Welcome to Mailbox Monday, the weekly meme created by Marcia of To Be Continued, where book lovers share the titles they received for review, purchased, or otherwise obtained over the past week. Mailbox Monday currently is on tour, and this month’s host is Book Obsessed.
Here’s what I received:
For review:
The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes — from Pamela Dorman Books/Viking
France, 1916: Artist Édouard Lefèvre leaves his young wife, Sophie, to fight at the front. when their small town falls to the Germans in the midst of World War I, Édouard’s portrait of Sophie draws the eye of the new Kommandant. As the officer’s dangerous obsession deepens, Sophie decides to risk everything — her family, her reputation, and her life — for the chance to see her husband again.
Almost a century later, Sophie’s portrait is given to Liv Halston by her young husband shortly before his sudden death. A chance encounter reveals the painting’s true worth, and a battle begins over its troubled history. Was the painting looted during the war? Who is to pay retribution? And who is the true owner now? As the layers of the painting’s dark past are revealed, Liv’s life is turned upside down all over again. And her belief in what is right is put to the ultimate test…
Jojo Moyes’s word-of-mouth bestseller, Me Before You, catapulted her to wide critical acclaim and struck a chord with readers everywhere. Now, with The Girl You Left Behind, Moyes returns with another irresistible heartbreaker — a breathtaking story of love, loss, and sacrifice told with her signature ability to capture our hearts. (publisher’s summary)
Duke by Kirby Larson — from Scholastic
With World War II raging and his father fighting overseas in Europe, eleven-year-old Hobie Hanson is determined to do his part to help his family and his country, even if it means giving up is beloved German shepherd, Duke. Hoping to help end the war and bring his dad home faster, Hobie decides to donate Duke to Dogs for Defense, an organization that urges Americans to “loan” their pets to the military to act as sentries, mine sniffers, and patrol dogs. Hobie immediately regrets his decision and tries everything he can to get Duke back, even jeopardizing his friendship with the new boy at school. But when his father is taken prisoner by the Germans, Hobie realizes he must let Duke go and reach deep within himself to be brave. Will Hobie ever see Duke, or his father, again? Will life ever be the same?
With powerful storytelling and gripping emotion, critically acclaimed author Kirby Larson explores the many ways bravery and love help us to weather the most difficult times. (publisher’s summary)
Free ebooks:
Harvard 1914 by Allegra Jordan
It is the twilight of innocence: America 1914. As Europe goes to war, Helen, a Boston bluestocking, begins her studies at Harvard-Radcliffe. Riley, a carefree British playboy more interested in chasing women than studying, sets his sights on her. He is surprised to find his adversary in love is not Helen’s protective brother, but Riley’s own cousin, Wils Brandl. As the roar of war begins to penetrate the quiet walls of Harvard, Wils, a brooding poet and German noble, must return to Europe and face a war for which he is not prepared. Set in Boston and Flanders Fields, Harvard 1914 explores love, war, and a new social imagination. (publisher’s summary)
Making Light in Terezín by Richard Krevolin with Nancy Cohen
If you have ever been touched, or had your life changed, by a song, film, book or performance, you inherently understand the transformative power of the arts. In this new book based upon interviews conducted for the documentary film, Making Light in Terezín, Richard Krevolin reveals the true story of how, in WWII’s darkest days, prisoners in the Terezín ghetto (outside of Prague) made light and found a mechanism for survival through theater, song, dance and laughter.
Making Light in Terezín follows a modern day Minnesota theater group as they travel to Terezín to perform a cabaret piece originally created and enacted there during WWII. (publisher’s summary)
Swan by Katherine Hole
From the beginning Madeline’s life was a narrative of disappointment and broken dreams. Plump, plain and past her sell by date, happiness and hope were no longer part of her vocabulary. But one day like a bolt from the blue, destiny delivers a massive dose of compensation in the form of David Powell, her strange and elusive neighbour. From the moment they meet, Madeline is plunged into a world of excitement and intrigue where nothing is what it seems. This classic reversal of fortune tale reminds us that ultimately life is a mystery, perfectly able to demolish and reconfigurate even the most hopeless situations. (publisher’s summary)
All My Love, Detrick by Roberta Kagan
When Detrick, a seven-year-old German boy, crashes and destroys his brand new bicycle in Berlin, he takes an unusual way home, through the Jewish sector of town. It is here that he meets Jacob Abdenstern, a Jewish bicycle repairman who offers to help the little boy, and between them a relationship flourishes that will alter both of their lives forever.
Ten years later… Detrick is now seventeen and working in Jacob’s bicycle shop. The stars align as Detrick sees Jacob’s fifteen-year-old daughter Leah in a new light. The attraction between the two is undeniable, and they find themselves falling in love, just as Hitler is appointed chancellor of Germany.
The heart-wrenching novel All My Love, Detrick intertwines the lives of the lovers and their families as they try to survive in a world gone mad, under the reign of Hitler and his Third Reich. (publisher’s summary)
What books did you add to your shelves recently?
© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
What a lovely mailbox. Enjoy all of them. Do so like the cover of Duke!
LikeLike
I also have Moyes’ new book and can’t wait to read it!
LikeLike
Looks like you got some more books for me to borrow if you like them! 🙂
LikeLike
No Jane Austen fic, sad day 😉
LikeLike
Sigh.
LikeLike
I got The Girl You Left Behind too and I’m really excited about it. Duke looks interesting as well.
LikeLike
Lovely books! I am especially drawn to The Girl You Left Behind. I recently read this author for the first time.
Have a great week!
LikeLike
Enjoy your books. Nice Mailbox for you.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My Mailbox Monday
LikeLike
After reading (and loving) ME BEFORE YOU, I know I’ll want to read the newest Jojo Moyes book. Enjoy!
LikeLike
Adding The Girl You Left Behind to my wish list. Sounds good!
LikeLike
Oooh, some very fun arrivals!
LikeLike
Wow. You have quite a stash. I immediately zeroed in on DUKE. I love an animal story. The SWAN cover is quite lovely too. So eye-catching. Enjoy!
LikeLike
I have The Girl You Left Behind on Nook, and I can’t wait to read it!
LikeLike
Duke sounds interesting. Enjoy all of your books!
LikeLike
Count me as another one who got The Girl You Left Behind – really looking forward to it. Enjoy your new arrivals!
LikeLike
The Girl You Left Behind seems like the type of book I’d normally enjoy. And actually All My Love, Detrick would probably be one too.
LikeLike
You always have such interesting books in your mailbox. I’ll be reading The Girl You Left Behind in the fall. It sounds great.
LikeLike
I’m excited for another JoJo Moyes book. I loved Me Before You.
LikeLike
Thanks, everyone! Happy reading!
LikeLike