Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

I remember a lot of my classmates were assigned this book at some point in elementary school. Our class never read it, but I'm glad I picked it up now! This is a great fictional introduction to World War II for younger readers. While it avoids any sort of graphic images, it does still portray the fear and violence civilians faced during the conflict. I also learned a bit of history I didn't know about-the mass resistance of Danes by sneaking most Jews out of their country to Sweden. This book is really good, for any age!

137 pages

Read Harder Challenge Task #20

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

So I read this book last year for my book club. Then for a reunion next month, I was asked to lead a book discussion on it. I had to read it again; my memory is no longer good enough to remember it well enough to lead a discussion after having read it a year ago! But it's a good book, so I didn't mind.

In the quiet village of Carriveau, France in 1939, the village men leave for the Front, and war with Germany. Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, not believing that the Nazis will invade France...but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs.

When a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.
Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious 18-year-old girl searching for purpose. She joins the Resistance, risking her life time and again to save others.

597 pages