The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons

Next on the list from my friend was another World War 2 book, and just a heads up, the book I'm reading now is also WW2 era. So many good stories inspired by such a colossally horrific chapter in history.

Our heroine is Elise, a bourgeois Jewish girl from Austria, whose mother is a famous Opera singer and father is an author. Her sister inherited her mother's beauty and talent, leaving Elise with little beauty other than her father's jet black hair. Times are changing for Jews in Vienna and the family makes preparations to go to America. Since no visa could be procured for Elise, she is sent to be a housemaid in an English country home where she would be safe and she must learn to adapt from her life of comfort to becoming a member of the working class. Upon her arrival at Tyneford, the house in which she will be working, she meets Kit, the 20-year old son of the master of the house. They strike up a friendship, one that helps her bear the weight of the trials and tragedies that come her way during the upcoming years.

I found this to be a very beautiful and well-written story. I grew to respect Elise and the grace with which she learns to handle her lot, especially compared to the immature tantrum-throwing child of 19 years she was when she left Vienna. This was not a happy, feel-good kind of novel, which I think is actually much more appropriate considering the setting, but I loved it completely. I'm a happy ending kind of girl, and while this one did end well, it wasn't the "happily ever after" I usually hope for when reading a book.

On the cover is printed something to the effect of "Fans of Downton Abbey will love The House at Tyneford!" I had never seen Downton Abbey but kept hearing friends rave about it, so when my husband and I got a week trial of Hulu Plus (to try and catch up on a different show that turns out wasn't actually available, but that's a whole other story) we decided to give it a try. We finished the 2 seasons during our trial and it was kind of fun to be reading this book at the same time. They definitely have their similarities: centered around a world war, give a good view of the upstairs vs downstairs life, in England, etc. So if you are a fan of Downton Abbey, you probably would enjoy this book. However, I wouldn't limit my recommendation to only those people; I think many would enjoy it.

4 out of 5 stars

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

This was another recommendation from my friend. I knew I'd love this book just from the title: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. How can you not love a book with such an awesome title??

Written in letters, this story is set at the end of World War 2 on a little island off the coast of England called Guernsey. Juliet Ashton, a writer, receives a letter from a stranger in Guernsey and they strike up a friendship. He writes her of the German occupation of their island during the war and how their literary society came to be and how it bonded the islanders together during a difficult time. Juliet is so intrigued by their stories that she decides to write a book on the experiences of her new Guernsey friends.

What I loved most about this book were the characters. Other books I've read written in this style (letters or journal entries) have come off as disjointed and choppy and unrelatable. It can be hard to care about the story without a constant storyline, which is what made me appreciate this book even more. I was able to pick out small details in the writing and try to draw my own conclusions between the characters, hope and guess about potential romances, in different ways from traditional novels. I loved the main character, Juliet. She has gumption. And I absolutely fell in love with the people of Guernsey and their stories. I felt like they became my friends and I cared about what happened in their lives. There is one character, Elizabeth, whom everyone speaks about but Juliet never actually gets to meet, and yet by the end of the book, you feel as though you know her and care about her better than anyone else. I learned that they are making this book into a movie in the next year or so and Kate Winslet is supposed to play Juliet. I adore Kate Winslet and think she'd be a perfect cast.

I definitely recommend this one!!

4 out of 5 stars

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

Last week I ran out of things to read. After I finished North and South, I started to panic because none of the books on my to-read list were at the local library, and heaven forbid I should go even a day without reading material. So I polled some friends during a play group for our kids and got a great list of books. The next few book reviews on this blog will be a result from their recommendations. Thank goodness for fellow bookworm friends!

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt was a delightful feel-good book that left me with warm fuzzies all over. CeeCee, a 12 year old girl living in Ohio, has been raised by a mentally ill mother who frequently acts out her delusions that she is still the Vidalia Onion Beauty Queen from her youth in Georgia. She dresses up in prom gowns from the local Good Will and parades herself around town, humiliating her daughter. When CeeCee's mother is hit by a car and killed, her father, who chose to ignore his wife's illness and desert his family, comes to arrange for CeeCee to move to Georgia to live with her Great Aunt Tootie. Leaving the past behind, CeeCee is able to live and heal and thrive under her kind aunt's care and she meets many wise people who help her learn to move on and love her mother's memory.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If ever in the mood for a good, soul-uplifting story, I heartily recommend this one. I really enjoyed the characters that CeeCee meets in Georgia. Pretty much all of the significant characters, aside from her father, are women and there sure were some powerhouse ladies to help CeeCee along her way. The story is set in the 1960s and it kind of made me wish I'd grown up in the south. As a California girl, I can truly say that I've never, ever wished that before, but there is something so charming about southern hospitality and the way women back then took care of each other. Although it also reminded me of the racial inequality of the times, making me grateful for how far we have come as a nation.

Loved this story. Perfect for reading snuggled under a blanket on a cold day.

4 out of 5 stars