Book Review: Orphan Monster Spy, by Matt Killeen @by_Matt_Killeen

Right before the holidays is probably not the best time to read Orphan Monster Spy, since it is a chilling tale about a child spying during World War II. It's a very compelling novel, but I'm glad I'm finished!

Sarah has nothing left. She's just witnessed her mother being shot as they were trying to escape. She's on her own, it is cold, she's hungry, and she has no papers. She gets some advice from a mysterious stranger as to how to get herself on the ferry to escape, but she ends up saving this stranger rather than saving herself.

An unlikely partnership begins, as she realizes this man is working for the resistance.  Sarah, although a Jew, is blond and blue-eyed, and she can help him.  After everything she's been through, what does she have to lose?

Orphan Monster Spy is an uncomfortable book. Sarah must decide to sacrifice--potentially everything--over and over again as she takes incredible risks to complete her mission. Her decisions are reckless and somewhat unbelievable, but they serve to mount the tension and danger to unbelievable heights.

Teens will get a different perspective of the war, and also see what a difference one person can make if committed to a cause. It is ultimately a story of triumph over all odds that is very satisfying. Orphan Monster Spy is written for teens but also recommended to adults who are interested in another perspective of WWII.

Published by Viking BFYR, March 20, 2018
eBook obtained from the library
432 pages

Rating: 4.5/5

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Book Review: The Hired Girl, by Laura Amy Schlitz

Well I love historical fiction, so I loved The Hired Girl.

Joan, who is 14, has had to quit school and work to support her father and brothers on their poor Pennsylvania farm. It's 1911. Joan's mother has died and she is the only one to do the "woman's work" that her brutal father demands. Joan wants nothing more than to go to school and become a teacher. It's what her mother had planned for her too.

Joan devises a plan and using money that her mother hid in her doll, Joan runs away to Baltimore. She is taken in by a Jewish family to be their hired girl. At $6 per week, Joan, who now goes by Janet, feels like she is well on her way to financial independence.  She becomes attached to this family, even though she's never met anyone Jewish before. She works hard and also makes some serious mistakes.

The Hired Girl moves at a slow, methodical pace. It's written in the form of a diary, which adds to the atmosphere. There's a forbidden romance and some tense moments, but mostly the tone is very even. I'm not sure if that's the right word, but suffice it to say that my heart didn't ever pound. I never cried. I was never frightened. It kept my interest, though, and was very entertaining.

The Hired Girl is an ALA Notable Book, and has won the Scott O'Dell award for historical fiction as well as some other awards for Jewish literature. As I find is often the case with award books, I don't think The Hired Girl will be very popular in my library. However, for the historical fiction reader, this one is not to be missed.

Published by Candlewick, 2015
Copy obtained from the library
387 pages

Rating: 4/5

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Book Review: The Girl in the Blue Coat, by Monica Hesse

Girl in the Blue Coat held my interest and added to my knowledge of affairs during World War II. I know it was supposed to be tense and exciting, but that's where I found it a bit lacking.

Hanneke is doing her best to survive and take care of her parents in Amsterdam after the German occupation. It's 1943, and Hanneke is lucky to have a job working for an undertaker. She also has a secret job locating things on the black market for people who can pay for them.

When one of her customers reveals she has been hiding a Jewish girl in her pantry and that the girl has disappeared, Hanneke's life changes. She doesn't know where to begin to find out what happened to this girl who was wearing a blue coat, but she can't help but try.  She ends up being unwillingly drawn into the Dutch Resistance and taking risks that she never believed she would take.

Girl in the Blue Coat is an easy, quick read. And it's historical fiction, my favorite, so I enjoyed the time I spent. I did learn about the role of the Dutch in Hitler's plans and how the people, especially the Jews, suffered under the occupation.

I just didn't really emotionally connect with Hanneke or her story. I found it informative, but not emotional. I can't say why, and other readers might have a totally different reaction. So I would still recommend Girl in the Blue Coat to my readers who want more Holocaust and WWII stories. 

Published by Little, Brown BFYR, April 5, 2016
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
320 pages

Rating: 3.5/5

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Audio Book Review: The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman

As is often the case with the audiobooks I choose, I enjoyed The Marriage of Opposites but if I were reading a paper copy I wouldn't have made it through.

It's an interesting story and based on true characters. In the early 1800s, Rachel and her parents have escaped the Jewish inquisition and fled to the island of St. Thomas. There is a substantial Jewish community on the island as well as the native population and the slaves the Jewish people brought with them. Rachel ends up giving birth to the famous painter Camille Pissarro, the father of impressionism, but The Marriage of Opposites is very much Rachel's story.

Rachel is forced to marry an older widow for the sake of the family business. When this man dies, his nephew, Frederick, arrives from France to settle the financial matters and run the business. Frederick and Rachel fall in love and even though the Jewish religion won't allow their marriage, they live together and begin a family. This scandal is one of the biggest dramas of the story.

Rachel also has a friend, Jestine, who is their housekeeper's daughter. Jestine provides more drama as she gives birth out of wedlock, and the child is stolen by the father. I don't want to say too much more about that.

Rachel doesn't want Camille to be an artist. They want him to be a part of the family business. Various people go in and out of Rachel's and Camille's lives and add interest, but I found the story to be very meandering. Hoffman, however is a great writer, and the narrators were very good so I never wanted to abandon the story.

But when you look back on it, not that much happened. I've listened to The Dovekeepers also and thought that was a much more exciting story.

While The Marriage of Opposites was an interesting story, it just wasn't very exciting and moved a bit slowly for me.

Published by Simon & Schuster, 2015
Copy obtained from the library
384 pages

Rating: 3/5

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