After finishing The Nightingale, I feel confident this was one of the best books I've read in a while. The story follows two sisters living in France during World War II. Each sister contributes to the war effort in her own right--Vianne, the older, more reserved sister, transitions from a caregiver/survivor to a courageous hero as she takes on challenges she never thought possible. Isabelle, an outspoken risk-taker, challenges gender roles both physically and mentally as she becomes an integral part of the resistance movement. While the sisters have a tumultuous relationship, it's interesting to see how each one influences the other's role in the war. The text may be long, but the narrative moves quickly and includes many plot twists that kept me reading late at night (well, late for me). I can honestly say this book brought me to tears more times than I can count--both tears of sadness and admiration. One of my favorite aspects to this book is how it exposes the different roles women assumed throughout the war--many roles that superseded gender expectations. Kristin Hannah explains how her inspiration lied in exposing some of the stories of these unsung heroes. There's a line in the book where Vianne says something about how when it comes to war stories, "men remember and women move on," which partially explains why some of these women's stories are left unheard. Even though it's not based on specific women from history, it does capture the essence of what many women did during World War II. As such, I noted this book as the "female heroine" story option on the Book Challenge list.
You will enjoy this book if you like...
- Sarah's Key
- Beneath a Scarlet Sky
- The Diary of Anne Frank
- Night
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Over winter break, I indulged in a pseudo-beach read/guilty pleasure book. After hearing so much praise for the award-winning HBO show, Big Little Lies, I decided to give the book a try. Many friends had recommended the book in the past, but it's somewhat out of my usual canon. While it does fall under the murder mystery genre that I typically enjoy, it also includes the relationship dramas that I usually prefer to see through my reality TV shows (yes, my taste in TV isn't the best). Regardless of my hesitation to read it, I ended up greatly enjoying this book. The narrative is easy to follow, and while somewhat predictable at times (I guessed two of the "plot twists" well before they were revealed), it exposes real human flaws that make some of the characters rather relatable . Each character deals with certain insecurities that s/he fears exposing to the rest of the world. Many put on these great facades and attempt to make their lives look more perfect than they really are. I liked reading a text that exposed this human imperfection. I will also say that since I have started watching the show, and while some noticeable changes have been made (setting, characters, etc.), it is very entertaining, nonetheless.
You will enjoy this book if you like...
The Husband's Secret
The Woman in Cabin 10
Small Great Things
The Widow
The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson
I just finished reading the first book in Dot Hutchinson's "Collector's Trilogy," titled The Butterfly Garden. This suspenseful novel follows FBI agent Victor Hanoverian as he interviews one of the found hostages, Maya, who was kidnapped and held hostage by a serial killer, known as "the Gardener." "The Gardener" is a wealthy man from New York City who obsesses over youth and beauty. He tries to preserve both ideas by kidnapping and torturing young women. He holds them hostage in a garden he created to live out his twisted fantasy.The novel's plot switches back and forth between the interviews between Victor and Maya, and Maya's narrative explaining what led to her capturing and the events that followed her being taken hostage. Maya's narrative is both gruesome and heart-wrenching. It reminds me a lot of a cross between a horror movie and a Law & Order SVU episode . While the author doesn't go too into the gory details of what the disturbing Gardener does to his captive butterflies, it still provides enough to scare the readers. Hutchinson develops some inspirational yet complex characters. The book is an easy read in terms of language, but difficult based on the sensitivity of the subject matter.
You will enjoy this book if you like...
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series
- Sharp Objects
- All the Missing Girls
- The Girl on the Train
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Calahan
Per recommendation from a former student, Alex Bridger, I am currently reading Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan. This book is a memoir/semi-autobiographical account of Cahalan's struggle trying to determine the cause of her "descent into madness." Calahan openly admits in the Preface that despite writing the book as a memoir, she's technically an unreliable narrator because she can't accurately account for all of her actions and emotions during this struggle. The book is absolutely riveting. I'm about halfway through and keep finding myself trying to guess the cause of Cahalan's medical condition. Calahan relives this moment in her life by taking readers through the experience so that it feels like the readers are living this nightmare with her. She offers reflective commentary as she revisits this difficult moment in her past. She includes pictures, journal entries, medical reports, and more from that moment in her life. The organization of Calahan's narrative makes it hard to put the book down. Moreover, Calahan's craft as an investigative reporter allows this memoir/autobiographical work to read more like a mystery novel.
Since the content of this memoir is very different from any other work I have reader before, it's hard to share titles that relate, Instead, here are a list of genres and topics that fit this work:
- Memoir writing
- Non-fiction writing
- Mental illness
- Medical conditions
Why I Love It: The pace of the book makes it difficult for the reader to put it down. While it's technically not nonfiction, the novel is based on the real events of a Pino Lella, a young Italian man who served as an unsung hero throughout World War II. In addition to contributing to an underground railroad that helped Jews escape from Italy into Switzerland, Lella became a spy for the Allies while serving as the driver to a ranking German Nazi. The heroic tale is incredibly inspiring because it follows a seemingly normal teenager who demonstrates how any "average person" can be a hero. What also makes this a great read is knowing the author, Mark Sullivan, spent time interviewing Pino Lella. Sullivan did his best to bring life to Lella's courageous efforts during World War II. Moreover, it includes an element of romance that helps balance out the intense and horrifying images of the war.
You will like this book if you enjoyed...
- The Zookeeper's Wife
- The Book Thief
- Sarah's Key
- Night
- Number the Stars
- Those Who Saved Us
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