Girl in the Blue Coat

World War II stories are hard to read at times. This one is no exception.

Amsterdam, 1943. Hanneke (the audiobook had it sound like Hanika) works in her own little way to resist the Nazi occupation by being a black-marketeer in finding things that people need. But suddenly one of the ladies she normally finds things for has a missing girl that she wants found. Only this girl isn't supposed to be there. She is a Jew and has somehow vanished. She can't go to the guard, obviously, or other authorities, so how is she going to find this girl in a blue coat?

This was a very well done piece. It was written well and kept me very engaged the whole time. While Hanneke and the rest of the characters may be fictitious, the actions and events were very historically sound. The black market, the college resistance fighters, the theater and nursery across the street that helped save hundreds of people who would have died... These are all amazing things that Monica Hesse has portrayed beautifully, realistically, and powerfully. I very much enjoyed this and am even more interested in the other stories Monica Hesse has written.

I enjoyed the characters and how they felt lifelike. There situations and reactions to their circumstances were real and made me worry for them more than I worry for many of the other characters I read about.

I think Monica Hesse was a very brave woman to end the story the way she did. This is war and wars often down have happy endings for everyone involved. The ending was fulfilling and the focus of the story was different than most would suspect, which is also a very brave move for the author to do walking the fine line between what the plot needs and what the audience wants or expects. And I think she pulled it off well.

Good on you Monica Hesse. It was a very good book and one that I probably wouldn't mind reading or listening to again.

Rebel of the Sands

Rebel of the Sands is  one that I would recommend and is part of the Rebel of the Sands Series. It is one that got me out of a funk of not wanting
to read. It was a book I finished in four days, which can be quite a feat some weeks.

I ended up describing this book to my husband as a mixture between the Wild West and Aladdin. It takes place in a fantasy world that is supposed to resemble Saudi Arabia or an equivalent (which was nice considering most of fantasy novels take place in northern Europe/Britain). But it's not only a time of scimitars and horses, though there are a few of them, there are also guns and magical beings.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about Rebel of the Sands was the religions and mythology in the story. It plays a vital role in the story as the plot moves forward and I think Alwyn Hamilton does a good job in presenting it to the reader. I also think she's gutzy because I've read a bunch of books who keep away from religion because they think it would be a turnoff for many readers. But Alwyn Hamilton didn't and made it vital the story. I thank her for it.

I also enjoyed the mythical creatures that come to life out of the sands. There are moments when Amani, the main character, recalls moments in the past to better understand these creatures that attack in the night. It gives us Amani's background, her spunky personality, and the world in which we are being brought to. There were many different types of creatures that roam the dark here. From Nightmares that kill you in your sleep, to Demdji--half human half Djinni--who are often killed for being an abomination, to the majestic Buraqi--immortal horses--that are faster than anything but a train. The world building was very well done in this book.

Amani and Jin were interesting characters. They were well developed. They ended up fighting, of course, and their fight and make up was believable.

The only thing I that I didn't really care for was the predictability. It is a YA book, and they have their own kind of predictability. But there were some things I didn't see coming. It is presented well, so if you were to pay close attention you probably could get it. Still I found it very enjoyable.

The next book is Traitor to the Throne. 

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs isn't what I expected. I skimmed through the book with all it's creepy photos and thought it wasn't necessarily the kind of book I'd be interested it. But when I saw the trailer, which is actually not really anything like the book though it still looks pretty cool, it caught my interest.

I liked it though it look a while to get going.

The story starts out with Jacob getting stories from his grandfather, stories that Abe says are true but there is no way that that could possibly happen. Floating girls, invisible boys, a boy with bees living inside him. He also spoke about monsters that roamed about. Jacob's father said that these were metaphorical stories of what happened during WWII against the Nazi's. But when Jacob finds his grandfather attacked and told a puzzle that will hold answers to Abe's "insanity."

The trail ends up leading to child's home that Abe went to when after he fled Poland. With the okay of his psychiatrist (he saw Abe die and some kind of creature there that no one else saw), he went to England with his father and actually found the house. But no one has lived there since the 1940's when a bomb went off and blew out the whole inside. But wait, there is something weird there. Was that a girl? But she looked like that girl from one of Grandpa Abe's photo album. Exactly like her. How is that possible?

A time loop. After nearly sinking in the bog he finds his way to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. He finds all of the children his grandpa told him about. But while the children are there, so are the terrible monsters.

Really I thought it was a fresh and rather ingenious. And it was nice that because they were kids they hadn't fully figured out how to use their powers. I mean, it not every twelve year old with abnormal powers would know how to use all of their powers. I do wish that they could have gone more into some of the other characters and their backgrounds. We didn't get too much on any other characters but Jacob and that Emma had a crush. It is the first in a trilogy so hopefully the next bunch of books will have more of the character development that I love in my books.

Calamity

Calamity by Brandon Sanderson is the third and final book in "The Reckoners Series" and it was a good ending.

The story start out after David, Megan, and the rest of their crew leave what used to be known as New York. Prof has gone crazy and they are trying to decide if they can save him or not. They make their way to what was once Atlanta though the city has changed dramatically. Do to the Epics that reside there, Ildithia moves, but not like you think. The city is made of salt and as one end the the town disintegrates the other rebuilds itself.

Prof has come to Ildithia and has quickly become the High Epic that everyone fears. But David and the Reckoners believe they can save Prof like they were able to save Megan in New York. But not only are they facing Prof and his abilities, but also Calamity, the bright star in the sky that appeared when people started gaining powers. Calamity is an Epic. They know Prof's mission in Ildithia is to somehow take down Calamity, but how are they going to take down the Epic of Epics?

I loved this series since the first one came out. The ideas of Super Heroes being the bad guys was interesting and fresh. Who would have thought to have a city move across country by moving salt?

The characters have always been fantastic, both the bad guys and the good. The world has changed so much from our world to theirs and he takes so many things into account that I hadn't until it was mentioned. But I like most of all the themes throughout all of the stories and weaves quietly in the background: "humans are inherently good." There are some bad eggs out there, but we are more good than we are bad. This was uplifting. There is also the more abrupt theme being that we can all face our fears and we can grow from them. Once we face our fears we can conquer whatever darkness that lies in our hearts or souls.

Again, I really love this series. It is clean; there is little gore; there is great fantasy; there are fantastic characters. And it is a marvelous read.

Mistborn: The Final Empire

Another book by Brandon Sanderson that is amazing. Mistborn is the first book that I read of his and I enjoyed it so so much. If you wanted to get into Sanderson's books this is one of the ones that I would suggest first. Like many of Sanderson's novels the ideas behind/concepts of his stories are fresh and new. Who else would think of "burning metals" as a way to have "magical" abilities. For a full description of the novel go to Mistborn on Brandon Sanderson's Website.

There are many things in this book that touch a lot of different hot topics that Sanderson isn't afraid to address. In Mistborn there is a discussion of Religion, Politics, Pain, Betrayal, Trust, and the importance of Hope. While these can be sticky questions, he explores and doesn't exclude ideas about how to cope with these topics.

There are moments that made me realize just how much of a hopeless romantic I can be sometimes. Vin, one of our main characters, was a street urchin who was able to survive so much in her thieving crew because of her Luck. She joins Kelsier's thieving crew, because she was almost found out by the Ministry, and their job to overthrow the Final Empire and the Lord Ruler, who has lived for centuries and is believed to be immortal. She dresses up as a noblewoman to infiltrate the Noble Houses, to gain their confidence,, learn information, and spread rumors among them. But while impersonating a noblewoman she runs into Elend Venture whom she starts falling for. Their conversations made me smile because it had just the right amount of cheesiness that it was cute without being too sappy. I loved it so much.

I also love how Kelsier is still in love with his wife, Mare, though she died. It is because of her that he starts this crew and the job. While he does this for revenge for his wife, even though it is believed that she betrayed him. He still loves her. It goes to show that you "can't help who you love" in that it can very hard to persuade your heart to hate someone who you love.

The idea of trust is a big component in the story as well. Vin, being around these other thieving crews, has learned to not trust anyone. Her brother's voice constantly reminds her that everyone will betray her. Vin slowly learns to trust her new crew. Kelsier's crew  works through trust, not fear like she has known.

I was asked a little bit ago when someone saw me reading this before a class started, if "you have to be a Mormon to understand" where Brandon Sanderson (who is LDS) is coming from. I would disagree. There are many people who enjoy it who aren't part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This book has been read all around the world and has been loved by millions of people. It has been loved so much that they have made a D&D type game based off this world and the concepts there. It is not only for Mormons. Everyone can enjoy this series.

I'll be reading Brandon Sanderson's Well of Ascension next--the next in the series. Read it with me and enjoy.