"The Storyteller" by Jodi Picoult

It's no secret that I have read a lot of holocaust related books in my life time.  Also no secret it that I am (somewhat) a Jodi Picoult fan (I say somewhat only because I have liked everything I have read but haven't read everything yet).  So for me The Storyteller is a great combination.

Sage keeps mostly to herself but when she is approached by a prominent, elderly gentleman from her community she will get the shock of a lifetime. Josef Weber asks Sage to kill him.  He was an SS Guard during the holocaust and can do no longer live with his guilt.  Sage's grandmother managed to survive the holocaust, but has never told anyone the full story.  Conflicted, Sage wants to hear her grandmother's story.  The book spends a lot of it's time flashing back to the events of World War II.  We find out about Minka's (Sage's grandmother) and Josef's pasts and how their paths crossed each other (sorry, spoiler, but it's not a surprise when it happens).  As to be expected from Picoult, there is a twist at the end though not as intense as the other Picoult books I have read (this is the first one that I actually guessed how the novel would end- and I was right!) but the book doesn't focus on the fact that the ending will have a twist.

I was very impressed with this book.  I expected it to read more like the rest of Picoult's books with more drama and controversy.  While this book did have some, it's wasn't nearly as intense as the rest of her books.  I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the holocaust or to anyone that just needs a goo read. I absolutely loved this book!


Happy Reading!
-Melly  

"Anne Frank and Me" by Cherie Bennett & Jeff Gottesfeld

While preparing to write this review, I was surprised by the negativity of  the editorial reviews and the overwhelmingly high number of positive reviews from readers.  This is a work of fiction and should be read as such.  It is not meant to be a biography of Anne Frank nor should it be read for that reason.  It is purely the story of a fictional person living through events that took place in real life (just like many, many other books).

Anne Frank and Me by Cherie Bennett & Jeff Gottesfeld focuses on a teenage girl named Nicole.  The book begins with Nicole shirking off school assignments (both in school and out) in favor of daydreaming about the boy of her dreams, Jack, and developing her website, Notes from Girl X.  It is clear that Nicole is intelligent, but often wants to take the easy way out.  Instead of reading The Diary of Anne Frank for class, she visits various websites, stumbling across one arguing that the diary was not written by the teen during the Holocaust, but is instead a work of fiction.  Nicole and her sister begin to question why she would be required to read a "fake."

The next day, Nicole's class visits the traveling exhibit, Anne Frank in the World and her life turns upside down.  When shots ring out and her classmates being to panic, Nicole is caught in the mob of people and blacks out.  When she wakes up, she is no longer in modern day America, but is now a Jewish girl living in occupied Paris, France.  Convinced she is an American from the future, but with no way to get back, Nicole suddenly must figure out how to survive the Nazi occupation.  More than once she finds her life in grave danger and begins a journey that will change her forever.

I have read this book many times.  Every time, I cannot put it down until I have read it cover to cover.  I find it engaging, gut wrenching, and inspiring.  It is a very powerful book and once you've read it, you won't soon forget it.

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Timeriders" by Alex Scarrow

I could not put this book down! Timeriders by Alex Scarrow follows three teens that were barely rescued from death (Liam was saved from the Titanic in 1912, Maddy from a plane crash in 2010 and Sal from a fire in 2026) and brought to Manhattan in 2001. They then discover that they are now part of a secret organization called The Agency and are assigned with the task of keeping the world safe from time travel. Each has an assigned task: Maddy, the team leader takes care of all computer tasks, Sal's job is to monitor daily events, taking care to note any changes sparked by time travel, and Liam is sent back in time to resolve any changes made by time travelers. The Agency is housed in an archway in New York City which exists in a time bubble, where the three relive the days of September 10 and September 11. Sal ventures around the city daily, noting a woman who picks up her child's toy, the various advertisements for Shrek and Mamma Mia and, sadly, the World Trade Center attacks.

During a training exercise, Liam is taken back to Dallas, Texas where he encounters Lee Harvey Oswald and prevents the assassination of John F. Kennedy. By doing so, Sal notices changes in 2001 and Maddy's research concludes that Kennedy survived leading to further space advances. However, back in 1963, history is once again altered as another assassin takes the president's life and the future changes back.

During her daily walk, Sal avoids making eye contact with the Twin Towers, as she has seen the attack and lived through the events more than she can bear. But it never comes. She looks up to find that New York has completely changed. Cars have suddenly become old fashioned and cell phone ads have disappeared. The team quickly discovers that the past has changed and Germany won World War II. Liam and support unit Bob travel back Washington D.C. 1956 and find themselves in the middle of a Nazi invasion on the White House. The plot continues with the two sets of Agency members trying to help each other across the timeline and get everything back to the way it should be.

I picked up this book because it involves several areas of history that have always interested me (the Titanic and WWII among others). I read it quickly over two nights and was completely absorbed in the book. Fans of history and science fiction will likely be engulfed in this fast paced read. I felt that the various historical elements were well researched and that the characters and their experiences were believable. I am very much looking forward to reading the rest of the books (nine total are planned).

Happy Reading!
-Melly