Author: Anthony Doerr

I waited a long time to get my hands on this book. I would search the library listing and see it was available but by the time I made it to the library it would be gone again. I finally put my name on the Hold list and eventually it was my turn.

Werner is a young German orphan who is intrigued by the radio he has managed to build in the attic of the home he lives in. Marie-Laure is a young French girl who lives with her father in Paris. Marie-Laure is blind. As the war in Europe unfolds, Werner is forced into the army and Marie-Laure is forced to flee Paris with her father. Both characters wind up in the small seaside town of Saint-Malo.

The book is told in very short sections bouncing between the current day (under the heavy bombing of Saint-Malo) and the years when the two children were growing up. I thought I might not like the moving between the two storylines but it didn’t bother me at all once I got into the book. And I was particularly pleased as there was some follow-up to both of their stories after the war.

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Author: Nadia Hashimi

While I read the book, I had to keep reminding myself that this was a novel, not a memoir. Written from the perspective of a widowed mother fleeing Afghanistan (for England) with her three young children I couldn’t help but imagine that this might have been the story of many refugees. The second narrator in the story is her eldest son who is arrested while out finding food for his family. He is detained, and sent back to Iraq from where he must start his long journey to England all over again.

Author: David Lagercrantz

They’re back – Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. It’s been awhile since I read Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl …” trilogy but I didn’t think this one was as good. I hadn’t realized that Larsson’s books were published after his death; Lagercrantz was hired by Larsson’s father and brother to write this fourth novel in the Millennium series.

All the characters are back but the story seemed a bit light in comparison to Larsson’s books. That being said I read during the day and stayed up late because I enjoyed it so much. I understand there is a fifth book, written by the same author, and the library has it. I’ll probably check it out at some point.

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Author: Ruth Hogan

A delightful story that moved along quickly with interesting characters. There are two storylines but it isn’t until near the end of the book that the two stories connect. The author had a good sense of humour and I found myself laughing quite a few times. It may have deserved a higher Goodreads rating, but after the last book I read this seemed a bit frivolous.

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