The Blackout Book Club

GIVEAWAY

GREEN, AMY LYNN

THE BLACKOUT BOOK CLUB

An impulsive promise to her brother before he goes off to the European Front puts Avis Montgomery in the unlikely position of head librarian in small-town Maine. Though she has never been much of a reader, when wartime needs threaten to close the library, she invents a book club to keep its doors open. The women she convinces to attend the first meeting couldn't be more different -- a wealthy spinster determined to aid the war effort, and exhausted mother looking for a fresh start, and a determined young war worker.

At first, the struggles of the home front are all the club members have in common, but over time, the books they choose become more than an escape from the hardships of life and the fear of the U-boat battles that rage just past their shores. As the women face personal challenges and band together in the face of danger, they find they share more in common with each other than they think. But when their growing friendships are tested by secrets of the past and present, they must decide whether depending on each other is worth the cost.

My Review:

An enthralling read that I found easy to lose myself in. This world, these characters, the particular time in history -- all combined to engage my imagination so that when I wasn't reading 'The Blackout Book Club', I was working out side stories in my mind. Love it when a novel provides that kind of springboard to creativity!

Told from four points of view, we follow an eclectic mix of women on the Homefront during WWII. There's Avis, an anxious housewife reluctantly turned librarian, Louise, a duty bound wealthy spinster with a sour disposition, young Ginny who is holding onto dreams that might never come true, and Martina, a desperate mother on the run. Thrown together in an impromptu book club endeavour that takes on a life of its own, they form an unlikely sisterhood in the face of adversity.

Loved the character growth -- the equal sharing from each point of view -- and the way these disparate women gradually let their guard down and learn to trust one another. The real strength of this novel is in the building of relationships. The conviction that we are better together than apart. It's uplifting and moving and crescendos into a ricochet of gasp-out-loud revelations by the end.

And the historical details are so fascinating. I had no idea that the United States' eastern shores were under such threats during the war. 

The bookish references delighted me, the club minutes written in each member's unique 'voice' brought comic relief to the weighted topics in this novel. And the lure of a non-reading reluctant librarian (spoiler alert: she learns to love books!) is so appealing...if hard to comprehend. How does anyone none love books?!

Amy Lynn Green is a masterful storytelling and she kept me engaged right to very last word.

While I received a copy from the publisher, I purchased the audible edition as well and thoroughly enjoyed Leah Horowitz's narration. She did a great job of giving each protagonist their own unique voice.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback copy. 

If you would like a chance to win a copy of The Blackout Book Club leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday November 26 2022 . Offer open to International Readers.

The Lines Between Us

GIVEAWAY

GREEN, AMY LYNN

THE LINES BETWEEN US

A WWII novel of courage and conviction, based on the true experience fo the men who fought fires as conscientious objectors and the women who fought prejudice to serve in the Women's Army Corps.

Since the attack on Pearl Harbor, Gordon Hooper and his buddy Jack Armitage have stuck to their values as conscientious objectors. Much to their families' and country's chagrin, they volunteer as smokejumpers rather than enlisting enlisting, parachuting into and extinguishing raging wildfires in Oregon. But the number of winter blazes they're called to seems suspiciously high, and when an accident leaves Jack badly injured, Gordon realizes the facts don't add up.

A member fo the Women's Army Corps, Dorie Armitage has long been ashamed of her brother's pacifism, but she's shocked by news of his accident. Determined to find out why he was harmed, she arrives at the national forest under the guise of conducting an army report...and finds herself forced to work with Gordon. He believes it's wrong to lie, she's willing to do whatever it takes for justice to be done. As they search for clues, Gordon and Dorie must wrestle with their convictions about war and peace and decide what to do with the troubling secrets they discover.

My Review:

Another book that took me to unexpected places.

First, kudos to the author for finding a fresh WWII angle to write from. The Homefront setting has so many aspects I've never considered before. In The Lines Between Us (brilliant title tie-in, by the way), Green takes a hard look at the role of Conscientious Observers among some other controversial topics that left me with lots to ponder over.

While not completely epistolary fiction, letters and other documentation are scattered through out the narrative. I liked the way they enhance the storytelling and bring the reader closer to the characters and the mystery. 

Speaking of characters. I adored Gordon from the very first page. Dorie...not so much. This heroine riled me early on and kept me stewing for quite a while. She's opinionated and judgemental and brash. Feisty. Outrageously outspoken. More apt to act before thinking anything through. She's a firecracker and while I loved her spunk, it was the bitterness and ill-conceived convictions that had me seething. 

But, thankfully, Dorie is on a journey and the author does an incredible job with characterization. Not only with her heroine but with Gordon and a multitude of secondary characters as well. I felt like I'd been stretched and pummelled and pulled apart by the end of this novel. My heart is still tender and sore and I don't mind confessing I cried in a few places. 

"There's a lot of judgment in the bible."

"And a lot of grace."..."When I learn how to find the balance, I'll let you know." (p117)

This story, these characters, have worked their way into my heart and left me with some life altering takeaways. I'm still hashing through a briar patch of tangled thoughts and feelings over the many ways I can see history repeating itself. And wondering what I can do to help stop that endless loop of repetition. Always a great thing when a book sparks a desire in a reader to look deeper.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  The Lines Between Us, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add your email to a comment, remember to use AT AND DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday October 30  2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

Things We Didn't Say

GIVEAWAY

GREEN, AMY LYNN

THINGS WE DIDN'T SAY

Headstrong Johanna Berglund, a linguistics student at the University of Minnesota, has very definite plans for her future...plans that do not include returning to her hometown and the secrets and heartaches she left behind there. but the US Army wants her to work as a translator at a nearby camp for German POWs,

Johanna arrives to find the once-sleepy town exploding with hostility. Most patriotic citizens want nothing to do with German soldiers laboring in their fields, and they're not afraid to criticize those who work at the camp as well. When Johanna describes the trouble to her friend Peter Ito, a language instructor at a school for military intelligence officers, he encourages her to give the town that rejected her a second chance.

As Johanna interacts with the men of the camp and censors their letters home, she begins to see the prisoners in a more sympathetic light. But advocating for better treatment makes her enemies in the community, especially when charismatic German spokesman Stefan Werner begins to show interest in Johanna and her work. The longer Johanna wages her home-front battle, the more the lines between compassion and treason become blurred -- and it's no longer clear whom she can trust.

My Review:

Highly anticipated. Unexpected. Riveting. Completely different. And so much more it's going to be hard to to justice to this book in a review.

First, you must be a fan of epistolary fiction -- or at least dive in with an open mind -- because the entire novel is made up of letters with the exception of a few newspaper articles. I've been a fan of this genre since reading Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster in fifth grade. But these books are few and far between and the only other one that stands out for me right now is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Loved both those books and the way their stories unfold through letters so if you are also a fan then Things We Didn't Say is a book I think you will enjoy.

In a way, this letter writing approach keeps a reader at arms length since our scope is limited to the letters. We don't have 'real time' scenes with characters interacting or are allowed into the inner thoughts of a protagonist like a traditionally written novel. But there's something deliciously tantalizing about reading a treasure trove of correspondence while fitting the pieces of disparate lives together in order to make a cohesive whole. I kinda felt like part detective and part genealogist.

And the pacing is impeccable. It took me just a few letters to get into the rhythm and then I was compulsively reading all the way. Johanna's on a journey of self-discovery. She isn't always lovable but she grows on you as her world and her choices open up and she comes to terms with some hard truths. And untruths. She's blunt and funny and so very real! One of my favourite quotes: "Real life is dreadfully tedious, the way it interrupts reading." :-)

And there are so many layers to this novel -- addressing all kinds of war issues that I never even thought about. I'm always amazed and appreciative when authors open new aspects of a historical topic I thought I was well-versed in! 

An engrossing inspirational historical fiction debut!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback OR an ebook copy -- winner's choice

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Things We Didn't Say, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday December 25 2020. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!