Two Book Recommendations

Based on the very little sewing I've done lately my March goals may be just a tad too lofty. Oh, well, instead of news from the quilting room, let me share with you a couple of excellent books I've recently finished.

In looking for a photo to share here, I discovered that there are quite a few links to discussions of I Must Betray You, which of course, I perused. First, it is considered YA fiction, which I completely did not pick up on while reading it. Shame on me for that! I taught high school and college English for over 40 years! With a teenage main character, though, it totally works for teens. It would be a fascinating book to read with young people now that I think on it.

The novel is set in Communist Romania in the late 1980s just prior to and including the 1989 revolution. I was a young working mother at the time, and while I was aware of the horror stories on the news, I didn't have a depth of knowledge about the conditions and strife occurring there. This book provided quite an education for me, consequently, at the oppression Romanians suffered under the communist rule of Nicolae Ceausescu and his armed spies and informers. They recruited regular everyday citizens to be informers which resulted in no one being able to trust even their closest family members. Mothers, fathers, siblings, best friends - all were suspicious. The level of fear and suspicion grew as the story unfolded, and I was left wondering just how deeply the informing had seeped into the circle of our main character's family and friends. 

I highly recommend. Here are some links that were of interest to me; it looks as if it is being made into a movie. Ruta Sepetys homepage  United Pop  YouTube trailer  Amazon

After finishing I Must Betray You, I was reluctant to begin another book. It had a significant lingering effect. However, I did start another book, and it was just as wonderful, thankfully.

Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave is just as gripping and rewarding a read. A whole lot of WWII fiction has been released lately, so I was skeptical that yet another telling would really offer nothing new. This book, however, offered up characters who engaged in the war effort in ways I'd not previously considered. The setting is London and our characters are young adults with a certain amount of privilege in their background and upbringing. However, they do their parts with heartbreaking results, in some cases. I was most captivated by the amazing prose of the author. I listened to an audio book but would totally consider buying a copy just to reread and underline some of his incredible descriptions and comparisons. Poetry on every page. Here are some links to investigate. Amazon  Publisher/Author Page  Goodreads 

Now I must get going! 

Happy Quilting, Friends!