Although I have been productively writing, I have also enjoyed one of my favorite escapes - reading.
Over the last several months, I have devoured some good books, most notably, WIN THE DAY by Mark Batterson, THE LIES OF UNFORGIVENESS by Joshua Stewart, and UNWRITTEN; THE VISION GRAVEYARD by Vance K. Jackson Jr., all non-fiction. Great books, all I highly recommend.
Still, for a true escape, one must read fiction, right? I hereby recommend ON WINGS OF EAGLES by Ken Follett and WHERE THE FOREST MEETS THE STARS by Glendy Vanderah. However, my favorite of late has been THE ORPHANS OF BERLIN by Jina Bacarr.
I loved ORPHANS because it was one of those hard-to-put-down books, a true delicacy at the end of a busy day. It takes place in Europe in the late 1930s when Hitler and the Nazis were taking, piece by piece, spreading their vile into every nook and cranny of daily life. With this backdrop, people were re-adjusting to new restrictive laws and hatred being spewed forth freely. Free countries negotiated about how to help. The whole picture spoke to me of how history often repeats itself. Not only that, the characters were especially easy to love. Kay, the wealthy American, keen on throwing off conventional restraints and the ever-present tension with her mother, goes to Europe on business and finds herself in the middle of a romance and fight/flight for freedom in Paris.
Meanwhile, Rachel and her family are faced with unthinkable prejudice from the Nazis in Berlin as they attempt to conduct business as usual in their Jewish family-owned music shop. As the two main characters meet and unite, we are introduced to a world our parents or grandparents likely knew—one with fashion and beauty, love and tenderness, but also devastating danger and change.
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