The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee
I wish I could give this book more than five stars!
Topic or themes I saw: The strong force of friendship, camaraderie. The horrors of war and the perseverance of the human body and spirit.
Read it if you love:
✔️WWII books
✔️Books with combat
✔️POW books
✔️Strong friendships
✔️Tougher reads
Story: Inspired by true stories, The Long March Home exposes the heartbreaking reality of the Bataan Death March. This novel placed you directly into the horror of war, pain of loss, fear of what’s to come, and the test to the limits of a human body. This story had me riveted, flipping pages. It’s a gritty and hard read, but those are often my favorite. Just when you think human endurance can’t be pushed any further, it is and the characters keep going. The intense parts were broken up by a duel time-line of the past making for perfect pacing.
As I read, I had a strong desire to sweep in and rescue the men myself. Or will time to speed up for them. This book was intense and heartbreaking. There was a point in the book that just shattered my heart and I wasn’t sure I could forgive the authors 😅. They made me cry but they finished it in a beautiful way.
If you want a deeply spiritual book, don’t pick this up. But if you want a clean, incredibly beautiful read on the horrors and hero’s of WWII, pick this book up as fast as you can. I closed the last page with an even deeper appreciation for what veterans in the Philippines faced and the sacrifices they and their families made. What an incredible read that shines a light on the Bataan Death March.
If you read and loved unbroken, you will want to pick up this novel!
Main takeaway: Do your best for as long as you’re given.
A few quotes:
“They’re skinnier and dirtier than I remember—walking skeletons with skin sagging from their bones. Souls staring out from their human remains, waiting to be released.”
“It strikes me funny that at the end of life, it doesn’t matter what uniform we wore.”
Thank you Revell for a gifted copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.
Discipline That Connects with your Child’s Heart by Jim and Lynne Jackson
I have read a lot of parenting books that tell me to get to the heart of the matter. I know this. But I’ve struggled to fully grasp it. This book, for me, has been one of the most well rounded, easy to understand ways I’ve ever come across. It focuses on four principles: You are safe with me, you are loved no matter what, you are called and capable, and you are responsible. Sometimes when I read non fiction books like this, by the end I’ve picked up so many things I should be doing and I feel crushed under its burden. But this, this books feels like breath. It feels like release and rest. Yes, it gives us tips and guidance, but it also gives us a chance to breathe instead of packing on burdens.
This is a book I purchased after reading the library book. There is so much to unpack and reference, this is not a one and done read.
At the end of the book is an appendix of issue specific topics, and how you can apply the principles in this book to those common issues.
The Italian Ballerina by Kristy Cambron
I love the WWII era and this novel transported us there in beautiful and heart tugging ways. I absolutely loved learning about the made up syndrome K disease. I had no previous knowledge of that. I loved this quote: “War was a leveler. Regardless of age or nation or language spoken, it could not, and never would be powerful enough to overtake love.”
Paint and Nectar by Ashley Clark
Topic or themes I saw: Dashed dreams. Fear of stepping into the longings of your heart. Perseverance even in pain and dissapointments. Finding beauty in any circumstance. Moving forward instead of staying stuck.
Read it if you love:
✔️Stories with art
✔️Stories that hold preserving the past in high esteem
✔️ Stories with secrets
✔️Forbidden romance
✔️Friends to lovers
✔️Duel-time novels
✔️Stories that show how generations are intertwined.
Story: The men in the story find themselves in tough situations. Fighting against their feelings toward the ladies because of circumstances. The tension of the story and motives of the characters are crafted beautifully. In this story was contention around missing silver. The uncovering of that mystery is just stunning😍. The tie in with Millie from The Dress Shop on Kingstreet was perfection.
The Heirloom Secrets series showcases the passing on of beauty, life, and stories through the generations. A handing of the torch so to speak. The books are tied together brilliantly!
Isn’t this such a beautiful quote? “Though time had bruised them as it’s prone to doing, it had also made them strong.”
Along Wooded Paths by Tricia Goyer
Topic or themes I saw: Being seen for who you are, not what you look like. A wrestle with choices and longings. The wrestle with who you feel you’re supposed to be and who God made you to be.
Read it if you love:
✔️Books with hard choices and surrender ✔️Stories with strong spiritual growth and peace
✔️Amish Christian Fiction
Story: I just love the characters in the Big Sky series! Along Wooded paths continues the story of Marianna. Marianna has feelings for Ben, but all she’s ever wanted is to live a simple Amish life. As she wrestles with her warring feelings between Ben and Aaron, she also grows in her faith and understanding of what a relationship with God means. I really felt entrenched in the story, it was written in such a way it perfectly encapsulated the character’s emotions, desires, their struggles and choices. I was 100% invested in them.
Nightfall in the Garden of Deep Time by Tracy Higley
Topic or themes I saw: Investing in creativity, finding your creativity and believing it matters. Barriers and trials an artist faces. Finding safe places for your creativity, finding community. The reason creativity matters.
Read it if you love:
✔️Books, wonder, and magical things
✔️A step back in time
✔️Creativity
✔️Shopping locally and preserving the past
Story: This story is a tension of the dreams and longings of a creative heart mixed with the reality of life. Is it selfish to pursue creativity? Foolish? This story really transports you to the setting. I could smell the bookstore and see the town and garden. This magical garden houses the beauty and life pulsing in the creativity of our souls. It shows why the world needs creativity. The characters in the garden are the warriors fighting against the lies that stifle our creativity. The garden is woven so beautifully back to real life and the struggles we face everyday to bring our art to the world. This book is a bright beam of hope to all those who have stifled their creativity, ignore it, or wonder if they are good at it. Everyone who wants to unlock their creativity must read this book.
Main takeaway: The world needs more creativity and beauty than what the well known artists can produce. We need it all around us. All of us playing our creative part whether it receives the recognition we long for or not.
This book is a champion for the reason we create. I highlighted so much in it! To wrap it all up, I loved this quote— “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” -Charles Dickens
That’s what our creativity can do!
A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner
Topic or themes I saw: Healing from loss and trauma.
Read it if you love:
✔️Historical fiction with a duel time frame
✔️Connections between past and present
✔️Ellis Island
✔️Harder reads bursting with hope
✔️New York and fabric stores
✔️Deep characters
✔️Stories that increase empathy
Story: This book made me tear up multiple times. It is heart wrenching but hope giving. In the early 1900’s, Clara, who faced the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, has run from her pain and taken up post as a nurse on Ellis island. There she comes in contact with one man whose story causes her to face her own. The contemporary thread is ten years after the twin towers fell. Taryn’s story is only a small portion of the book but is woven in absolutely perfectly with the historical story. This story is powerful, beautiful, and will stay with me for along time. I’d highly recommend it!
** This post contains affiliate links.
