1940s

Under the Same Stars / Libba Bray

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
Under the Same Stars
By: Libba Bray, January LaVoy (Narrator), Jeremy Carlisle Park (Narrator), Major Curda (Narrator)
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 480
Published: February 4, 2025
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Dates Read: June 13, 2025 - June 16, 2025
Format: Library Book / Audiobook / eBook

The Bridegroom Oak is a magical tree where if you leave a note for the love of your life in its knot, your love will answer back.

In 1940s Germany, Sophie is excited to discover a message in the Bridegroom Oak from a mysterious suitor. Meanwhile, her best friend, Hanna, is also sending messages, but not to leave in the Oak’s knot. As WWII rolls into their small town of Kleinwald, the oak may very well be a key to resistance against the Nazis.

In 1980s West Germany, American teen Jenny feels out of place until she finds herself falling for Lena, a punk-rock girl who hates the government. She also befriends Frau Hermann, an old lady downstairs who most people call her a witch, but Jenny finds her to be kind.

In Spring 2020 New York City, Miles and Chloe are struggling with virtual senior year when an unexpected package from Chloe’s grandmother leads them to investigate a cold case about two teenagers who went missing under the Bridegroom Oak over eighty years ago.

I love how connected everything was in this book with how Libba Bray was able to highlight both current and past forms of fascism in history and oppressive governments while also showing characters trying to do the right thing, even under dangerous circumstances.

I wasn’t as into the Covid storyline as the others, but I honestly think it’s because that’s probably still, “too soon” for me – maybe in another ten (or twenty) years I would be more invested. The historical narratives were a lot stronger for me, and I cared about the characters a lot more. All three of the narratives were connected of course, but I really really enjoyed the WWII storyline the most.

Overall, though this is marketed as being Young Adult, I can see adults enjoying it as well (even with the teenage angst a bit). Bray has amazingly strong prose that she showcases in all three narratives.

*Thank you Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Enemies in the Orchard / Dana VanderLugt

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
Enemies in the Orchard
By: Dana VanderLugt
Genre: Middle Grade, Novel in Verse
Number of Pages: 288
Published: September 12, 2023
Publisher: Zonderkidz
Dates Read: September 14, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

It’s October 1944 and Claire’s dad needs help with the orchard – especially since Danny’s off to fight in World War II. With no one responding to the help wanted ad in the paper, he hires a group of German POWs to help with the apple harvest. Claire wants absolutely nothing to do with the enemies, afterall, it’s men like them that are currently shooting at Danny’s overseas. But then she meets Karl, a soft-spoken, hardworking POW and her mind begins to change.

Meanwhile, Karl battles with the role he ended up playing within the lies of Hitler’s regime. After he begins working with Claire, it gives him hope that he can change and become a person he wants to be – not the one that’s been forced on him.

It still surprises me a bit when I read another novel set during WWII that showcases something I wasn’t aware had happened during that time. This one being that the United States had POW work camps on their own soil, and that the POWs would be “lent out” to local farmers.

Besides having a focus on WWII and the POWs in the United States, this also focuses a lot on Claire and her journey and fight for going against the norms for females during that time. Claire wants to continue school past an eighth grade education and her single room schoolhouse that she goes to and go on to become a nurse. Her father is very supportive of this plan, but not everyone else.

Though this book is aimed at Middle Grade readers, I can see everyone enjoying it. The writing provides readers with a compelling and easy to follow format that, even with the word count being low from it being a novel in verse, it still provides beautiful descriptions. I, myself, am going to be keeping an eye out for my own physical copy to purchase. 

*Thank you Zonderkidz and NetGalley for a digital advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

The Librarianist / Patrick deWitt

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
The Librarianist
By: Patrick deWittt
Genre: Fiction
Number of Pages: 352
Published: July 4, 2023
Publisher: Ecco Press
Dates Read: June 25, 2023 - July 6, 2023
Format: eBook / ARC

Bob Comet is a retired librarian who spends his days surrounded by books and the little things – such as walks around the neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. One day while on his walk, he encounters a stone still elderly lady with a lanyard that gives information about a senior center down the street. After returning the lady to her center, Bob begins volunteering, hoping to fill the empty void he’s had since retiring. 

While there, it brings up Bob’s complicated life’s history; his adventures as a unhappy child, who, at 11-years-old runs away during the last days of WWII, of the love of his life being won and then stolen away, the story of his once best friend, and the pride and fulfillment he felt being a librarian. Though his life seems simple, it’s still filled with love, humor, and lovable people.

This is such a wonderful, contemporary read. While following Bob’s life, it is a pretty simple life of a librarian, but it’s filled with so many moments that make a person’s life special, and therefore, makes this novel special. It leaves you feeling like you know Bob and his story.

A few parts of this novel were a little slower for me, but none of that deterred me continuing my read. It’s a book about life and it was sweet.

Overall, I can see a lot of Book Clubs reading this book in the future as there are plenty of things to discuss, but I can also see those who want to see the story of the life of an retire librarian whose life didn’t actually always revolve around books.

“Maria understood that part of aging, at least for many of us, was to see how misshapen and imperfect our stories had to be. The passage of time bends us, it folds us up, and eventually, it tucks us right into the ground”

*Thank you Ecco Press and Edelweiss+ for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review