(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Wonder by R.J. Palacio and Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Lida Ferezuk isn't Jewish, but that doesn't stop the Nazis from killing her parents and taking her and her younger sister captive.  Their crime?  The Ferezuks are Ukrainian.  According to the Germans, their country no longer exists.  They are now Russian and thus eligible to be put to work for the Nazis.  Even though Lida is only nine, she's forcibly separated from her sister and sent to a labor camp.  Knowing she must be useful in order to survive the upcoming ordeal, Lida lies about her age and vows to stay as strong as possible.

When Lida is ordered to work at a bomb factory assembling explosives for the Nazis, she sees an opportunity to finally fight back against a cruel and vicious enemy.  With eyes on her all the time, it's a huge risk that could cost her her life.  Already weak from starvation and wracked with fear, does she dare to put what little she has left on the line?  If her plan fails, she'll lose everything, including the chance to ever see her sister again.  

Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch is a harrowing middle grade novel based on the real Ukrainian slave raids that occurred during World War II.  I didn't know much at all about this topic, so it was interesting to read about it.  Disturbing, but fascinating.  Lida makes for a sympathetic narrator.  It's impossible not to root for her as she tries to help those around her, looks for beauty in even the darkest places, and longs for a reunion with her beloved sister.  The story moves along swiftly, ensuring a quick, exciting read that's as informative as it is interesting.  While Making Bombs for Hitler didn't knock my socks off, I definitely found the novel a worthwhile read. 

Readalikes:  Reminds me of other middle grade WWII novels, including The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen; Number the Stars by Lois Lowry; and Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence, blood/gore, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  I borrowed a copy of Making Bombs for Hitler from my daughter's elementary school library.

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

For hundreds of years, the women of Beckford have been dying in a part of the local river that's become known as the "Drowning Pool."  Whether the dead chose a watery grave for themselves or were forced off the craggy cliffs surrounding the spot is part of its mystery.  Nel Abbott has always been obsessed with the Drowning Pool, so much so that she's crafting a coffee table book about its history.  When Nel becomes the latest in a long string of difficult women to die in the Drowning Pool, no one's overly surprised.  After all, the photographer spent lots of time on the cliffs, trying to capture the perfect photo.  She could easily have lost her footing, accidentally plunging to her death.  The more evidence that mounts, however, the more it appears that something much more sinister happened to Nel Abbott ...

Nel's younger sister, Jules, arrives in Beckford—the town to which she swore she would never return—to try to understand Nel's death.  She's also charged with the care of her newly orphaned niece.  Already haunted by the recent suicide of her best friend, who killed herself in the Drowning Pool, 15-year-old Lena grows even more surly and withdrawn in the wake of Nel's death.  Jules, a lonely, childless social worker, has no idea how to comfort Lena, let alone herself.  

Jules is desperate to know what really happened to her sister; her inquiries, however, produce more questions than answers.  Someone in tiny Beckford knows the truth.  Everyone is hiding something, but no one's talking.  Can Jules figure out how Nel died?  Or will her pointed questions lead to her own corpse being dragged out of the murky depths of the Drowning Pool?

With its eerie Gothic overtones, Into the Water by Paula Hawkins, is an atmospheric novel that's as haunting as it is compelling.  It's more layered than The Girl On the Train, but somehow less original.  Still, the story kept me turning pages far into the night.  As engrossing as the tale is, it's also sad and depressing.  Overall, I found it intriguing but not nearly as mesmerizing as Hawkins' debut.  Even though I'm not bowled over by the author's sophomore effort, I'm still anxious to see what she does next.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of novels by Carol Goodman and of the Jess Tennant trilogy by Jane Casey)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for strong language, violence, disturbing subject matter, and depictions of prescription drug abuse

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Into the Water from Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence, blood/gore, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find