The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin

 Two women, connected by the printed word, make their way through WWII.  One, Ava, is an American librarian, sent to Lisbon to collect information from underground publications that are smuggled over the border from occupied France. The other, Elaine, is in the middle of the French resistance, publishing the radical papers opposing the Nazi's. As one after another of Elaine's friends are captured and imprisoned, she bravely works the printing press and delivers the circulars. Ava, meanwhile, feels guilty when she sees the refugees flood across the border, walking skeletons who have endured unspeakable horrors.  When something happens that spurs Elaine to include a code asking for help in one of her newspapers, Ava is the one that decodes it with the help of a handsome British operative. Together they all work to try to help a Jewish woman and her son escape France. 

Here is another sweeping WWII historical fiction.  It is well written with heartrending descriptions of the horrible conditions in Nazi occupied France. Both women start out as tentative, but are forced to become courageous and bold in order to survive.  The book also underscores the fragility of life, as almost all of Elaine's companions parish before the Allied liberation of France. I didn't think this book was as meticulously researched as some others I have read, but I think people who liked Salt to the Sea, and The Woman of No Importance would enjoy this one as well. (2022, 400 p)

Flights of Fancy by Jen Turano

 Isadora is a wealthy heiress living in New York.  When a duke from England arrives, Isadora's mother thinks he will be a perfect match; his title plus her money.  The Duke behaves badly the first time he meets Isadora, and later her friends find out he has a very unsavory past.  They help her escape from the match her mother is still trying to instigate, by sending her away to the wilds of Pittsburg. With an assumed name, she hopes to find a job as a housekeeper until the Duke looses interest in her.  The only problem is that she doesn't know the first thing about being a housekeeper.  She is hired by Ian MacKenzie to work in a large farm estate belonging to his beloved foster parents only because he has pressing business in town and she is the only candidate for the job.  Her first attempts to cook and iron have disastrous results, but she keeps trying and gradually insinuates herself into the community and into Ian's heart.

As you can tell, I was ready for a break and needed something light to read.  I hadn't tried Jen Turano before.  It was an interesting book in that her writing style is pretty bad, but her story line was cute enough, and there were enough funny scenes, I decided to look past the really very stilted dialog and cookie cutter characters. I knew I was hooked when Izzy, her face swollen with poison ivy rash, gets "treed" on a chair by an indignant chicken. This is not the first Christian historical romance I have read that has terrible dialog. What I wonder is how they get published.  Aren't there better writers out there willing to write in this genre?  Maybe this style actually appeals to a certain demographic, like old ladies that wish Lawrence Welk was still on TV.  It really makes me want to try to write one of my own, but with decent dialog. (2019, 368)

The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden

 Zoey struggles in school but that is only because she spends her time at home looking after three younger siblings.  She lives with her mother, her mother's boyfriend and his father, and three younger siblings in a small mobile home. Her clothes are old and worn out, and it is hard to get to the laundry mat to clean them regularly, so she often smells funky. When her sociology teacher challenges her to join the debate team, she feels like she would never fit in with the "rich kids" on the team. She attends the meetings anyway, and what she learns about "discrediting an opponent" makes her realize that the relationship between her mother and the boyfriend is not a healthy one.  But what can she do about it?

Sometimes if I finish a book and don't have any holds ready to check out, I just hit the "available now" button on Libby. One of the books that always comes up is this one. It did win a lot of awards when it came out, but I guess it is not super popular anymore.  I finally decided to give it a try.  It is well written and authentically conveys the problems that underprivileged kids face. I appreciate that the author showed how the stepfather manipulates and emotionally abuses the mother without actually hitting her. It could be a very valuable book for someone to read who might be, themselves, living in an emotionally abusive situation.  For the more casual reader, it is a little heavy, but I know kids who like the emotionally heavy books. (356, 2018)

The Guardians by John Grisham

 Cullen Post began his career as a public defender, but was disillusioned when he was asked to defend a cold blooded murderer.  He left his job and became a minister whose mission it is to free people who were wrongfully convicted. His current client is a man, Quincy Miller, who was accused of killing his divorce lawyer 17 years earlier.  As Post and his associates start digging into the case, they begin to suspect that Miller was deliberately framed by a powerful organization who doesn't want to truth to come out, even decades later. 

John Grisham has such an interesting writing style.  His main characters methodically go through the process of building a viable case against someone.  There is a little bit of action/adventure, but it mostly occurs off screen. There isn't much effort spent on developing dimensional characters. One plus is that it is pretty clear of any sex and graphic violence. It is all about the legal process and careful methodology.  It is interesting to me that John Grisham is so hugely popular and successful. I am guessing the main demographic of his readers are retired men. I enjoyed the book alright, and the reader of the audiobook was really good, but I liked Just Mercy a nonfiction on the same topic of wrongful conviction better.  (2019, 384 p.)

Who was Milton Hershey by James Buckley Jr.

 Milton Hershey is famous for chocolate, but he started his candy making empire by mass producing caramels.  It wasn't until he visited a world fair, and saw an exhibit featuring European chocolate making machines, that he decided it was time to bring mass produced chocolate to the US.  His pre-wrapped chocolates made him immensely rich, and he used much of his fortune improving the lives of his workers.  

Here is another short "Who Was" biography.  I enjoyed it very much.  I knew that Hershey was a major chocolate maker and that he had a town in Pennsylvania named after him, but I did not know that he was one of the first people to create pre-packaged candy that could be sold somewhere besides a candy store.  I also didn't realize that in a time when many companies kept their workers in shanty towns, Hershey tried to make his factory town the ideal place for people to live.  He built parks, libraries, and other amusements.  He also started and ran a school for orphaned boys.  This is a very positive account of Hershey's life, and I would guess a more in-depth biography would portray a much more complex character.  Still, this is a great introduction for children and curious adults who want a very quick read. (2013, 112 p.)

The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher

 Dawn Dixon seems to have it all, a successful career, a loving (if a little bit hippy) mother, and an upcoming wedding with her childhood sweetheart.  Then one day, it all comes crashing down.  Her fiancée calls off the wedding and her mother tells her she has breast cancer.  Dawn and her mother decide to take a vacation in Cape Cod to get some time to deal with all that has been happening.  While they are there, her mother finds a rundown ice cream shop and purchases it on a whim. Dawn, a meticulous accountant, is horrified, but her love for her mother leads her to help try to get the shop up and running.  The slower life style of the cape, the beauty of the beach, and the kindness of two men begin to work their charm, and soon Dawn and her mother are considering things they would never have considered before.

After I finished the lecture series on the K'uran, I was ready for something lighter.  I decided to try this book because Fisher is a Christian author I hadn't tried before.  It turned out to be pretty good.  It was interesting because, although there are romantic interests in the story for both women, it focused more on the mother/daughter relationship and Dawn's gradual return to faith than on the romantic elements.  I don't think anyone even kissed in the whole book.  I also liked that Dawn slowly realizes that it was her focus on career success and her controlling personality that had poisoned her relationship with her fiancée. The Christian elements were a little heavier handed than in some books but I didn't mind it.  I think I will be willing to read something else by Fisher in the future. (320p. 2022)

Great Courses: Introduction to the Qur'an by Martyn Oliver

 This Great Courses lecture series contains 12 half-hour lectures of the Qur'an by Dr. Martyn Oliver.  The first lecture deals with the way Muslim people view the Qur'an.  Subsequent lectures discuss the book's origin, its basic themes, structure, portrayal of Biblical characters, and different schools of interpretation. He ends the course with discussions about difficult doctrines of Jihad and Sharia Law.  Oliver is obviously a fan of the book, and portrays it in a favorable light.  His lectures are interesting and insightful, and he is careful to indicate when he is giving an opinion that is not widely held.  Several times he includes recordings of a woman who recites passages in the original Arabic and in the traditional style.  The original version of this lecture series must contain slides because Oliver makes longer than normal pauses as he moves from one topic to another. It isn't too distracting, though, and overall, it is a very good introduction to a very important piece of literature. (2020, 6 hrs)