Rebecca Hill
Vianne and Isabelle are caught in the midst of War. As they move into the second world war, the deprivations and the horrors that await them are unknown. As they try to survive, they are caught up in doing their own bit for the war effort! As they move through the days, the fight for survival, and the basic need for every day items becomes the biggest struggle they think they will face, until something more pressing comes along...
Follow the lives of these two sisters as they learn to adapt and survive in a world torn apart by war, and the desire to help those around them becomes a must.
This story was a tear jerker! I LOVED IT!! I did not want to put this book down, and I was not ready for it to end where it did. The voice that the author uses is amazing and you feel drawn into the story as the pages progress. I confess I do not normally cry over books, but this had a good lump in my throat and some tears down my cheeks over the choices and the amazing persecution that these women were willing to go through to help others. You MUST read this book!
Follow Jacqueline as she tries to solve the mystery of the murder of one student, and the attempted murder of another.
What should have been a fun summer in Rome has turned into a terrifying experience for one young lady. What should have been a summer of learning and history, has taken a turn of which friends can you trust.
A photograph of a veiled woman holding a baby sparks the interest of descendants as they are cleaning out the farmhouse.
As the story moves into what happened, the lives of three people are drawn into a circle of deception, secrets and subterfuge.
A quick fast and easy read.. interesting, but would have loved it to have been a bit longer and explain the ending more.
Warriors Seven Warriors Seven is a great read! Get the inside view on SEVEN of America's warriors, and what their lives were like.Barney Sneiderman has delved into the personal and political lives of these great warriors. He not only pinpoints what made them successful, but what really made them tick. What did they think, how did they live, and what were their personal views on some of the issues of their times? Take a brief look into the lives of Benedict Arnold, Andrew Jackson, Winfield Scott, Robert E. Lee, George Dewey, Billy Mitchell and George Patton. Each of these men have been devoted to their own chapter, in order of their time in history. As we dig in to each one, the history feels as though it comes alive, and we are able to see how these men operated. Their stories are not only inspiring, (and in some cases, come with the how not to turn traitor), but give us a chance see how they interacted with their men, their personal correspondence, and their daily drive. As I read through this book, I was able to find some great tidbits and facts that I had not come across before. This book was well laid out, carefully planned and written, and one that history lovers should embrace. As you read through this book, it is easy to take notes in the margins! Take your time and join in the fun of learning about these great warriors!
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry and his friends are off on another adventure, and this time is it more whirlwind than ever! As they battle through the forces that have been assaulting the school, they are determined to find out what is going on and who is attacking the students at Hogwarts.
When Hermoine is attacked, Harry and Ron know that they have to figure out just what the riddles are and who is going to be next. Will they be in time to save the next student?
Cute little book, easy read!
Field Guide to the Battlefields of South Africa STOP! This book is your ONE STOP to all the battles in South Africa! Everything you wanted to know and more!Nicki Von Der Heyde breaks down each of the battles, beginning with the colonial wars. Each of them are broken down into easy to read articles. Each of the 71 battles depicted give the reader a sense of accomplishment. Each of these are broken down, making them easy to read and understand. The timelines, pictures and the maps that are included gives the reader a chance to put the pieces all together. If you plan on travelling to the region, I think this guide would be extremely handy to have, as you move from one location to another. Military historians as well should take note. This well documented book has a lot to offer! Teachers, historians and more can glean a lot of information, and use for many different projects!I was excited to read this book, as I have always had an interest in the history of different places, and being able to find this book and have a chance to put it all together was exciting! This has been a very handy guide for me to use in some of the online college courses I teach, as well as being able to use the pictures and maps in my own children's school work. I look forward to being able to use this book many times over in the many years to come!
Interesting take on the life of Katherine Parr. She was the last wife of Henry VIII, and after his death, married Thomas Seymour. But their life together, according to the novel, was not everything that it could have been.
This tale is told from the perspective of her best friend, Cathy, the Duchess of Suffolk, and is one that was interesting. While in the household of Kate, she takes up with her friends husband, and then casts blame onto young Elizabeth when she is about to get caught.
After her friends death, she retreats back to her home, where she concentrates on raising her own boys, and distancing her oldest son from the affections of Elizabeth, both of whom have expressed an interest in each other. Knowing the danger of the relationship, Cathy is not anxious for it to proceed any further than simple childhood infatuation.
After Thomas is arrested for treason, Kate's daughter is sent to Cathy to be raised, until she is older.
This was an interesting and disturbing read. I felt that there could have been more added about Kate, given the title, but as it was told from the perspective of her friend, it was decent. Rather a new view on the life that Thomas and Kate spent together, but then I think that is what the author was going for. Thomas Seymour was always one for self promotion and he went after it anyway he could, whether it was trying to marry a princess, or actually marrying the dowager queen of England. After Kate's death, he tried again with Elizabeth, but then was arrested on treason charges for many other reasons (not only trying to marry again within the royal line). I have not fully decided yet, how I feel on the book, this is one that I need to sleep on and ponder over a bit more.
Confessions of a teenage queen.. Katherine Howard was the fifth queen of Henry VIII. She led a life of promiscuity, and could not seem to curb herself once she was in the palace. Her ladies covered for her, and one even lost her head with her mistress over the deception that had been taking place.Katherine Howard was a sad story. It is the tale of a girl sacrificed for family, and for wealth and honors. A girl that had no business ever being there in the first place, but because of her family connections and the prominence that they wanted to regain, she was thrust forward as a candidate when the king began searching for another wife. There are to many things that bothered me with this book. One, it really had nothing to do with Katherine. It was all from the point of her maid, so the title is a bit misleading, and she didn't really confess anything. The slang and the wording was frustrating as it was from outside the time period and did not fit what the vernacular of the time would have been.Could have been a better book, and much more could have been added. There was many holes in the story, and a great many pitfalls.
Cute little story about a boy on the prairie who must learn to read, but finds every reason in the world not to! As he learns more about his letters and words, the world begins to open up for him.
I cannot wait to introduce my boys to this book! Hopefully this will jog my youngest son into wanting to learn to read!
Margaret Pole was born into one of the most powerful families in England. But power does not always mean safety. Daughter of the Duke of Clarence who was executed for Treason, niece to two kings of England, she is hardly just anyone. When her uncle loses his throne to Henry Tudor, she knows what it is like to feel fear. Living daily with the fear and the past is something that she is able to come to grips with. But she slowly manages to keep her fingers in the political games going on in England. Married off to a knight, she finds love with her husband, and after the birth of several children, she learns that her beloved husband has died.
After the death of Henry Tudor, his son Henry VIII takes the throne. Margaret is a friend of the new queen, and through her manages to begin to rebuild her family fortune. She regains her family title, and is now the Countess of Salisbury. But the wheel of fortune doth quickly turn! With her Plantagenet blood, she is constantly under suspicion, and when one of her sons refuses to bend to the kings will in his great matter, her relationship which was already fraying with the king undergoes further deterioration. When her friend is set aside as queen so that Henry can marry another, the political divides become more apparent at court. But what will the future hold for the Countess of Salisbury?
This book was a great read! I had an extremely hard time putting it down! I had read Hazel Pierce's biography of Margaret Pole prior to reading this one, to make sure that I had the basics of her life down. Samantha Wilcoxson has not disappointed. She brings the reader into the story, and you feel as though you are going through the trials along with the Countess. Her life was one of heartbreak and terror. It is amazing that she managed to live such a long life, considering that her brother was executed merely for being a Plantagenet. It might be that she escaped early detection, simply because she was a woman, however, Henry VIII had different plans. While he could be generous, he was demanding and if he thought there was any chance at all of you being disloyal, your life was in jeopardy. There was nothing disappointing in this read at all! You are hooked from the first page! The entire story is enthralling, but specked with sadness as you read about the trials and heartbreaks that Margaret Pole endured in her lifetime.
This coming of age story deals with a young boy, Matt, who while left alone in the wilderness while his father returns home to fetch the rest of their family, learns to survive. He is “befriended” by a young Indian boy, whose grandfather has saved Matt from drowning, or dying from the many bee stings that he received. He is asked to teach Attean how to read, and learn English. During their summer and fall, the two form a strange friendship, each learning from the other as they move through the forest, and the many different stories and facets of their lives. They both realize that they have much to learn.
Their time together is cut short when the Indian tribe moves on, and they ask Matt to accompany them. As he wants to go with them, he knows that he has to stay and wait for his family. While he worries about his family, it is much later than he was expecting them to be there, he wonders if he will survive the winter alone.
This great story is one that everyone should read! Its so cute and a quick read! Kids of any age will enjoy this story.
Thank you NetGalley for the book and the chance to review it
Spoilers
Gemma has her dream job.. she is working in the museum in her home town, and although it can drag at times, especially when she has to sort through dinosaur fossils, there are things that occassionally jump out at her. When she comes across a box that seems to be full of garbage, she finds a hidden treasure at the bottom. The tag on the box has her curiosity peaked, and she asks for permission from her boss to investigate it further, in order to build a exhibit for the museum. With permission granted she dives into an investigation that is going to reverberate much more than she is willing to admit. When her boyfriend dumps her unexpectedly, breaking their engagement, Gemma is shocked and hurt. She has no idea where any of this is coming from, and her best friend has been acting very odd since they got engaged. But that is just the beginning..
Rebecca and Sarah have been raised together since a young age, and when her mother dies, Sarah stays in the house to be Rebecca's companion and friend. While they are not related by blood, they are closer than friends and call each other sisters. In fact, Sarah even begins to call Mr. Winston father. As the girls grow older small cracks in their relationship begin to appear, especially when Charles begins to court Rebecca. They have been reared with the expectation that they should marry when they were older, but only if both were willing to do so. Sarah seems angry with Rebecca for getting the attention of an attractive young man, and seems bent on doing anything that she can to thwart the relationship. Soon afterwards, strange accidents and deaths begin to plague Hill Hall. First, Rebecca's mother tumbles down the stairs and breaks her neck, and then her father begins to suffer from heart issues, and shortly thereafter he dies as well. With her engagement broken off and her fathers will hiding a huge secret, Rebecca is unsure of how her future is going to turn out, that is until Sarah forces a confrontation, one that only one of them is going to walk away from.
Gemma has become so entwined with the history of Hill Hall and the mystery that seems to be hiding within its walls, that she spends her week off going through the archives at Hill Hall. She has to know what is going on, and at the same time, she is pondering the very strange twist that her own life has taken. Her best friend has become deceitful, stealing from Gemma and doing whatever she can to sabotage her life. She knows that it she is going to have to confront Nat, but the thought of it makes her sick to her stomach. After talking to Ben and smoothing things over with him, she knows that she cannot put the confrontation off any longer, especially after discovering the latest twist her “friend” had planned for her...
Kathleen McGurl has created a masterpiece of interwoven history. By combining the stories, you are drawn in to the characters, finding yourself despising some and pitying others. While you have an idea of what is coming next, there are so many twists that you begin to wonder if you are missing something! The end of the book left nothing hanging, and draws it all in neatly. This is a great weekend read!
The Enchantress Returns Alex and Conner are off on their next adventure... to save the fairy tale world and their own! When the Enchantress returns to throw her bid for power, she unleashes a series of events that Alex and Conner are trying to stop. With each of the kingdoms being overtaken and the people captured by large vines, they know its only a matter of time. When they discover that she does not plan to stop with the fairy world, they know that they are going to have to make sure she does not succeed. Follow the twins on their journey through the Land of Stories and the exciting adventures that they are about to embark on!This is a great read, and kids will love it. There are a few words in there that make this less of a childs book and more of a teenage read, however parents reading this aloud to their kids can edit out the words as they go.
Follow Joe Leaphorn and Bergen McKee as they work their way through mystery, death and intrigue. When a wanted man turns up dead with no evidence as to how he died, Leaphorn is disturbed. With more and more reports of a ghost, or a Wolf Man raiding the cattle, rumors begin to fly and the case becomes harder and harder to solve. While Leaphorn is trying to solve that, McKee is trying to unravel the origins of some of the witch stories that have been on the reservation for a while. Needing more case studies, he does his best, but when he is pulled into the middle of the investigation without knowing it, he might just uncover his best lead yet...
This book will not leave you disappointed, and has you hooked from the beginning. It has been described as slow in places, but the webs that are being woven throughout the book deserve a closer look and a chance. I have loved these books for a long time, and being able to sit back and read slowly, I was able to pick up on things that I have missed previously.
Great read! Definitely recommend it as a MUST READ!
THE BRITISH ARE COMING!!
Michael O. Logusz brings to the forefront a little followed section of the American Revolution. When we think of the American Revolution, we think George Washington and his amazing and daring tactics in bringing the British to their end in the American colonies. However, there is much more to this war than many are familiar with.
As we move through the many facets of the Wilderness Campaign, it can get really easy to get bogged down with some of the details. If you are looking for a novel read, this book is NOT for you. But if you want to get a deeper understanding of the Wilderness Campaign of 1777, the major players AND the mistakes that plagued both sides, then this is a MUST READ!! Logusz breaks down the campaign by days, not just notable markers. You get to know the mindset of not only the American Continental Army, but the British Officers as well. Taking the day by day approach, readers are treated to not only to maps and details from correspondence between the leaders, but to the fears and the doubts that plagued both sides. As the troop movements commenced and the Wilderness Campaign heated up, the Northern Army operated as well as they could. Supplies and moral were in place. However, on the British side, things were much different. Lack of supplies, risky intelligence, lack of knowing the area, and loyalist advisors who were in it for themselves, a reader can almost feel as though they are marching through these forests themselves.
Michael Logusz brings readers not only the big picture of how the Wilderness Campaign was lost, but the smaller and finer details that often escape other writers. From some of the first snipers in American history to the murder of Jane McCrea by Native Americans fighting for the British, the nitty-gritty details are brought to the front.
As General John Burgoyne began to prepare for his foray into the war, he studied the maps and what little intelligence that they had concerning the wilderness areas of the colonies. What they did not realize was that their maps were completely out of date and what they were being told from some of the loyalists that were still residing in the areas was not always completely true. According to the maps, what should have been a straight and narrow shot through the countryside was in fact, full of ravines and other obstacles that had not been noted. The British considered the American Patriots weak, and thought the war was won before they even started. As they moved into their first battles with the patriots, they were shocked at the tactics that they employed. To this point, British regulars had only been faced with pitched battles where each side would come out and meet each other head on. Instead, the patriots borrowed from their Native American counterparts, and began to use more guerilla tactics. They hid, they jumped up and fired, then ran. General Burgoyne kept waiting for the many loyalists that he had been told were waiting for the British before they would join but those loyalists never fully materialized. As for the American Patriots who were opposing the British, they were entrenched and more determined than they were given credit for. Even though they lost Fort Ticonderoga early, they managed to not give up much more.
As you read through there are several details that will catch you and make you thumb back a few pages. This is not a bad thing! The facts are such that you have to almost view British and American thought side by side, and Logusz does just that! Grab the book and join the Wilderness Campaign today! From triumph to hesitation, “With Musket and Tomahawk” will take you on a journey that will have you wanting to dive deeper in.
**The one historical discrepancy in the book was the statement that Daniel Webster wrote the dictionary. Noah Webster wrote the dictionary. There is no relation between the two men. **
Very adult themed novel. I do not recommend this for anyone under the age of 21
Catherine is the worst sort of woman out there. But she markets herself as a reliable woman who would make a good wife. She answers an ad placed in a paper by Ralph Truitt and soon is on her way across country via train to meet and marry him.
As they settle into their lives together, Catherine begins to learn more about him. She thinks about her plans and the future she is going to have as a rich widow. Ralph soon asks her to go to Chicago and find his son. He wants him to come home. But there is more to the story than Catherine is willing to admit. Off she goes to Chicago, where she resumes the affair she was having with the son. After a while she returns home to Ralph and systematically begins to poison him to death. There comes a point where she can no longer inflict pain upon him, and she is sure that she loves him. She begins to help him heal.
Antonio is furious and wants his father dead. He wants his money and the life that he feels he deserves. Catherine begins to resist him, and refuses to be a part of the plan any longer. She has not told anyone the biggest secret that she is carrying.
It is all going to come down to one final show down, and there can only be one person left standing.
Edward Tulane is a kept rabbit. His owner dresses him, sets him up for his day and loves him unconditionally. But he only thinks about himself. He feels no affection for anyone other than himself. Soon after they set off on a long journey, Edward is separated from his owner and sets off on a journey of self discovery as he moves through the different lives of those who find him.
Edward is learning the art of less of self and thinking of others. Even though he is a child's toy, his many years of traveling through the many phases of his new owners lives, he learns to appreciate the story that Pellegrina told his first owner many years ago.
Join Edward on this lovable journey!!
I suggest this book for kids ages 8-12.
Peabody and Emerson are hoping for a quiet dig season, but with their son Ramses along for the ride, nothing is going to be quiet.. ever!
As soon as they get to Cairo, they are embroiled in a new mystery and Amelia is sure that there is a master criminal afoot. After two murders and some mysterious disappearances of antiquities, even Emerson has to agree that something is going on.
I LOVE these books. Embroiled with history and a little mystery, these books will keep you chuckling as you go through the pages.
Anne of Brittany was raised with the knowledge that she would rule the Duchy of Brittany. With the premature death of her father, she is thrust onto the political scene at the tender age of 14, and the intrigue is just beginning! Beset with those around her who would rather control her than allow her to be the headstrong young woman she was, she quickly learns that friends cannot always be trusted and those who can should be kept close.
With the turmoil around her, she chooses a marriage alliance which is quickly broken and another marriage set in motion. With the death of her husband, she marries his successor, being crowned for the second time as queen of France.
The tragic details of this young queen are laid out with the upmost respect, and the love that the people she ruled over is plain to see with her own tragic demise.
Great for readers of any age, but written for YA readers.