#48. THE DREAMERS by Karen Thompson Walker
#49. THE 15:17 TO PARIS: THE TRUE STORY OF A TERRORIST, A TRAIN, AND THREE AMERICAN HEROES by Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone, and Jeffrey E. Stern
My Rating: ★★★☆☆
Great story of American heroism, but the way the book is laid out ruined it for me! The flashing backwards and forwards in time was awkward and confusing. This sounds very Type-A of me, but I would have enjoyed it so much more if the timeline had been written in chronological order. I also felt like they tried to make a small news article into a 200 page book and it felt forced. 2.5 stars, rounded up.
My Rating: ★★★★☆
The reason most of us are what we are, mediocre Christians – “up” one day, “down” the next – is simply because we refuse to let God work on us. As crude marble, we rebel against the hand of the sculptor, as unvarnished canvas, we shrink from the oils and tints of the Heavenly Artists…We always make the fatal mistake of thinking that it is what we do that matters, when really what matters is what we let God do to us.” (p.32)
If you have never before prayed to Mary, do so now. Can you not see that if Christ himself willed to be physically formed in her for nine months and then be spiritually formed by her for thirty years, it is to her that we must go to learn how to have Christ formed in us? Only she who raised Christ can raise a Christian. (p.43)
My Rating: ★★★★☆
NEVER SHALL I FORGET that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke.
Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky.
Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever.
Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live.
Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes.
Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never. (35%)
How did I go through high school and college without reading this book?! Night was one of the most haunting personal accounts of the Holocaust I have ever read. Adding a mental note to look into the other two books in the trilogy someday. (This was also my 1958 pick for the 20th Century Reading Challenge.)
My Rating: ★★★☆☆
Our House is a suspense thriller and even at over 400 pages, it was a page turner! A lot of twists and turns and many that I didn’t even predict. The ending was really clever. Solid three stars.
#53. RENIA’S DIARY: A HOLOCAUST JOURNAL by Renia Spiegel
My Rating: ★★★☆☆
Renia’s Diary is a long-hidden journal written by a Polish teenager during the Holocaust. You really get a sense of her ordinary life (boys, school, her talent for poetry) and how it coincided with a tumultuous political climate. I think younger readers will relate to and appreciate her teenage struggles, because I’d say 90% of the journal focuses on her relationships with friends and a boy. I found the section at the end, written by her surviving sister, much more compelling and interesting.
(And thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. Renia’s Diary will officially be released on September 24, 2019!)
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MY READING IN NUMBERS FOR 2019
Pages Read: 15,793
Kindle Books: 17 // Paper Books: 36
Original 2019 books “to-read” total on Goodreads: 424 // Current “to-read” total: 423