Quick Lit: July 2015

I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy for this month's quick lit, where I share short and sweet reviews of a few books I've read in the past month. You can also find me over at Goodreads if you are interested in other books I've read or reviewed.

"Those Who Save Us" by Jenna Blum:  A brilliant debut novel that tells the story of Anna and her daughter Trudie. Anna is a young German woman who lives through the horrors of Nazi Germany. For fifty years, she refuses to share about that part of her life and all that was necessary for her (and her daughter's) survival. Fifty years later, Trudie is a professor of German history embarking on a research project in an attempt to understand what life was like for Germans under Nazi reign. She uncovers more than she bargained for. A fantastic, sobering look at life for Germans during Hitler's years of power. There is a fair bit of sex and some graphic violence as well, so be prepared.
 

"Nobody's Cuter Than You" by Melanie Shankle:  This third memoir looks at the impact of friendship on our lives. She focuses primarily on her multi-decade friendship with Gulley, but also traces patterns of friendship through her life and what she's learned from them along the way. Of the three by Shankle, I think this one was my favorite. Loved it and resonated it with many portions of it.





"Anything:  The Prayer That Unlocked My God and My Soul" by Jennie Allen:  In this book, Allen details her journey of  offering God everything by praying "God we will do anything. Anything" (pg. xiii). She shares bits of her story to show how she came to know Jesus, and how finally got the point of being willing to offer everything for God's service by being willing to do anything He wanted. This updated version also includes an 8-week Bible study for use in a small group. 




"Reunion" by Karen Kingsbury and Gary Smalley (re-read):  This final book in the "Redemption" series focuses on the idea of reunion, gathering together with family and friends and celebrating life and relationship with them. This book wraps up neatly the initial stories of the Baxter family, plus introduces several new characters and sets up the continuing story to be uncovered in a secondary series.





"The Kitchen House" by Kathleen Grissom:  This debut novel looks at pre-Civil War plantation life in Virginia. Orphaned while on board a ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia is brought back to the ship captain's plantation to serve as an indentured servant to repay debts left by her parents. She is placed in the care of the plantation's house slaves and raised as one of their own. She bonds deeply to them, despite their differences in color and, ultimately, status. This gripping story is a fascinating look at the culture and life of that time period, as well as how love, loyalty, and acceptance play out when everything is on the line.