27. The Lions' Run

27. The Lions' Run. Sara Pennypacker. 2026. 288 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, historical fiction, j historical, mg historical, world war II]

First sentence: A little freedom. Lucas had only a few deliveries this afternoon, and if he was quick with them, he'd finally have a couple of hours to himself before he'd have to show up back at the abbey.

Premise/plot: The Lions' Run is set in Occupied France during the Second World War. Lucas, the protagonist, is an orphan, a delivery boy. He lives at the abbey where there was a school. One day when he rescues kittens from drowning--if you're incredibly sensitive, this might prove a bit too much--he meets a girl, Alice, hiding a horse, Bia. The Nazis want Bia, and Alice is determined NOT to let them have her. She is trying to smuggle her to America. Meanwhile, Lucas is determined to join the resistance. As a delivery boy already, perhaps he can keep on blending in and not draw too much attention to himself. However, when he sets out to rescue something much larger--and noisier--than several kittens, IT will be a fight to survive.

My thoughts: It's way too early in the year to proclaim favorites of newly published books. YET this one does have a lot of potential to make that list all the same. IT is a World War II story but one that tells a unique story. It also explores the concept of bravery and courage. Is it courage if you're scared the whole time you're doing it?


© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

25. The Nazi Conspiracy

25. The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill. Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch. 2025. 384 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, mg nonfiction, ya nonfiction, world war II]

First sentence: The President is hiding.

Premise/plot: This is a young reader's adaptation of adult nonfiction. It is historical nonfiction focusing on the Second World War. Spies. Intelligence. War. History. It is an interesting, mostly fascinating story. It is about the long process of setting up a meeting between the 'big three' the Allies--Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill. Setting up a meeting between two at a time, was perhaps easier, getting them ALL ready to meet and agree on how to plan ahead for the war, much more difficult.

My thoughts: I enjoyed reading this one. I did. I have an interest in World War II. I like history. I like nonfiction. I think it's good to adapt books for younger readers to make them more accessible. You can be greatly interested in a subject and still need it to be written more for your age and/or reading level. It was relatively easy to follow the main people.

One thing--for better or worse--is that the book ends by saying that the 'secret plot' has mystery surrounding it. Was there truly a "secret" plot? Was it fabricated? Was it a manipulation tactic? Was it exaggerated? How 'real' was the danger? Was it just head-games by politicians? BUT the majority of the book treats it as true, historical, documented fact. And then it throws ambiguity into it--if I was reading the last bit properly?!?! So I'm not sure how to feel about it.

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

118. Dear Miss Lake

Dear Miss Lake (Emmy Lake Chronicles #4) A.J. Pearce. 2025. 304 pages. [Source: Review copy] [historical fiction, historical romance, world war 2, 4 stars, series book]

First sentence: Guy Collins was a man of some talents, but until now he had kept motorcycle mechanics under his hat.

Premise/plot: Dear Miss Lake is the final book in the Emmy Lake series by A.J. Pearce. The novels are set in England during the Second World War. In many ways the series is character-driven. It isn't so much that there is an exciting, thrilling, compelling plot and you have to keep reading to find out what happens next...as it is the characters hopefully become friends and you like spending time with them even when nothing much happens. The series features a large cast of what you might think of as 'side characters' but after four books even the side characters have been developed.

So what is the fourth book about? Emmy's husband, Charles, goes missing in action and is taken prisoner of war by the Germans. She's not alone. There are many families missing husbands, brothers, fathers, etc. Answers aren't always quick to coming. And life is difficult because of the war, sacrifices must continually be made by everyone all the time always. Emmy takes pleasure in her work writing an advice column, but, the letters she reads and responds to are dealing with difficult, complex issues.

My thoughts: I like the series overall. I do. I don't know that I enthusiastically love the series. But I think if I read all four books within a period of two or three months, I might have. I remember enjoying the first book a good deal, being slightly disappointed by the second, and enjoying the third and fourth books. So overall, I would say that IF you enjoy historical fiction, women's fiction, a series that focuses on friendships and relationships, then this series might be a good fit.


© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

115. The Teacher of Nomad Land

115. The Teacher of Nomad Land. Daniel Nayeri. 2025. 192 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, historical fiction, world war II, family]

First sentence: Baba was a teacher. Dead now. Babak sits in the courtyard of their house cradling the slab of stone that will mark his grave beside Mama, already dead. He is thirteen. Sana is eight, standing behind him. She says, "That was our last parent."

Premise/plot: The Teacher of Nomad Land is historical fiction set in Iran--1941 to be precise--in Iran. Long story short, Babak is determined that he and his sister, Sana, will survive--someway, somehow--and that they'll stick together no matter what. But how are two kids on their own to survive? Babak thinks he might like to be a teacher like his dad--but will teaching others to read and write--or to speak another language be valued enough that others will give them food and protection? Maybe. Maybe not. Their lives are complicated a bit when they join with a Jewish orphan (Ben) who is being chased by a lone Nazi, Vulf. Soon all three are being pursued...

My thoughts: The Teacher of Nomad Land isn't so much a book you enjoy-enjoy as it is a book you experience. My experience was complicated by the fact that I had to check it out several times and wait on holds to start it up again. I think this book is best experience over two to three sittings. But I would definitely recommend this one!

Quotes:

Stories emerge everywhere like flowers from a grave

Everywhere, Babak can see the need for a teacher, and in himself the desire to be one. But he doesn't know what to say. What should he say to a kid committed to being this unpleasant? What is there to say that is true all the time?

Life if full of such lessons, and with so few fathers to teach them.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

112. Mrs. Porter Calling

112. Mrs. Porter Calling. AJ Pearce. 2023. 313 pages. [Source: Review copy] [adult historical fiction, world war II, 3 stars]

First sentence: Margaret and I had been tap-dancing in the garden for nearly twenty minutes, and I was beginning to feel the strain. It was a Sunday afternoon in April and we were celebrating my twenty-fifth birthday. On current performance I was beginning to show my age.

Premise/plot: Mrs. Porter Calling is the third novel in the Emmy Lake Chronicles by AJ Pearce. All the books in the series are set during the Second World War in London, England. The books are as follows: Dear Mrs. Bird, Yours Cheerfully, Mrs. Porter Calling, and Dear Miss Lake. (Dear Miss Lake is the fourth book; I haven't started reading it yet!)

Emmy Lake, our heroine is a journalist doing her part for the war effort. Her role for the woman's magazine is being its advice columnist. Mrs. Porter the new publisher of the magazine--she inherited it from her uncle, I believe, wants to remake the magazine in her own image with no regard for what the readers want or if there is an audience for her own vision of the magazine. After failing and getting frustrated, Mrs. Porter is determined to sell the magazine. Can the magazine be saved? Can Emmy and her friends save it?

My thoughts: I do like this one more than the second novel in the series. I am looking forward to reading the fourth book in the series. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I'd read the novels closer together. It's been YEARS since I read the first two books in the series.


© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

110. A Bitter Wind

110. A Bitter Wind. (Billy Boyle #20) James R. Benn. 2025. 379 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, world war II, mystery, historical fiction]

First sentence: The body was still warm.

Premise/plot: Billy Boyle (and friends) are back for their twentieth mystery. It opens on Christmas Day 1944. With a literal cliffhanger. Billy and a newly deceased man are quite literally in a precarious situation atop a ledge on a white cliff facing the English channel. Soon, Billy has a couple of murder cases to solve. So he is loaned out for a bit. While solving these crimes, he's forced to go to a war-torn Europe in search of one man who may hold the key to the murders he's trying to solve. The man he's in search of was a prisoner of war but has now escaped and is on the run. It won't be easy to find him, to rescue him, to get OUT and back to England. Many close-calls. Many new allies. Same old enemies. Perils abound. 

My thoughts: I didn't love this one as much as I usually love Billy Boyle mysteries. I do like that each one is different, unique, focusing on a little known fact of history. I do like that each book is based to a certain degree on real history--be it a person, a place, a battle, etc. This one has Billy Boyle traveling from place to place. By the time he returns to the original murder mystery, it feels like the pacing is a bit off.

All that being said, I do love the characters. And I do enjoy the series.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

35. The Enemy's Daughter

 

35. The Enemy's Daughter. Anne Blankman. 2025. 288 pages. [Source: Library] [MG Historical fiction, MG coming of age, MG fiction,  3 stars]

First sentence: Marta leaned back against the ship's railing as far as she could go without falling over the side.

Premise/plot: Marta and her father are Germans aboard the Lusitania--secretly. Though not spies, they know that using their own papers to travel would be problematic--to say the least. They had been in America visiting family and now with the war--World War I--they are having difficulty traveling back safely. The sinking of the ship coincides with their discovery. Soon, Marta finds herself in England on her own. Her father is imprisoned and/or detained. Somewhere. She has no way of knowing where he is or what steps to take to find out where. Essentially on her own in a foreign country with whom she has some biases. Germany and England are at war after all. Germany is right all the time, isn't it? So what's a girl to do to survive without her identity becoming known?

My thoughts: I wanted to love this one. I did. I wanted to feel swept up, up, and away. I wanted to feel it to be an incredibly compelling stories where I cared deeply about the characters. And there is a chance--since reading is subjective--that it may be exactly that for another reader. I felt strangely detached from the characters and the story. I don't know if it was all me or if the book perhaps is more tell than show. (As opposed to more show than tell). One thing I can still appreciate is that Marta's friendship comes through a shared love of books. With that I can relate 100%. Books can build bridges across cultures, etc. And a shared love of specific stories can help encourage friendship to bloom. 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

7. All the Light We Cannot See

 

7. All the Light We Cannot see. Anthony Doerr. 2014. 544 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, historical fiction, magic realism??? world war II] 

First sentence: At dusk they pour from the sky. They blow across the ramparts, turn cartwheels over rooftops, flutter into the ravines between houses. Entire streets swirl with them, flashing white against the cobbles. Urgent message to the inhabitants of this town, they say. Depart immediately to open country.

Premise/plot: All the Light We Cannot See has dual narrators: Marie-Laure and Werner. Marie-Laure is a young French blind girl and Werner is a German orphan coming of age during the Nazi regime and getting swept up into the messy ideological nonsense. The novel not only goes back and forth between narrators--opposing sides of the war at that--but back and forth in time. There are indicators at the start of the chapters so you know *when* but time seems to be a merry-go-round.

My thoughts: The strength of this one is in the writing. The premise is other-worldly and mildly fantastical. (A supernatural/magical object that prevents one from dying) The characterization is strong.

This one definitely kept me intrigued. I'm not sure that I absolutely loved it. It stayed in "almost" territory--hence the four stars not five.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

4. Wolves at the Door

 

4. Wolves at the Door. Steve Watkins. 2024. [December] 288 pages. [Source: Library] [MG historical, MG fiction, world war II, 5 stars]

First sentence: We are in the shelter near our apartment building in Konigsberg when the bombing starts, the swelter of August trapped underground with us. The explosions are distant, east of the city. We feel slight tremors, but the walls only shake a little.

Wolves at the Door by Steve Watkins is a compelling historical middle grade novel set towards the end of World War II. Earlier this year--last week to be precise--I read a book with this exact, precise setting--East Prussia, German children, Russian invasion, hiding in the woods, fighting to survive, etc. (We Are Wolves by Katrina Nannestad). This one is narrated by two sisters--Asta and Pieta. 

It is action-packed historical fiction. I would definitely recommend for readers who have begun to outgrow the I Survived series yet still enjoy historical fiction with survival themes. There are so many world war II books out there for this audience, this one is GREAT.  

If my summary is lacking it isn't that the book isn't good--it's phenomenal. This coming of age story is SO compelling, so emotional, so WELL DONE, so impossible to put down. It was the first book of the year that I read in one sitting.

All the "almosts" I felt about We Are Wolves were realized in Wolves at the Door. It was SUCH a great read. It didn't hold back. It may be written for middle school--upper elementary and up. But it didn't pretty things up. It didn't gloss over the brutal, harsh facts. It was all in for history. And I think it showed how brutal war is and always will be. 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

2. We Are Wolves

2.  We Are Wolves. Katrina Nannestad. 2020. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [historical fiction, mg historical fiction, world at war, 4 stars]

First sentence: 'Hitler is a toad!'

Premise/plot: We Are Wolves is set in Germany [or is it East Prussia????] during the last year[s] of the second world war. Liesl Wolf is the oldest child and her mother makes her promise to take care of her younger brother, Otto, and younger sister, Mia, no matter what. No matter the cost, they must, must, must stay together. While she yearns for the war to be over, at what cost to the German people will it be over. The end of the war may just bring ever increasing danger. 

Most of the novel is Liesl relatively "on her own" taking care of her siblings--no matter the cost. There are other children--some German, some not--also living a "wild" life as they are trying to survive day by day. It is a dangerous landscape--dangers from soldiers, dangers from other children, dangers from the elements or human sickness and disease. 

My thoughts: We Are Wolves is an almost for me. I'll clarify: it is an almost love for me. I have read previous books by the author that I loved more. The book was compelling enough. It kept me turning pages. I was invested in the characters and the story. I do think in some ways that the book doesn't do full justice to the "Wolfskinder." The author wrote that she wanted to keep it kid-friendly and on the lighter side so she didn't deep dive into the darker horrors and terrors of [young] children left to tend to themselves with very few resources [if any] in a harsh environment on every level. I get that. I do. But at times the rosiness kept it from fully feeling authentic. The tied-with-a-bow ending felt a little too good to be true. Though, of course, I was hoping that everything would work out.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

105. Grenade

Grenade. Alan Gratz. 2018. 270 pages. [Source: Review copy] [3 stars] [historical fiction, world war II, mg historical]

First sentence: An American bomb landed a hundred meters away--Kra-KOOM!--and the school building exploded.

Premise/plot: Grenade is set towards the end of the second world war in Asia; Okinawa to be precise. It has dual narrators--for a bit--an American soldier (Ray) and an incredibly young drafted from [middle] school boy (Hideki). These two will come face to face--each with a grenade--and well, you can guess the rest. 

War is front and center in this one, namely how horrible, atrocious, evil, horrifying, terrifying, traumatic, and always, always, always wrong it is. Each chapter features another layer of trauma.

My thoughts: Grenade is super-intense and heavy. I personally did not care for it. The reason why I did not like it probably (may not) bother you. So this one may still be a good fit for you.

 One reason why I didn't particularly care for this one is the spiritualism. Maybe that is not the right word. There is a character that speaks with the dead, communes with the dead, gives messages from the dead, etc. There's also a strong belief in generational curses. It's just--for me--an odd read.

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

99. All the Beautiful Things

99. All the Beautiful Things. Katrina Nannestad. 2024. [October 30] 352 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, mg historical, mg fiction, world war II]

First sentence: 'Come on, Anna! Take a swing at me!' Udo bounces around on the landing at the top of the stairs. The floorboards squeak and creak beneath the balls of his feet.

Premise/plot: All the Beautiful Things by Katrina Nannestad is historical fiction set in Germany during the second world war. 

That isn't much of a summary. YET, this one is so wonderful, so compelling, so moving, and yes, beautiful, that words do not do it justice...at all. No matter what I say--short or long--it won't capture what this book IS and how it makes one feel.

 Anna has a younger sister, Eva, whom she must hide from the Nazis. Eva is too "different" mentally, intellectually, to be a part of the ideal race. She has developmental needs which would make her expendable, let's say. But hiding comes with a cost....

Again, I can't do this book justice. 

My thoughts: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE love this one. It is beautiful. It is heartbreaking. It reminds me--emotionally speaking--of The Book Thief. The narrative, the characterization, the story, everything was practically perfect in every way. This may not be a super-easy story being set during World WAR II, but it is a story that is worth it.

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

97. Lifeboat 5

Lifeboat 5. Susan Hood. 2024. 272 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, verse novel, historical novel, based on true events, world war II]

First sentence: It's not safe inside.
It's not safe outside.
I close my eyes
and try to turn off the noise
in my head.
Stop!

Premise/plot: Lifeboat 5 is a companion novel to Susan Hood's Lifeboat 12. (I believe). Bess Walder, our heroine, is one of many child refugees fleeing England for the safety of Canada during the Second World War. Joining her is her younger brother. But new friends are easily made on board the ship Benares. But while the promise of safety provides much hope, the ship has to arrive before all is well....

You can [easily] deduce from the title that all does not go well aboard the ship. It is war time, and, though the ship has many escorts, anything can happen during war time. Will Bess survive? How many will lose their lives in their pursuit of safety?

My thoughts: I am so glad this one was a verse novel. This one was an intense read, and the format helped keep the pages turning. I would definitely recommend to readers who enjoy survivor historical books. Or for those that seek out all things world war II.

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

83. The Phantom Patrol

The Phantom Patrol (Billy Boyle World War II #19) James R. Benn. 2024. 352 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars] [adult historical; adult mystery; world war II]

First sentence: The night was cold, cloaked in a deep darkness brought on by a bank of clouds sailing in on the winds and vanquishing the moonlight. Dead leaves, crisp and brittle, swirled in man-sized cyclones on the cobblestones, one so dense that I mistook it for someone sauntering through the graveyard. 

Premise/plot: Billy Boyle and friends return for their NINETEENTH mystery. This one is set in France in December of 1944. This mystery starts out as an investigation of art thieves, and, the body count quickly starts mounting. So in part this one is art-related but also espionage and war-war. It has some INTENSE scenes, for sure. All of the Billy Boyle books feature cameos (for lack of a better word) of real life men and/or women. This one features J.D. Salinger and David Niven...as well as Eisenhower. 

My thoughts: I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the series. I do. If I didn't love the series, chances are I wouldn't still be incredibly eager and excited for each new release. Seriously, I start thinking about "the new Billy Boyle" book in mid-summer. (It always releases in the fall). I ADORE the characters. I am deeply invested in ALL of the characters--and there are MANY side characters. All that being said, I don't love all nineteen books equally. This one wasn't my favorite of the nineteen. However, I do love the characters in general. His writing is always compelling.

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

78. When We Flew Away

78. When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary. Alice Hoffman. 2024. 304 pages. [Source: Library] [mg historical fiction; mg fiction; world war II] [5 stars]

First sentence: There is a day you never forget, the day the whole world changes. When you close your eyes, light becomes dark, night never ends, beasts walk freely down the street, stars fall from the sky. You were young one second, and then you were far too old. You lived years in minutes and decades in weeks.

Premise/plot: When We Flew Away is historical fiction. It follows Anne Frank from the age of eleven to thirteen. The novel concludes with the family going into hiding.

My thoughts: I had not--for better or worse--stopped to think deeply about Anne's life BEFORE the diary, before going into hiding, before the Holocaust. I've read biographies, of course, that covered her whole life. This is definitely an imaginative, creative spin on Anne Frank. There are a few concrete details that are known but oh-so-much that is not known and can only be speculated. Still I think it is helpful, perhaps, in showing that Anne was a real-life GIRL, a kid, someone with her whole life in front of her. The diary can be SO dramatic and melodramatic--and rightly so in many, many ways. I highly recommend the diary, no question. I DO think that EVERYONE should learn about the Holocaust. I cannot understand how some would "ban" Anne Frank OR other books about the Holocaust from school libraries. I just can't.

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

66. The Dark Skies Mystery

66. The Dark Skies: A WWII Thriller. Deron R. Hicks. 2024. 336 pages. [Source: Library] [MG Fiction, MG Historical Fiction, MG Mystery] [3 stars]

First sentence: It was almost time. Henry Hamilton plopped down on the well-worn braided rug that occupied most of the floor in his family's living room. 

Premise/plot: Henry Hamilton, our twelve-year-old narrator, works for his school paper as a reporter. He is fascinated with journalism--particularly high-stakes war journalism. As he follows the clues in his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, he might just find himself in great danger from an outside threat. And he might not be at home in time for his banana pudding.

This one is a middle grade mystery set in 1942 on the American homefront. 

My thoughts: I am so conflicted. On the one hand, I enjoy mysteries, most of the time. I enjoy historical fiction, most of the time. I love middle grade fiction. World War II is one of my favorite time periods to read about. On paper--in theory--this one should have been a great match for me. On the other hand, Henry Hamilton does hundreds of things that could lead to his death. And if he's dead, there's no story to be told, no warning message to get out to the proper authorities. He doesn't really have a plan on how to escape all the dangerous situations he finds himself in. He's twelve and invincible? I suppose that's the theory? I don't know that the target audience would have the same concerns I did. Probably not.

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

54. Tree Table. Book.

Tree. Table. Book. Lois Lowry. 2024. 208 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: I am going to tell you three words. I'm choosing them at random. Listen carefully. This will be important. House. Umbrella. Apple. Remember those. I'll explain later.

My thoughts (preview): I kept this one waiting. I have absolutely loved Lois Lowry's work in the past. I have. Yet the title was odd--for me (though trust me, it works). The cover was not one that made me want to drop everything and read it. I wasn't quite sure what this one was about. I thought it would likely be worth reading...at some point. Lowry's books rarely disappoint me. 

In a way, I'm glad I waited to read it. Now I can tell EVERYONE go read this book and it will actually be available at libraries and bookstores. 

Premise/plot: What is this one about? Friendship. Friendship. Friendship. Friendship can be complex, nuanced, wonderful, perplexing. Young Sophie (our heroine) is VERY dear friends with a much older Sophie. The two have a wonderful, sparkling friendship--vibrant and delightful. Yet the older Sophie is beginning to 'show' her age, if you will. No matter how much young Sophie does NOT want to admit it, acknowledge it, accept it, things can't stay the same forever. This Sophie is not Sophie's only friend. There are others in her life that are DIFFERENT yet special. There is only ONE Sophie--irreplaceable. 

My thoughts: I purposefully kept the premise/plot on the VAGUE side. Because the JOY of this one is in the unfolding. The less you know about the specifics of the plot, the more you will enjoy the journey. You should know it is character-driven. This isn't an action-packed novel with twists and turns. Nor is it a thriller. But for readers who LOVE character-driven novels that are ALL heart, ALL soul, written with care and beauty, this one is a must. It breaks you, in a way, but it also mends.

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

53. My Lost Freedom

My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story. George Takei. 2024. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [Nonfiction picture book, World War II]

First sentence: Hi, I'm George Takei, an eighty-seven-year-old actor.

Premise/plot: My Lost Freedom is a picture book biography for older readers. It is an autobiographical picture book of George Takei's time in several Japanese Internment camps during the Second World War. He was a young child--a very young child, just four years old. His earliest memories, his core memories, if you will, were formed in these war years. The picture book shares about this time in American history through a personal lens. It is personal yet broader than that. 

It would be easy to assume that this is a bleak, glummy, downer of a book. But it isn't. The book shares memories of his family life, his friendships, his community. I think he was young enough to not know just how unjust and wrong it was. Know might be a very poor word choice, feel to the depths of his soul might be better but more wordy. I think his memories would be different if he'd been twelve or thirteen when he entered the camp with his family. I also am guessing that his family chose to make the best of an absolutely horrible situation. I think they chose to make it as much a home as possible for their children. 

My thoughts: I didn't know what to expect from this one. I'd read a few books for older readers (middle grade, high school, adult) on this subject. These especially from older perspectives are rightly so angry and bitter. This may be the youngest 'memoir' perspective I've read. It does include plenty of general information about this time period in history.

Easily a five-star read.

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

52. Operation Happy

Operation: Happy. Jenni L. Walsh. 2024. 240 pages. [Source: Library] [j historical fiction, mg historical fiction, animal fantasy]

First sentence: A dog is at the top of my wish list. I unwrap number three: a Monopoly board game. Then I pluck number five from under the Christmas tree: a Shirley Temple doll. And number two: a new Nancy Drew book. But number one is still very much missing. 

Operation: Happy is historical fiction--set around the Second World War--narrated by a girl, Jody, and her dog, Happy. Jody is used to moving frequently; her dad is a marine. Happy will be a constant in her life. No matter how many places, how many schools, how many friends she leaves behind--her and Happy together forever and ever. The family's newest home is [near] the naval base Pearl Harbor. Her mom--who is mentally and emotionally unstable--is fearful of the island. She has visions of great doom--even before they arrive on the island. Her daughters--Jody and Peggy--try to make the most of things. Sure Mom has horrible feelings about Hawaii but should they??? Jody may not share her mom's concerns exactly, however, she does begin to worry that Happy may die soon among other things....

This historical middle grade novel is set before, during, and after Pearl Harbor. It is told from both her point of view and that of Happy. 

My thoughts: I was NERVOUS. Dog on the cover: check. Set during a war: check. Possible foreshadowing in the first few chapters that the dog's health is declining: check. Would Happy survive to the end of the book? Would I be okay if Happy didn't???? Putting aside the dog issue, there is plenty of peril for the humans involved in this story. 

I am glad I read this one. I've been in a huge reading slump. I've lacked motivation to keep turning chapters. Maria and Operation: Happy are proving to me that I do still want to read.

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

37. Uprising

Uprising. Jennifer A. Nielsen. 2024. 384 pages. [Source: Review copy] [J Historical Fiction; MG Historical Fiction]

First sentence: If I'd known what was coming that morning, I'd have done things differently. I certainly wouldn't have fought with my mother.

Premise/plot: Jennifer Nielsen's newest book is set in Poland during the Second World War. It is a fictionalized account inspired by a real teenager, Lidia Zakrzewski, a Resistance fighter. Lidia, our heroine, is outraged when Poland falls and the Nazis invade. Everything changes dramatically in such a short amount of time. Her home life--which had some tension before with a difficult mother--becomes truly dramatic. Still, she keeps on keeping on--resisting, persisting, doing anything and everything to defy the new regime. "Simple" things like going to an illegal school so she can continue her education. More difficult things like becoming a messenger--running messages for those in the resistance--before ultimately becoming a fighter herself. This is a brutal coming of age story set in a harsh environment.

My thoughts: I have never been disappointed by Jennifer A. Nielsen. Still holds true with her newest book. I found this one engaging. I read it quickly--one or two sittings--because I just got caught up in the story. It was a rough read as many war books are. But it was a GREAT read. Definitely recommended.

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews