Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke Review

Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne Blankman

Title: Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke

Author: Anne Blankman

Series: Prisoner of Night and Fog #2

Publisher: Blazer + Bray

Publication Date: April 21, 2015

Genre: Fiction; Historical Fiction; Romance; Adventure; Mystery; Young Adult

Pages: 406

Format: ARC

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The girl known as Gretchen Whitestone has a secret: She used to be part of Adolf Hitler’s inner circle. More than a year after she made an enemy of her old family friend and fled Munich, she lives with a kindly English family, posing as an ordinary German immigrant, and is preparing to graduate from high school. Her love, Daniel Cohen, is a reporter in town. For the first time in her life, Gretchen is content.

But then, Daniel gets a telegram that sends him back to Germany, and Gretchen’s world turns upside-down. And when she receives word that Daniel is wanted for murder, she has to face the danger she thought she’d escaped-and return to her homeland.

Gretchen must do everything she can to avoid capture and recognition, even though saving Daniel will mean consorting with her former friends, the Nazi elite. And as they work to clear Daniel’s name, Gretchen and Daniel discover a deadly conspiracy stretching from the slums of Berlin to the Reichstag itself. Can they dig up the explosive truth and get out in time-or will Hitler discover them first?

*Sigh*Historical fiction is so great.

Gretchen Whitestone was once Adolf Hitler’s pet. She was the perfect niece, and she admired Hitler to the point of fault. After meeting Daniel Cohen, her world shattered, and she ended up in England, free from Hitler’s tight reign over her and Germany. She’s happy, and she sees the life she always wanted stretched out before her. However, when Daniel is captured in Germany, Gretchen must face her horrible past, and triumph over the once inescapable grasp of her Uncle Adolf.

Even though we all know how it ends (Hitler gains control of Germany and starts a war around the world), Anne Blankman still manages to keep me guessing. She writes like there’s a chance of Hitler’s defeat, even if there’s not. When I’m reading her work, I’m in Germany while the Nazis are rising. I’m watching the Nazi parade and seeing Hitler’s stupid little mustache. Her melding of history and fiction together is astounding and thoroughly entertaining. Her painstaking attention to detail is enough to send her novels over the moon.

I love how this book shines a totally new light on who Adolf Hitler was, and how his comrades in his quest for domination acted and thought. I love the historical value of Anne Blankman’s writing, and it totally makes this whole reading historical fiction thing worth it ten times over. Reading and learning are two of my favorite things, and both come in this 406 page package.

I maintain that the Prisoner of Night and Fog series is one of the best World War II novels written, among Code Name Verity and The Book Thief. If there is ever another book in this series, I would read in a heartbeat. 

Prisoner of Night and Fog Review

Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman

Title: Prisoner of Night and Fog

Author: Anne Blankman

Series: Prisoner of Night and Fog #1

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Publication Date: April 22, 2014

Genre: Historical Fiction; Romance; Mystery; Young Adult

Pages: 401

Format: Hardback

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In 1930s Munich, danger lurks behind dark corners, and secrets are buried deep within the city. But Gretchen Müller, who grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her "uncle" Dolf, has been shielded from that side of society ever since her father traded his life for Dolf's, and Gretchen is his favorite, his pet.

Uncle Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler. And Gretchen follows his every command.

Until she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen. Gretchen should despise Daniel, yet she can't stop herself from listening to his story: that her father, the adored Nazi martyr, was actually murdered by an unknown comrade. She also can't help the fierce attraction brewing between them, despite everything she's been taught to believe about Jews.

As Gretchen investigates the very people she's always considered friends, she must decide where her loyalties lie. Will she choose the safety of her former life as a Nazi darling, or will she dare to dig up the truth—even if it could get her and Daniel killed?

From debut author Anne Blankman comes this harrowing and evocative story about an ordinary girl faced with the extraordinary decision to give up everything she's ever believed . . . and to trust her own heart instead.

You read so many books about World War II, but you almost never read about Nazi Germany from a Nazi’s point of view. I’ve read my fair share of WWII-based books (it’s one of my favorite subjects to read about), but I have never read one like Prisoner of Night and Fog.

Gretchen Müller is the beloved princess of the National Socialist Party, favored by Adolf Hitler himself. Daughter of the famed martyr that saved Hitler’s life, Gretchen has little to question in her life. But when she meets Daniel Cohen, a Jew so unlike the enemy he is made out to be, she is forced into second guessing everything she’s ever been taught. About the Jews, about Hitler, even about her father’s death. This epic tale teaches us the difficulties of finding what’s right and wrong for yourself, and breaking free of an oppression you didn’t even know you were trapped under.

What made this book so great was not the plot (a bit predictable), the characters (who occasionally fell flat), or the setting (amazingly realistic). It was the fact that half of what Blankman was writing actually happened. According to the lengthy author’s note at the end, about half the characters actually existing and a lot of the pivotal events are ones that you could find in a history textbook. The politics of the Germany in that time were nothing if not complicated. This book untangled the mess of questions I’ve always had about WWII and Germany before Hitler’s reign.

It surprised me that Hitler’s character was as big as it was. He had a personality and dialogue in this book, which is so unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Usually he is minor character, mentioned briefly in passing for the effect of the setting or plot. He is almost never a flesh-and-blood (metaphorically speaking) character like he was in this book. Understandably, Hitler is one of the most mysterious historical figures of all time. Almost nothing is known of his past or who he was before becoming a German politician and eventually one of the most hated tyrants this world has ever seen. It’s honestly incredible how Blankman managed to capture such an ambiguous character.

While you get to know Hitler on an intriguing level, you also learn so much about the Nazi party, not just as a political faction that persecuted innocent people, but also as individuals who honestly believed what they were doing was right. You also discover people who brave enough to stand against the person who would ruin thousands of lives, who was, even then, terrifying and powerful.

It still astounds me that a person who was that obvious of a psychopath came into so much power. This book explores that subject and expands on your knowledge of what really happened during that time. Phenomenally interesting and hard to put down, definitely worth reading and reflecting over.    

Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke

April 21, 2015

A Time To Dance Review

A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman

Title: A Time to Dance

Author: Padma Venkatraman

Series: None

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books

Publication Date: May 1, 2014

Genre: Poetry; Realistic Fiction; Contemporary; Culture; Romance

Pages: 320

Format: Hardcover

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Padma Venkatraman’s inspiring story of a young girl’s struggle to regain her passion and find a new peace is told lyrically through verse that captures the beauty and mystery of India and the ancientbharatanatyam dance form. This is a stunning novel about spiritual awakening, the power of art, and above all, the courage and resilience of the human spirit.
 
Veda, a classical dance prodigy in India, lives and breathes dance—so when an accident leaves her a below-knee amputee, her dreams are shattered. For a girl who’s grown used to receiving applause for her dance prowess and flexibility, adjusting to a prosthetic leg is painful and humbling. But Veda refuses to let her disability rob her of her dreams, and she starts all over again, taking beginner classes with the youngest dancers. Then Veda meets Govinda, a young man who approaches dance as a spiritual pursuit. As their relationship deepens, Veda reconnects with the world around her, and begins to discover who she is and what dance truly means to her.

Written in beautiful verse, Padma Venkatraman tells a story of a classical bharantanatyam (I dare you to say that three times fast) dancer who, after a tragic accident, becomes a below-knee amputee. She must learn how to accept who she and how her life has changed, and rediscover the dance she fell in love with. Inspired by the brave survivors of the Boston bombing, Venkatraman wrote this wonderfully creative and inspiring tale about a girl who must conquer obstacles to return to what she loves to do more than anything.

I picked this book up for two reasons: The first was the amazing cover. I mean, look at it! It’s gorgeous! The second was the obvious Indian culture involved in this story, which is something I rarely get the chance to read, and know almost nothing about. I knew nothing about bharantanatyam (bah…bahran…bahrantatanatatn?), not to mention having no idea how to say it!

As usual, I was surprised to find that this book was written in poetry. I don’t think I have ever read a poetry book that I knew was poetry before reading the first page. But, like always, it was a happy sort of surprise, and by the end of the novel I was so in love with it, it was like I wasn’t reading poetry at all!

One of my favorite things about A Time to Dance is that the spirituality aspect is not one that preaches a certain religion to you. It explains how something, like dance, can bring you closer to something so big and encompassing, you know you’ll never fully understand it. And yet, you can still connect with it someway, and be as close to it as you possibly can. It was beautiful how the author explained the main character’s connection with dance and how it helped her discover who she really is. This book is unlike anything I have read before, with its amazing Indian culture and magnificent prose.

This book was lovely and poetic. The author entranced me into a hypnotic story about acceptance and passion, and I didn’t want it to end. I can’t wait to read something else by Padma Venkatraman, because if it is even remotely as good as A Time to Dance was, I know that it will be fantastic. 

Caminar Review

Caminar by Skila Brown

Title: Caminar

Author: Skila Brown

Series: None

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publication Date: March 25, 2014

Genre: Poetry; Historical Fiction; Young Adult

Pages: 208

Format: Hardback

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Carlos knows that when the soldiers arrive with warnings about the Communist rebels, it is time to be a man and defend the village, keep everyone safe. But Mama tells him not yet — he’s still her quiet moonfaced boy. The soldiers laugh at the villagers, and before they move on, a neighbor is found dangling from a tree, a sign on his neck: Communist. Mama tells Carlos to run and hide, then try to find her. . . . Numb and alone, he must join a band of guerillas as they trek to the top of the mountain where Carlos’s abuela lives. Will he be in time, and brave enough, to warn them about the soldiers? What will he do then? A novel in verse inspired by actual events during Guatemala’s civil war, Caminar is the moving story of a boy who loses nearly everything before discovering who he really is.

“Forest sounds/all around/but on the ground/ the sound/ of Me/ grew. Echoed, / I heard a path I could not see.”

I have wanted to read this book for a very long time. I was even more excited to read it when I opened the first page and found a poem staring at me. I hadn't known until that moment that this book was written entirely in free verse poetry. The only other book that I have ever read in free verse poetry is Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse about the Great Depression. And, just like Out of the Dust, I thought this book was fantastic.

Poetry, to me, is more than written words on a page telling a story. It is an art form, really. It weaves words into beautiful lyrical songs and forms intricate art with the placement of the black ink on the page. While sentences in story books are coherent and structured, a poem’s verses mostly resemble the thoughts that run through our minds. They are ambiguous and hard to understand and difficult to interpret. They mean different things to different people with different minds. They are a stream of consciousness that transports you not just into the world of the book but also into the minds of characters. Poetry done right is a beautiful, wonderful thing.

“I could not see/ up. Could not see/ down. I/ could only see/ what was right in front of me.”

Caminar, which mean “to walk” in Spanish, is about a young boy yearning to become a man, when disaster strikes in his village in Guatemala. This story is not only about the horrible war in Guatemala, but also about a boy struggling to walk the path into manhood. Brown uses intriguing styles of writing to ensnare the reader into a story both breathless and surreal.

This book inspired me on so many levels. I knew little about the civil war in Guatemala until I read this book. It was mind-opening to read about it from a young boy’s point of view. While I was reading Caminar, I was not just reading Carlos’s thoughts, I was thinking them, living them. In a way the book ended too soon. It left me wanting more.

I enjoyed this book immensely. Caminar is an excellent short read that taught me many things. I loved the poetry in it, and the way the words created art on the pages. I enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone willing to read a short poetic story about the horrible and terrific happenings in Guatemala. This book is officially being shelved as one of the greats.

“When you open the door to hate, you will find/ it swallows you whole/ and there is no/ life left inside.”

Between Shades of Gray Review

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Title: Between Shades of Gray

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Series: None

Publisher: Philomel Books

Publication Date: March 22, 2011

Genre: Historical Fiction; Young Adult

Pages: 344

Format: Hardback

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Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously--and at great risk--documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

“Don’t give them anything Lina, not even your fear.”

Everyone’s heard of the Holocaust. Everyone’s heard of Hitler. But how many people have heard of Stalin? Or the Baltic cleansing? How many know about the eradication of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia? Honestly, I didn’t actually know who Stalin was and what his reign held for Russia until High School English when we read Animal Farm. I didn’t know that his actions rivaled that of Hitler’s. I read this book with only the vague summary that the main character was a girl who was sent to a labor camp. Labor camp made me think of the Holocaust and Germany. I was surprised to find that it was actually about Stalin’s genocide of the Baltic people. This book told me a story about a time in history that I had heard next to nothing about.

“I hated them, the NKVD and the Soviets. I planted a seed of hatred in my heart. I swore it would grow to be a massive tree whose roots would strangle them all.”

Books like these put me in a mindset where I continuously wonder how I would act if I were in a situation like this. If everything I owned was taken away from me and my life was being torn apart at the seams and if I woke up each morning not knowing if I would see tomorrow’s sunrise. What truly amazed me in this book was the amount of generosity and hope they harbored even when they owned nothing but their dignity and self-respect. Especially the mother of Lina, Elena. She would always find a way to give when she had nothing. Lina’s strength and resolve were inspiring and awe-striking. Sepetys created a story that we can only read and shake our heads in wonder at.  

“It was the one thing I never questioned. I wanted to live. I wanted to see my brother grow up. I wanted to see Lithuania again. I wanted to see Joana. I wanted to smell the lily of the valley on the breeze beneath my window. I wanted to paint the fields. I wanted to see Andrius with my drawings. There were only two possible outcomes in Siberia. Success meant survival. Failure meant death. I wanted life. I wanted to survive.”

Ruta Sepetys was the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee and decided to write this story to tell the truth that so few people have heard. After the Baltic people escaped from their prisons, they were not allowed to tell anyone of their horrific experiences. They had to keep it within themselves and remember what they went through by themselves. In the Author’s Note, Sepetys bids her readers to “Please research it. Tell someone.” And reminds us that “These three tiny nations have taught us that love is the most powerful army. Whether love of friend, love of country, love of God, or even love of enemy–love reveals to us the truly miraculous nature of the human spirit.”

                                                                                             

I would recommend this book to anyone so that they could learn about something they've probably only heard little about. What this book lacked in magical writing, it made up for in the gasp-inducing and heart-pounding story line. This book is filled with death, life, happiness, and sorrow. Inspired by true accounts, this book will stay with me for a long time.