Author: Kelly Rimmer

Another story emerging from the Second World War; this one takes place in Poland during the war and in the US many years after the war.

Aline and Tomasz grew up in Poland and were engaged when Tomasz left their small village to attend medical school. When the war broke out Aline’s hardships on the farm were no less difficult than Tomasz’ in the city. Tomasz eventually makes his way back to the village but he’s in hiding because of his work helping the Jewish population. A chance for them to escape by smuggling photos out of Poland arises and they take it.

Alice is Aline’s granddaughter. Aline has suffered a stroke and is unable to speak but she manages to communicate to Alice that she wants her to go back to Poland. Alice is given a short list of names and addresses with no explanation as to who or what they mean.

Goodreads Rating: * * * *

Author: Heather Morris

I’d heard a lot about this book and it was recommended by many of my friends. It is a novel, but based on a true story.

Lale, a Slovakian Jew, is transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. He makes a vow to himself that he will do whatever is necessary for him to leave the camp when the war ends. He ends up getting the job of tattooing numbers on the wrists of the tens of thousands of people who enter the camps, many of whom will never leave. He falls in love with Gita, who won’t even tell Lale her last name because she never expects to leave the camp.

Life for both of them is unspeakably hard although Lale’s connections help Gita get a less strenuous job in the camp. The stories Lale tells are so inhumane it is so hard to fathom how anyone could do these things to anyone else.

After three years they manage to leave the camp, but not together or at the same time. They eventually find their way back to one another, with the help of the Red Cross.

Goodreads Rating: * * * *

Author: Marina Endicott

I’m not sure where I got this book from or who recommended it but it’s been on my shelf for a long time. I know I was avoiding it; when I went looking for a book I saw it but never wanted to read it.

It’s a good book so whatever put me off it was silly. The story takes place in Saskatoon, although you’d never know it except for some mention of street names (8th Street, Avenue R, etc.) and a few locations (The Senator and the Pat).

Clara is a forty-ish woman who has taken care of both her mother and father as they were dying. One day she is involved in an accident with another car that held an entire family. When the mother, Lorraine, is taken to hospital it is discovered that she has lymphoma. Clara brings the rest of the family to her home – Clayton, the husband, three children, and the mother-in-law. Clayton disappears in her car but is soon replaced by Lorraine’s brother Darwin.

Clara loves the children and she is making plans for what she will do when Lorraine passes. But what happens when Lorraine recovers and lays claim to her family again?

Goodreads Rating: * * * *

Author: Kristin Hannah

It is hard to believe this book is written by the same author as Firefly Lane. The Firefly series was a nice story (like a beach read) but this one has some real depth to it. I checked the publication dates; this one was written five years earlier than Firefly Lane.

Vianne and Isabelle are sisters living in France at the beginning of the Second World War. Their father came back from the Great War a damaged man and, when his wife died, he more or less abandoned his daughters. Vianne married young and Isabelle was sent off to a variety of boarding schools, all of which she managed to escape or be expelled from.

When the Nazi’s take over France Vianne’s husband is sent to the front and Vianne is forced to billet Nazi soldiers in her house. Isabelle is convinced she can do something to aid the French in the war and soon joins the Resistance.

The story follows all the character through to the end of the war with vignettes that happen several years after the war. I loved the stories and it has been a long time since the ending of a book made me cry.

Goodreads Rating: * * * * *