Page Turners: Book Reviews and Obsessions

Of Windmills and War by Diane Moody is a beautiful yet tragic tale set during WWII. It follows an American bomber pilot named Danny and a young Dutch woman named Anya as they both struggle to survive one of the darkest times in history. Danny and Anya first became acquainted through Anya's older brother, Hans, who was Danny's high school pen pal. Tragically, Hans is killed in a freak accident, and his grief-stricken sister and friend begin writing to one another. Their correspondence is halted by the sudden Nazi occupation of The Netherlands, and Danny goes on with his life as best he can, often worrying about his Dutch friend and her family when he watches the news. Fast forward a few years and Danny enlists as a pilot in the Eighth Air Force, flying a B-17 bomber. It's while on a mission flying over The Netherlands that he's forced to parachute out of his aircraft, and he's quickly rescued by Dutch resistance workers. One of the workers recognizes Anya and her fam...

Emilia by Ellie Midwood is the heart-wrenching account of a young Jewish woman trying to survive in Nazi Germany. This work addresses an often closeted topic in a way that truly made me feel for what countless women had to endure during the Nazi occupation. It wasn't enough that innocent people were forced out of their homes and into concentration camps simply because of their religion; sadly, so many women were also raped and brutalized during their incarceration, either by capos or by the SS guards. In this work, Emilia is one such woman. The subject matter is obviously quite sensitive, but I really appreciated the fact that the author chose to write about it. Emilia's experience, although fiction, reads like a true account. At the beginning of the novel she's just an innocent, naïve young woman, afraid of the war but hopeful that she'll survive it along with her family. That all changes after her family is forced to move into the Ghetto, and Emilia quickly realizes...

Wings of Glory is a three book series by Sarah Sundin. Each book follows the Novak brothers - Walt, Jack, and Ray - as they proudly serve their country during WWII. The brothers are all starkly different in looks and personality, and each faces his own unique issues...including, of course, love. I found the first book in the series, A Distant Melody, while browsing on Amazon. I listened to the many good reviews and decided to order it, and ended up ordering the next two books in the series before I even finished the first one! Sundin is a masterful storyteller, and within the first few chapters I felt transported back the 1940s. As a big history fan, I especially appreciated her attention to detail and obviously thorough research of actual battles and campaigns that were included in the books. Most of all, I loved all of the characters. I know I've mentioned this before, but a huge part of good storytelling is writing characters that feel human, like they're a friend and not...

I happened to find the whole set in this series for pretty cheap and decided to finally join the bandwagon and read them. I'd begrudgingly watched the movies and was totally unimpressed, mostly because of the bad acting and seemingly worse storyline, and I figured the books would be at least improve my opinion of this series. Aaand...I was totally wrong, because the books actually worsened my opinion of the series. First, let's start off with the most bland, underwhelming, and annoying lead character I've met - Bella Swan. I get that this series takes place in high school while Bella is still going through her awkward teen phase, but I just really disliked her. She started out alright, but the obnoxious soon came out when Edward entered the picture and all she could do was obsess over how much she loves him. The only interest she seemingly has is reading the classics, and even that just seemed cliché. She's just this damsel in distress type who always seems to ma...