“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.”
— Elie Wiesel
Lilac Girls
by Martha Hall Kelly
New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its ...More PBR Review
The Summer Before The War
by Helen Simonson
It is the end of England’s brief Edwardian summer, and everyone agrees that the weather has never been so beautiful. Hugh Grange, down from his medical studies, is visiting his Aunt Agatha, who ...More PBR Review
All The Light We Cannot See
by Anthony Doerr
Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their...More PBR Review
Karolina's Twins
by Ronald Balson
She made a promise in desperation Now it's time to keep it Lena Woodward, elegant and poised, has lived a comfortable life among Chicago Society since she immigrated to the US and began a new life at...More PBR Review
Once We Were Brothers
by Ronald Balson
Elliot Rosenzweig, a respected civic leader and wealthy philanthropist, is attending a fundraiser when he is suddenly accosted and accused of being a former Nazi SS officer named Otto Piatek. Although the...More PBR Review
The Soldier's Wife
by Margaret Leroy
A novel full of grand passion and intensity, The Soldier’s Wife asks “What would you do for your family?” “What should you do for a stranger?” and “What would you do for love?” As World War II draws closer and closer to Guernsey..More PBR Review
The Boy In The Striped Pajamas
by John Boyne
A story of innocence existing within the most terrible evil, this is the fictional tale of two young boys caught up in events entirely beyond their control. The story of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is very difficult to describe....More PBR Review
Sarah's Key
by Tatiana Rosnay
TParis July 1942 Sarah a ten year old girl,is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel dHiv roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the familys apartment Paris, May 2002 On Vel d’Hiv’s ...More PBR Review
My Enemy's Cradle
by Sara Young
yrla's neighbors have begun to whisper. Her cousin, Anneke, is pregnant and has passed the rigorous exams for admission to the Lebensborn, a maternity home for girls carrying German babies. ...More PBR Review
City of Thieves
by David Benioff
A writer visits his retired grandparents in Florida to document their experience during the infamous siege of Leningrad. His grandmother won’t talk about it, but his grandfather reluctantly consents...More PBR Review
The Zookeeper's Wife
by Diane Ackerman
The true story of how the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo saved hundred of people from Nazi hands. When Germany invaded Poland...More PBR Review
Child 44
by Tom Rob Smith
An amazingly assured and exciting debut, set in Soviet Russia in 1953, with a wonderfully realised sense of all pervading fear and the desperateness of a chilling race against time...More PBR Review
Those Who Save Us
by Jenna Blume
For fifty years Anna Schlemmer has refused to talk about her life in Germany during World War II. Her daughter Trudy was only three when she and her mother were liberated by an American soldier and went to live with him in Minnesota. ..More PBR Review
The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
A story about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. This story is narrated in the all knowing matter of fact voice of Death, witnessing the story of the citizens of ...More PBR Review
The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrow
I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer...More PBR Review
Recent Book Reviews
Take My Hand
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I learned a lot from this book. I know racial injustices exist, and the Government oversteps boundaries, mostly with minority groups, especially Blacks. But each time I learn of yet another instance of governmental ...More
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This book kept me guessing, and I loved it! It's an easy, satisfying read you won't want to put down. Suddenly, Sam goes missing, and everything begins to unravel. There were several twists and turns ... More
The Midnight Library
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I would love to find a magical library that lets me explore the what-ifs of life. In fact, I think this was my favorite part of the book. Who doesn't have a regret or two, or wonder how life would be with different choices? ...More
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Based on an actual event, West with Giraffes is an endearing story about transporting two young giraffes across the country in 1938. 17-year-old Woody, a dust bowl orphan, finds his way to NY during ...More
