Reviewed by Bev Scott Kristin Hannah has written a gripping book titled The Nightingale. She takes the reader through the perils and dramatic moments of the French resistance and the Nazi occupation of France during WWII. Two sisters provide the contrast. Isabelle displays the rage and defiance of a resistance fighter. Vianne, a mother, cautiously […]
historical fiction
Book Review: “The Four Winds” by Kristin Hannah
Reviewed by Bev Scott Kristin Hannah has written a powerful historical novel with contemporary significance. Three members of the Martinelli family leave Texas during the Dust Bowl, which destroyed their farm and threatened their young son’s life. In search of a better life, they grab onto the California dream. Instead of the dream, they struggle […]
Book Review: “The Rose Code” by Kate Quinn
Reviewed by Bev Scott For historical fiction at its best and for a fabulous read, consider The Rose Code. As Britain prepares to fight Nazi Germany, three very different women enter the fray as codebreakers. Working from the mysterious country estate, Bletchley Park they are Osla, a beautiful, vivacious debutante; dominating Mab, a product of […]
Book Review: “The Huntress” by Kate Quinn
Reviewed by Bev Scott In The Huntress, Kate Quinn has interwoven a spellbinding story of three characters. We find disciplined British war correspondent turned Nazi hunter, Ian Graham, with Nina Markova. Nina, a brazen Russian bomber pilot, joins the feared all-female Night Witches. Finally, young Jordan McBride is growing up in Boston shortly after World […]
Book Review: “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi
Reviewed by Bev Scott Homegoing is an amazing book! It is an incredible example of how much we can learn from well-written fiction about culture, family dynamics, human emotions, history and so much more. Author YaaGyasi tells stories drawn from the lives of two ancestral family lines beginning in Ghana in the eighteenth century. The path of […]
Book Review: “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr
Reviewed by Bev Scott All the Light We Cannot See is a beautiful, masterfully written work of historical fiction. It tells the stories of two young people, a blind French girl, Marie Laure and an orphan German boy, Werner. Marie Laure lives with her father, a master locksmith at the Museum of Natural History in Paris. […]
Book Review: “The Secrets of Mary Bowser: A Novel” by Lois Leveen
Reviewed by Bev Scott Mary Bowser was born into slavery in Richmond, Virginia before the Civil War. She fortunately grew up knowing both of her parents. Her mother worked as a house slave in the Van Lews mansion. Her father lived nearby, working as a blacksmith. Also fortunate, Bet, the daughter of the Van Lews, saw […]
Book Review: “The Tenth Gift” by Jane Johnson
Reviewed by Bev Scott The Tenth Gift, an intriguing book, consists of two stories masterfully intertwined. One is set in the 17th Century, and the other is set in the present. At the end of an adulterous affair with her best friend’s husband, the husband gives Julia “The Needle Woman’s Glorie.” At first glance, the gift appears […]
Book Review: “Reliance, Illinois” by Mary Volmer
Book reviewed by Bev Scott I purchased this book Reliance Illinois at a reading by the author Mary Volmer. Reliance, Illinois tells a fascinating story, set in 1874 on the Mississippi River. The protagonist, a teenage girl of thirteen, Madelyn Branch (Maddy) pretends to be the younger sister of her beautiful mother, Rebecca. The story […]
Book Review: “Sweden” by Matthew Turner
Reviewed by Bev Scott This book, written as historical fiction, offers a mostly unknown story about deserters from the Vietnam War. Japanese peace activist guides worked with great diligence to help the deserters escape Japan to a safe haven, Sweden. I found the story of their perilous efforts to escape both the Japanese police and […]
