Welcome to Litsy!

Some of the fiercest battles in the Pacific in WWII were over #Palau. In the 1990s, a successful entrepreneur and scientist found his life‘s calling to find the planes that had been shot down over the island and bring closure to many families who still had MIAs. As with his bioengineering business, his mission succeeded and this is part his story as well as a son who never knew his father, a gunner on one of the downed planes. #readingOceania

This one shares some things with Ms Ryan‘s other books: a group of women having to be resourceful against the backdrop of WW2. In this case, when part of the library is destroyed after bombing by Nazis, they take the surviving shelves and books underground and set up there. The characters are plucky and likable, and they find an inner strength while dealing with awful circumstances. My favorite is still The Kitchen Front, but I loved this one too.

Hopefully I can read in peace & quiet.

It took awhile to read but it helped me understand the integrity of Eisenhower and his point of view on WW2. At the end he says that it was proven that a collaboration of allies could defeat a strong and evil foe to preserve liberty. He could have said more about Russia, but it was too soon.

I‘m trying so hard to meander thru this book to drag it out, but it‘s so hard! I ADORE this author‘s books and am always so impatient while waiting for each of her new books to come out. Her stories tend to feature women being resourceful during WWII, when things were being rationed or banned, but she is always able to write such humor, light, and levity into the stories so they don‘t feel heavy at all. Really loving this so far #currentlyreading

I read this book because it was this month‘s selection for a book club I belong to. It started out slow. I‘ve recently read so many books about the WW2 time period. This book also involved the sinking of the titanic and WW1. I found the timeline that wrote about the woman on the titanic very interesting. The dual timeline seemed a bit disjointed at times. The best part about this book was the ending. I love how it all came together.

My next audiobook is for #Palau, my second book for that country. #readingOceania @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

Beautiful historical fiction! A London bookshop owner, recently widowed, is asked to take on a Jewish refuge child. Gertie reluctantly agrees, and 15 year old Hedy arrives. Through teenage angst, language barriers, and air raids, a bond forms between Gertie and Hedy, but what happened to Hedy's parents and brother? A story of sacrifice, love, loss, how books can save lives, more love, and... Loved it!

The Underground Library

I can't believe this is my first book by this author. It was excellent. Very well written and researched. Based on a true story. One that I had no idea existed. To move a library underground was such a great thing to do. It helped people who did not have access to it before. And there is the fact that it was bombed and needed to be moved....
One of the best I've read this year.

Full review: https://tinyurl.com/3rprht3j

Fine but not as good as Ryan's other books. All the conflicts felt too easily resolved, and the characters did a lot of Talking the Talk about Grand Ideas but not a lot of simply walking the walk. Telling and not showing is such a letdown. #historicalfiction