March Book Review

I only read two books this month which puts me behind on my yearly goal, but that's okay! They were two really good books and I enjoyed them both. I went to Mike's Merchandise several weeks ago and bought 6 books for $3 and these were 2 of them. They both had incredible reviews on Amazon, and I couldn't wait to get started on them! And you can't beat a book for fifty cents!

Those Who Save Us was very heavy, but it was so moving and I loved it. It's narrated in sections that go back and forth between the story of a woman named Anna who lives in Nazi occupied Germany, and her daughter Trudy who is a professor of German history in Minnesota in the 1990's. As adults, Anna and Trudy are virtual strangers to one another; Trudy wants to know what her mother experienced during WWII, but Anna is a prisoner of the past, hiding behind shame and fear. Thanks to the style of storytelling, the reader gets to see exactly what Anna experienced, which includes leaving her father's house to give birth to her daughter on her own, and becoming the mistress of a high ranking SS officer in order to provide meager care for Trudy. Maybe it's because I'm a mother now, but this story has stuck with me and I have mulled it over many times since finishing it. I love a book that opens your mind and causes you to ask deep questions of yourself, and that's exactly what this one has done for me.

After such a heavy read, I needed something quick and easy; I of course always gravitate to psychological thrillers, and this one was awesome! Now I understand that for some people this kind of novel would be considered "heavy", but I don't know, I'm a little sick and twisted and I live for this kind of book! This novel is told from several different perspectives and kind of goes back and forth between June 2010 and something that happened 4 years prior. Each "chapter" is from a different time and person, but they're headed like journal entries and were easy to follow and keep straight. The Widow is the story of the disappearance of a 2 year old girl and the man who was accused, but acquitted, of her kidnapping. When he dies several years later, his widow is free to tell her story to the press and finally let the truth be known. It was suspenseful and creepy and I loved it!

So there's a look at what I read this past month. I'm hoping to read 3-4 books in April, and I'll be back at the end of the month to recap those!