I loved this story because it showed me insights of the terrible existence of the prisoners at Auschwitz.
Iturbe details the food and lack thereof, the clothing and lack thereof, the beds and lack thereof. But also he showed how they managed to survive on their own terms in some ways. Knowing that this young adult historical fiction is based on the life of a survivor of Auschwitz made reading it all the more compelling and often eye-opening.
The main character, 14-year-old Dita, is both endearing and strong thus becoming the perfect navigator through the harsh details of life in an internment camp. I highly recommend reading this story.
Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezin ghetto in Prague, Dita is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. When Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards, she agrees. And so Dita becomes the librarian of Auschwitz.
Out of one of the darkest chapters of human history comes this extraordinary story of courage and hope.
I enjoyed this story for several reasons. First and foremost, reading this series makes me feel closer to my dear mother-in-law who passed away in 2009. She loved Dunnet!
I hadn’t read anything by this author until I started reading this series. Each book opens a new world to me, whether in Scotland or England or France, with the history of the place and the people brought vividly to life.
Secondly, I’m enjoying the series because Dunnet has such a wonderful way with language and storytelling that I find her writing beautiful and elegant and often tongue-in-cheek funny. This historical fiction is entertaining as well as educational.
Combining all the political intrigue of Game of Thrones with the sweeping romanticism of Outlander, Dorothy Dunnett’s legendary Lymond Chronicles have enthralled readers for decades and amassed legions of devoted fans. In this fourth book in the series, Francis Crawford of Lymond embarks on a desperate and deadly journey in search of his kidnapped child.
Somewhere within the bejeweled labyrinth of the Ottoman Empire, a little boy is hidden. Now his father, Francis Crawford of Lymond, soldier of fortune and the exiled heir of Scottish nobility, is searching for him while ostensibly engaged on a mission to the Turkish Sultan.…
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Hobbit especially after visiting Hobbiton and Rivendell while traveling in New Zealand. I’ve seen the movie but hadn’t read Tolkien’s prose so I decided to rectify my oversight and started reading The Hobbit. I’m so glad I did!
There is more to the story than what is seen in the movie and having the background, the mythology, the motivations more clearly defined helped make the story even better. Definitely worth a read if you haven’t already!
Special collector's film tie-in hardback of the best-selling classic, featuring the complete story with a sumptuous cover design inspired by THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY and brand new reproductions of all the drawings and maps by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End.
But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey 'there and back again'. They have a plot to raid…
Audrey Harper needs more than home and hearth to satisfy her self-worth. Working as a music critic for the Baltimore Daily during WWII, she’s enjoyed both financial freedom and personal satisfaction. When she uncovers evidence of German spies working to sabotage a secret bomber plane being manufactured in her beloved city, she must choose between her sense of duty to protect her city and the urgings of her boss, her family, and her fiancé to turn over her evidence to the authorities. But when her choices lead her and her sister into danger, she is forced to risk life and limb to save her sister and bring the spies to justice.
