Avenue of Spies: A True Stor of Terror, Espionage, and One American Family's Heroic Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris by Alex Kershaw

There is a quote from a review by the Chicago Tribune on the cover of Avenue of Spies that reads, "Classic...constructed and written like a thriller."  Another quote on the back cover by Post and Courier states, "A gripping, taut story that will keep readers turning pages long after they should have turned out the light."  All I can say is that we must have read different books.  I have read many thrilling, page-turning books about World War II and the Resistance, but this is most definitely not one of them.

It's not that I doubt the story of American doctor Sumner Jackson, his French wife Toquette, and their son Phillip is true.  I believe it and it is an interesting story, worth noting and remembering.  I salute anyone who participated in the Resistance against the evil of Nazi Germany.  I firmly believe that stories such as theirs must be told so that history never forgets.  However, their story is just not written in a way that was compelling to me. The author, Alex Kershaw, stretched the story into a full novel by inserting facts and stories of other historical characters into the tale of the Jacksons.  He claims to have spent hours interviewing  Phillip Jackson and reading family letters, yet I barely felt like I knew the family or sensed their emotions.

I wish I could recommend this book, but honestly there are myriad other books on this topic that I have read that were much more riveting and worth my time.  Quite the opposite of page-turning, I had to force myself to finish it. I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books in return for my honest review.

June: A Novel by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore

June was a very strange novel.  Indeed, if it weren't for the fact that I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review, I likely would not have finished it.  I had a very difficult time getting into the story, which is always a turn off for me, I want to be hooked right away.  I just didn't particularly like or care about the characters much.  The main character, Cassie (yes I know the book is titled June, but I still deem Cassie the main character), was probably the hardest to like.  Through much of the book she was in some sort of depression or deep funk.  She slept much of the time, didn't take care of herself and let her house fall apart around her.  If you're not rooting for the main character, it's not easy to want to keep reading, but I did.

Another strange thing about the book was that the house that Cassie lived in, her ancestral home, was a character itself, as though it were alive.  The author, Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, referred to the house as thought it had feelings and memories.  Even stranger yet though was that Cassie dreamed true dreams, about actual events that occurred in the life of her grandmother, June, before she was born.  She saw the story of June's life as though it were a movie.

Not strange, but disappointing to me was the way the author stereotyped the lesbian character in the story, Lindie.  She hated wearing dresses and preferred to dress like a boy, even preferred rough and tumble boy's play.  Beverly-Whittemore also stereotyped the people in the fictional town where the book took place.  Being from Michigan myself, I can definitively say that not everyone who is from a small town in the Midwest is dumb, out of touch with the rest of the world, and serves Kraft Mac & Cheese and instant potatoes to company. 

The good thing that June has going for it is surprise twists.  I often didn't know where the story was going and even up until the very end, was not sure how things were going to turn out for the characters. I like that!

Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison by Shaka Senghor

Writing My Wrongs was an interesting read and very eye-opening as to what life is like in the inner city and in the prison system.  The lure of drugs is powerful and lures many into addiction and a life of crime.  It was extremely disheartening to me to learn the story of a young boy who went so wrong.  His own analysis is that his downfall was a mother who physically and emotionally abused him, although he did have a good father.   It has long been my belief that the breakdown of the family is one of the greatest contributors to the increase of incarceration in our society, but the love of Shaka's father couldn't save him.

Shaka's world is rough and grimy at best, but nothing compared to his life in prison.  The inner city of Detroit is indeed hard, but seems mild compared to what exists behind bars.  Corruption, abuse, drugs, gangs, rape and murder abound.  Not exactly an environment for rehabilitation, but more likely a place where the criminal will become even more hardened.

For the majority of his prison sentence for murder, Shaka Senghor blames everyone but himself for his crime and imprisonment.  Like so many people today, he has a difficult time with personal responsibility and owning up to his mistakes.  It is only when he begins the process of self-examination and admits his own failures and shortcomings that he begins the process of turning his life and attitude around. 

However, there were a couple of things that bothered me in this story, which is touted as a story or redemption, inspiration and beauty.  The first is that very close to the end of Shaka's prison term, after he has supposedly changed and become an truly different person, ready to make a difference in the world,  he pays another inmate to stab someone.  His only comment about this is that he was "conflicted about this decision" and then goes on to brag that it was the last act of violence that he took part of in prison.

The second is the reverse prejudice that Shaka Senghor has.  He has a major problem with anyone other than Blacks.  When he is in prison, he reads only Black authors, associates with only brothers.  He talks about how important it is that Black people know where their food comes from.  Really? Isn't it it good that EVERYone knows where their food comes from.  He also has a fantastical view of Africa, as though it were Utopia.  I know through many, many stories from loved ones who are refugees from Africa, that this is far from the truth.  It bothers me when anyone, whether they are a minority or not, is prejudiced that way.

One more warning:  This book contains a lot of foul language.

Braving It: A Father, a Daughter, and an Unforgettable Journey into the Alaskan Wild by James Campbell

Even though I am an "indoorsy" person, I really enjoyed reading Braving It by James Campbell.  It is a memoir of three separate trips that James took with his teenage daughter, Aidan, to the wilds of Alaska. James is an experienced outdoors-man, but is middle-aged and not as fit or healthy as he once was.  Aidan is inexperienced in the wild, but has great stamina, energy and enthusiasm.  Together they make a good team, although as you would expect with a father-teen relationship, things don't always go perfectly.  Emotions and attitudes sometimes collide, but in the end they forge an unbreakable bond as they journey through Alaska.

On their first trip, James and Aidan spend a summer helping James' cousin build a cabin the a remote spot in Alaska's Interior.  Only a few months later, they return for an icy adventure as the same cousin and his wife trap and hunt caribou and moose for their winter food supply.  On the final trip featured in the book, the duo return to Alaska to backpack Brooks Range and then canoe down the Hulahula River to the Arctic Ocean.

Braving It is very well written.  Campbell does an excellent job of ensuring that the reader can see, hear, smell and taste what the Alaskan wilderness is like.  He also captures the relationship between father and daughter, portraying the highs and lows of the trip for them both.  I would recommend it to both indoor and outdoor enthusiasts. I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Together at the Table: A Novel of Lost Love and Second Helpings by Hillary Manton Lodge

Together at the Table is the third book in Hillary Manton Lodges's Two Blue Door series. I have read (and reviewed) all three and very much enjoyed all three. The main character in each book, Juliette D'Alisa is back again.  She and her brother, Nico, have successfully launched a new restaurant, Two Blue Doors--hence the series title.  She loves her job as restaurant manager and is dating the restaurant's sous-chef, Adrian.  Life is mostly good, although she is still mourning the loss of her mother to cancer.

[spoiler alert] Things are turned upside down however when Juliette and Adrian run into Juliette's ex boyfriend, Neil, in the park.  It is obvious to Adrian that Neil still loves Juliette and he questions Juliette's feelings for Neil. Adrian panics and asks Juliette to marry him in front of her entire family at her birthday party.  Unprepared and unsure of her own heart, Juliette refuses and not long after the two break up.  Juliette soon admits that Neil does still hold a place in her heart and they start their relationship anew. When a fire damages Two Blue Doors and Juliette's apartment above the restaurant, Juliette comes to see that she is in love with Neil and the two elope just before a family trip to Italy.

I like the fact that things are nicely wrapped up in this third book.. It's good to see Juliette happy and in love. In the first book of the Two Blue Door series, A Table by the Window, Juliette had discovered love letters written by her grandmother.  They revealed a family mystery that Juliette is determined to solve.  She makes a trip to her family's chateau in Italy in each book, attempting to put the pieces together.  In this book, the truth is finally uncovered. I think the series could continue, but I was pleased that the author didn't string us along with either Juliette's love life or the family mystery. 

My only complaint with Together at the Table is that I really wouldn't classify it as Christian fiction.  Juliette goes to church a handful of times and is married by clergy, but that's about it.  It is clean fiction and has good lessons in it about the value of family and sacrificial love, but barely any reference to God and none to Scripture.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink

The five days that author Sheri Fink writes about in Five Days at Memorial were five VERY long days.  At first the book was interesting, but after a while it really started to drag for me.  I found myself looking to see how many more pages I had to read.  Honestly, I might not have finished it if not for my commitment to read and honestly review it for Blogging for Books. I will also say that I'm glad I received it for free in exchange for that honest review.

Except for a few main characters, it was very difficult to keep the various doctors, nurses, and patients straight.  There were so many of them, on top of relatives of the staff, families of the patients, law enforcement, government officials, helicopter pilots, lawyers and prosecutors, etc. etc. The names became a blur rather quickly.

I did appreciate the questions that the book raised: which patients should be prioritized (during a catastrophic emergency) and can health professionals ever be excused for hastening death?  These questions may seem very black and white under ordinary circumstances, but in the midst of a disaster such as a hurricane they become much more gray.  Faced with oppressive heat, loss of electricity, the stench of overflowing toilets, the threat of looting and other criminal misbehavior, lack of sleep, water and food shortages, fear and even panic, what would you do?  How would I act?

I found that I could see things from both sides.  I could imagine how overwhelming it must have been for the hospital staff who undertook the care of so many critically ill patients in such dire conditions.  I could also empathize with the families who wanted answers as to how and why their loved ones died. I think the author did a decent job of trying to present circumstances from both groups.

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

Evicted is a fascinating read:  True stories of both tenants and landlords in the inner city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The author, Mathew Desmond, spent years following and interviewing eight families living in the poorest neighborhoods in the country.  Four of the families live in multi-family apartments owned by Sherrena, a seasoned black landlord who is tough and often heartless.  The other four families live in a decrepit rat-infested trailer park owned by Tobin, a hardened white landlord who is gutsy and sometimes willing to negotiate, yet is all about the bottom line.

The stories of these eight families are both enlightening and heartbreaking.  They get under your skin and are hard to get off your mind. They are in many ways bound by their pasts, childhoods usually riddled with abuse, neglect, and violence.  Often ruled by addiction, they make poor choices in how to spend their money and who to trust. They misuse alcohol and drugs, both prescription and street. They waste opportunities and blow second and third chances. They seem bound to live in poverty forever, one generation after another.

Yet, there are glimmers of hope.  They love their children and grandchildren. They still dream of more.  They understand the value of a quality education. They hope for good jobs. They want a better tomorrow for themselves and their families. Just like you and just like me.

That is the main lesson I take away from this book.  The poor, the downtrodden, those who are standing at the curb with their belongings in a heap around them, the drug-addicted, the filthy, the alcoholic, the mentally ill could be me.  As a Christ follower, I often pray that I will see others through God's eyes.  That I will learn to love them as he does.  This book helped me to do just that, and I am grateful for it.