incredible power that resonates long after the last page has been turned.

When Isabel, a Spanish aristocrat living in the pro-Nazi Spain of 1941, becomes involved in a plot to kill her fascist husband, she finds herself betrayed by her mysterious lover.  The effects of her betrayal play out in a violent struggle for power in both family and government over three generations, intertwining her story with that of a young lawyer named Maria forty years later.  During the attempted fascist coup of 1981, Maria is accused of plotting the prison escape of a man she successfully prosecuted for murder.  As Maria’s and Isabel’s narratives unfold they encircle each other, creating a unique thriller firmly rooted in history.  (publisher’s summary)

Flight From Berlin by David John, from HarperCollins for review (Amazon/IndieBound)

Berlin, August 1936.  As the hosts of the Summer Olympic Games, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis are determined to show off the superior new Reich they have built.  World-weary British journalist Richard Denham sees the brutality behind the carefully staged imagery and is determined to report the truth.  His view of Hitler and his henchmen is shared by the American swimmer Eleanor Emerson.  Outspoken and rebellious, the beautiful socialite got herself expelled from the U.S. team en route to the games.  Now, thanks to her wealthy family’s connections, she’s a columnist covering the competition for newspapers back home.

While Berlin welcomes the world, the Nazi capital becomes a terrifying place for Richard and Eleanor.  A chance meeting at a reception thrown by propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels leads them to the center of a treacherous game involving the Gestapo and the British Secret Intelligence Service.  At stake: a mysterious dossier that threatens to expose the Third Reich’s sinister plans.

Set in America and Europe and filled with page-turning excitement, Flight From Berlin is a breathtaking blend of fact and fiction, dramas and suspense — a riveting story of love and betrayal, courage and evil, that will have readers racing to its amazing end.  (publisher’s summary)

Heading Out to Wonderful by Robert Goolrick, unsolicited from Algonquin (Amazon/IndieBound)
*I received an unsolicited ARC of this book a few months ago, and now this hardcover copy, so the ARC has found a new home with my husband’s co-worker**

It is the summer of 1948 when a handsome, charismatic stranger, Charlie Beale, recently back from the war in Europe, shows up in the town of Brownsburg, a sleepy village nestled in the Valley of Virginia.  All he has with him are two suitcases: one contains his few possessions, including a fine set of butcher knives; the other is full of money.  A lot of money.

Finding work at the local butcher shop, Charlie befriends the owner and his family, including the owner’s son, Sam, whom he is soon treating as though he were his own flesh and blood.  And it is through the shop that Charlie gradually meets all the townsfolk, including Boaty Glass, Brownsburg’s wealthiest citizen, and most significantly, Boaty’s beautiful teenage bride, Sylvan.

This last encounter sets in motion the events that give Goolrick’s powerful tale the stark, emotional impact that thrilled fans of his previous novel, A Reliable Wife.  Charlie’s attraction to Sylvan Glass turns first to lust and then to a need to possess her, a need so basic it becomes an all-consuming passion that threatens to destroy everything and everyone in its path.

Heading Out to Wonderful is a suspenseful masterpiece, a haunting, heart-stopping novel of obsession and love gone terribly wrong in a place where once upon a time such things could happen.  (publisher’s summary)

The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan Evison, unsolicited from Algonquin (Amazon/IndieBound)
**This book also has found a new home with my husband’s co-worker**

Benjamin Benjamin has lost virtually everything — his wife, his family, his home, his livelihood.  With few options, Ben enrolls in a night class called the Fundamentals of Caregiving, held in the basement of a local church.  There, Ben is instructed in the the art of inserting catheters and avoiding liability, on professionalism, and in how to keep physical and emotional distance between client and provider.

But when Ben is assigned to Trev, a tyrannical nineteen-year-old in the advanced stages of Duchenne muscular dystropy, he soon discovers that the endless mnemonics and service plan checklists have done little to prepare him for the reality of caring for a fiercely stubborn, sexually frustrated adolescent who has an ax to grind with the world at large.

Though begun with mutual misgivings, the relationship between Trev and Ben evolves into camaraderie, and the traditional boundaries between patient and caregiver begin to blur as they embark on a road trip to visit Trev’s ailing father.  A series of must-see roadside attractions divert them into an impulsive adventure interrupted by one birth, two arrests, a freakish dust storm, and a six-hundred-mile cat-and-mouse pursuit by a mysterious brown Buick Skylark.

Bursting with energy, The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving is a big-hearted, soulful, and inspired novel that ponders life’s terrible surprises and the heart’s uncanny capacity to mend.  (publisher’s summary)

I also received:

Real Courage a poetry chapbook by Michael Myerhoffer, a win from Savvy Verse & Wit for National Poetry Month

The Girl bought these from the Scholastic Book Fair at her school:

The Loser List: Revenge of the Loser by H.N. Kowitt (Amazon/IndieBound)
Heist Society by Ally Carter (Amazon/IndieBound)

The Girl bought these at the library sale:

Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo by Obert Skye (Amazon/IndieBound)
Storm Thief by Chris Wooding (Amazon/IndieBound)
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (Amazon/IndieBound)
Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz (Amazon/IndieBound)
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (Amazon/IndieBound)
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (Amazon/IndieBound)
Midnight (Warriors: The New Prophecy #1) by Erin Hunter (Amazon/IndieBound)
The Mind Reader (Fear Street) by R.L. Stine (Amazon/IndieBound)
Final Grade (Fear Street) by R.L. Stine (Amazon)
Dead End (Fear Street) by R.L. Stine (Amazon/IndieBound)

What books did you add to your shelves recently?

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© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.