Hey Kids, Want Some Chocolates? - Melitta Strandberg & George E. Pfautsch

Publisher:  AuthorHouse

Pages: 84

Source:  Review copy from Bostick Communications

Genre:  Historical Memoir

 

 Every now and again we hear in the news of a baby disappearing from a hospital.  I have always felt for those parents who are traumatized in this manner.  So it was with this book.  This is Melitta’s story.  It is a story of her abduction and return.  It is not an easy story to read.  Imagine you have given birth to a child and then when they bring the child in, you know they have made a mistake.  You pitch a fit and so they remove the baby but don’t return your child.  Melitta was actually taken from her mother by the Nazi’s.  This was a time when babies were experimented upon at Hitler’s command.  He chose women who were from Poland, Romania, Hungary, etc.  He didn’t consider them purebred so he figured he could do with the children as he wanted.  What is unusual about this story is that six months after disappearing Melitta is reunited with her family.   This was not the usual case.  This is the telling of that time, and the events that took place shortly thereafter.    Melitta’s parents managed to make it onto the last train leaving East Germany and ended up in Augsberg, Germany.  This was freedom to them.  Children leaving the train were met by soldiers who offered them chocolate.  This is where the title comes from.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves this time period.  I have a former student who did an entire history project on survivors of the holocaust and I know that this is a book she will definitely want to read.  I enjoyed learning another part of this time period I was not familiar with.

About the authors:

Melitta Strandberg was born on September 3, 1944. Her parents' story began in Romania and is filled with the many risks and the many narrow escapes that could have ended prematurely their quest for freedom. Melitta's own quest ended before she was one year old, but those first few months of her life are intriguing and much about them remains a mystery. Thereafter she has led a successful and typical life. Her first eighteen years were spent in Germany and the remainder of her life has been in the United States. Today she lives with her husband, Herb, in Northern California.

 

George E. Pfautsch spent most of his working life as a financial executive with Potlatch Corporation, a major forest products and paper company. His final years with them were spent as the Senior Vice President of Finance and the Chief Financial Officer. Following his retirement, he began writing and speaking on the subjects of morality, justice and faith. He has published several books on those topics and he views this book as encompassing each of those subjects. 

The Shattering - Karen Healey

Publisher:  Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages:  320

Source:  I received a review copy form the publisher

Genre:  Young Adult,  Urban Fantasy

Warning:  This book is recommended for older teens.  This book deals with issues of suicide, bullying, and gays.  You may wish to preview this book before allowing your child to read it.

From Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Keri likes to plan for every possibility. She knows what to do if you break an arm, or get caught in an earthquake or fire. But,  she wasn't prepared for her brother's suicide, and his death has left her shattered with grief. When her childhood friend Janna tells her it was murder, not suicide, Keri wants to believe her. After all, Janna's brother died under similar circumstances years ago, and Janna insists a visiting tourist, Sione, who also lost a brother to apparent suicide that year, has helped her find some answers.

 As the three dig deeper, disturbing facts begin to pile up: one boy killed every year; all older brothers; all had spent New Year's Eve in the idyllic town of Summerton. But, when their search for the serial killer takes an unexpected turn, suspicion is cast on those they trust the most.

 As secrets shatter around them, can they save the next victim? Or,  will they become victims themselves?

My thoughts: 

When is suicide not suicide?  In the Shattering we meet three characters who share one thing in common, the death of an older brother.  Keri is someone who has everything all figured out.  She seems to always know what to do in any situation.  That is until her brother’s death.  Enter her friend Janna whose brother died a few years before and Sione who not only lost his brother but believes it was not a suicide.  These three begin to stir things up as they are motivated to find out what is really going on in Summerton, New Zealand.  Things are definitely not what they seem.

This was an interesting story.  I have enough trouble trying to figure out how to write in one POV.  Karen Healey has stepped it up a notch.  Keri’ POV is told in first person, whereas both Janna and Sione have their POV told in third person.  Believe it or not this really works for this book.  Readers who are not familiar with many of the words used in New Zealand can easily figure them out from the context.  For those who like to just skip over those unknown words and hope they can continue on, I am speaking to many of my students, there is a section in the back of the book that can help with that.

The Characters were well developed and believable.  They came across as your typical teens.  I would not put this on my shelves for my sixth graders to read as the topic can be quite disturbing.  However, those more mature students I have will enjoy it.  I do keep those books in a closet for my more mature readers and those whose parents have given permission for them to read that particular type of material.  The book deals with multiple issues and shows how those issues can be handled inappropriately.  So after saying all of that would I recommend this book?  Most definitely.  

What So Proudly We Hailed - James Howard

Publisher:  CreateSpace

Pages:  280

Source:   Received a Review copy from author

Genre:  Adult, Realistic Fiction

Goodreads:

One family, one old boat, one test of faith to stay alive. Imagine what would happen if eighty percent of the United States were without power for three or four months. All banking and commercial transfers locked up; funds inaccessible. Wholesale and retail distribution shut down; no computers to manage sales. Passenger and freight lines grind to a halt; no electricity for the fuel pumps. No cell phone or landline service; systems down indefinitely. And the worst aspect of all; a total breakdown of law and order. This is the setting of James Howard's novel, What So Proudly We Hailed. The unthinkable has happened; a limited nuclear missile strike has destroyed the power grid beyond any immediate repair. The protagonist, Jason Ribault, sensing the societal breakdown to come, flees with his family in an old cabin cruiser to wait out the worst of the chaos behind the deserted barrier islands of the South Carolina coast. There they listen to unfolding events on a short-wave radio, not the least of which concerns a hostile political influence that seeks to seize control of a nation struggling to right itself once again. Pursued by their own immediate dangers, the family is pushed farther and farther into the desolate salt marshes where they find other families in hiding. Eventually, anxious to unite with a family member in danger, they turn back into the chaos, to see the full extent of what happened to the America they knew. Electric with page-turning suspense, What So Proudly We Hailed is an eye-opening book every American must read.

My Thoughts:

How prepared are we in the United States if the Unthinkable happens?  A couple of years ago I gave my seventh and eighth grade students a writing assignment.  Something has happened to the world.  There is no longer any electricity.  I had the climate switch as well.  The north got hot and the south cold.  I asked them how they would survive and how they think people around the world would handle it.  It was an interesting concept and way to get students to think and problem solve.  This book does the same thing.  From the minute Jason Ribault figures out that a nuclear device has gone off in America he sets in motion a plan to protect his family. He, his wife Valerie, and their children stock up on necessary items and prepare their boat for the chaos they know will soon follow.  They leave their son Jeremy behind with his girlfriend and her father who is a pastor.  They leave on their boat and monitor the chaos form it.  They determine that things are only getting worse.  This is not just a post-apocalyptic story.  It is also a message of hope.  I thoroughly enjoyed the Christian message that is so engrained in the story.  I know that there will be both Christians and Non-Christians who will feel it is too preachy.  I am not one of them.  I think this is a book that should be read by all.  It is a great book with a great message and I look forward to reading what ever else the author comes out with.