Top Ten Tuesday – Ten of My Favorite Animals from Books
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is Animals from Books (these could be mythical, real, main characters, sidekicks, companions/pets, shifters, etc.). I couldn’t think of ten animals that fit into any of those suggested categories so I just split mine into Recent Favorite and Childhood Favorites and they are a hodge podge of all the suggested categories.
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10 of My Favorite Animals from Books
RECENT FAVORITES
1. BEEFCAKE from CRAZY STUPID BROMANCE by Lyssa Kay Adams
Beefcake is a spotlight-stealing fat cat. If you want to date Alexis, you better hope Beefcake likes you.
2. BIEBER the Golden Retriever from SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA by Becky Albertalli
Bieber is a golden retriever who reminds me of my dog, Winston. Enough said. 🙂
3. BUCKBEAK & HEDWIG from the HARRY POTTER series by She Who Shall Not Be Named
I kind of cheated here and did a two-fer because I couldn’t decide between Harry’s snowy owl, Hedwig, and Hagrid’s beloved hippogriff, Buckbeak.
4. GATZ from JOINT CUSTODY by Lauren Baratz-Logsted & Jackie Logsted
I just can’t resist a matchmaking dog who is determined to get his owners back together.
5. SHIT TURD THE CROW & DENNIS THE DOG from HOLLOW KINGDOM by Kira Jane Buxton
This might be the most creative use of animals in a book as Shit Turd the Crow and his loyal companion,
Dennis the Dog, set out to save the world from a zombie apocalypse.
CHILDHOOD FAVORITES
6. ASLAN, the Great Lion, from THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA by C. S. Lewis
Oh how I adored this lion when I was a child.
7. BUNNICULA the Vampire Bunny, from BUNNICULA by Deborah Howe & James Howe
I just thought the whole concept of a vampire bunny was hilarious when I was a kid.
8. CHARLOTTE from CHARLOTTE’S WEB by E. B. White
I hate spiders now, but Charlotte was just such a special character.
Wilbur the pig was cool too but I was all about Charlotee and her wisdom.
9. MAX the Dog from HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS by Dr. Seuss
I love this adorable little scene stealer. He’s even more of a favorite of mine in the animated version.
10. POOH & FRIENDS, especially EEYORE, from WINNIE-THE-POOH by A. A. Milne
My all-time favorite animals. I was especially attached to Eeyore but I loved them all.
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Question: What are your favorite animals from books? Do we share any favorites?
Reviews: THE WOMAN WITH THE BLUE STAR & THE LAST NIGHT IN LONDON
Today I’m sharing my thoughts on two powerful and compelling works of WWII historical fiction, one by Pam Jenoff and the other by Karen White. This is my third time reading a novel from Jenoff and as with the first two, it was a very emotional experience for me. This was my first time reading a novel from White, although I’ve been wanting to try her books for years now.
The Woman with the Blue Star Goodreads Author: Pam Jenoff
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Publisher: Park Row
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Pam Jenoff’s latest novel, The Woman with the Blue Star, is a powerful and inspiring story of strength, resilience, love, and friendship set against the dangerous backdrop of Nazi-occupied Poland during WWII. The story follows two young women, one Jewish and the other not, and the unlikely friendship they are able to forge in such a deadly environment.
Sadie Gault is an eighteen year old Jewish girl who has been living with her parents in the Krakow Ghetto. When the Nazis arrive to liquidate the Ghetto, Sadie and her family, along with another family, manage to escape into the sewers beneath the city. Unbeknownst to Sadie, her father had made arrangements with a trusted friend who works in the sewers and this friend has created a shelter for them to seek refuge in until they can safely leave. What they thought would be a few days stretches into weeks and months. My heart just broke for Sadie and for everyone else with her, having to live in such squalid conditions and fearing for your life every minute of every day. I also found them inspiring though because of the inner strength they all clearly possessed and their will to survive. I’m not sure I would have that kind of strength.
In contrast to Sadie, there is also Ella Stepanek. Ella comes from a wealthy Polish family and finds herself living in relative comfort and able to move about with relative ease, in part because of her stepmother who has allied herself with the Nazis who occupy their city. She knows she has it good in comparison to others but doesn’t really know how good until one day while at the market, she sees a pair of eyes staring up at her from a sewer grate. At first Ella cannot believe her own eyes but then realizes it’s a Jewish girl about her own age and that she must be hiding down there. Ella, who has herself been desperate for friendship and is disgusted that her stepmother is collaborating with Nazis, vows to do whatever she can to protect Sadie from being discovered.
I loved the friendship that formed between Sadie and Ella. It was so beautiful to see amidst so much horror and death, and I longed for them both to survive the war so they could continue their sister-like bond in times of peace. I just really loved both girls so much and how they were each exactly what the other needed. I also loved another unlikely friendship that formed in the book between Sadie and Saul, another Jewish boy who was also sheltering in the sewer. His family is much more religious than hers and he shouldn’t really associate with Sadie, but in such close quarters with no one else to talk to, he and Sadie become close and it’s another beautiful relationship to contrast with the ugliness all around them.
I don’t want to go into any specifics about what ultimately happens to all of these characters, but I will say that I flew through this book in less than a day and I cried more than once, especially when I got to the author’s notes at the end and realized that while these specific characters were not real, there are real accounts of Jewish families living in sewers while trying desperately to escape the Nazis. The Woman with the Blue Star really is a powerful and emotional testament to how strong the will to survive is. 5 STARS.
The Last Night in London Goodreads
Author: Karen White
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Publisher: Berkley
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I’ve been wanting to try one of Karen White’s novels for a while now so when I saw that her newest novel, The Last Night in London, is primarily set in London during WWII, I thought that would be a great place to start, considering my love of WWII historical fiction. And it turns out I was right, as I found myself enveloped in an intricately-crafted story of family and friendship, romance and drama, suffering and resilience, all wrapped up in a web of long-buried secrets and deception set against the deadly backdrop of the Blitz.
I was sucked into White’s story from the opening pages of the prologue where we meet an unnamed woman running through the streets of London with bombs falling all around her. She knocks on a door, hands over a suitcase which when opened reveals there is an infant within, and then she flees into the night. Who is this woman, where is she running off to, and if that is her baby, why is she leaving it with someone else? I was already on the edge of my seat wanting answers to all of these questions and more. White’s story is a slow burn though so fair warning that lots of threads will need to be pulled together before those answers are revealed. The reveal is definitely worth the wait though so just enjoy the journey.
The story features a dual timeline, one set in present day London while the other is set during WWII London around the time of the Blitz. The present day timeline follows American journalist Maddie Warner who is traveling to London to interview Precious Dubose, a former fashion model, who is about to turn 100 years old. Maddie, a distant relative of Precious’, is only there to interview Precious about WWII fashion and her time living in London around the war, but the more Maddie interacts with Precious, she gets the feeling Precious has something weighing her down and that she would like to share more with Maddie than just her thoughts on fashion. The WWII timeline, coupled with some investigative work Maddie does on her own, slowly begins to unravel the long-held secrets Precious has been keeping for over 50 years.
Both timelines made for pretty compelling reads, but I was definitely drawn in more by the WWII timeline because I wanted answers to my questions from the prologue. I also loved the various characters that were introduced in this timeline, including a young Precious and her roommate, Eva, who also has her fair share of secrets. It was fascinating watching the two of them try to live, work, and love in wartime London, sometimes getting caught up in questionable activities with even more questionable people. I was captivated by their adventures and was waiting to see how their stories culminated in that moving scene from the prologue.
I very much enjoyed my first foray into a Karen White novel and look forward to reading more from her. 4 STARS.
Reviews: WHEN THE STARS GO DARK & THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN CUBA
Happy Friday all! I hope everyone has had a wonderful week. The past couple of weeks I have finally found myself in the mood for some more dramatic reads that don’t fall in the romance category. So today I’m sharing an excellent mystery/thriller from Paula McLain. I had never read anything by her before so I was excited to finally give her a try. My second review is historical fiction from Chanel Cleeton. This was my third Cleeton novel and she is fast becoming an auto-buy author for me.
When the Stars Go Dark Goodreads Author: Paula McLain
Publication Date: April 13, 2021
Publisher: Ballantine Books
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I can be hit or miss when it comes to reading mysteries. If the story is so plot-driven that I can’t really connect to the main character, then I tend to be less invested in the outcome of the story. That is absolutely not the case with Paula McLain’s new novel, When the Stars Go Dark, which is both a compelling mystery about a missing teen and an emotional journey of personal tragedy and healing for McLain’s protagonist, Anna Hart. It was the perfect combination for me, and I couldn’t put this book down.
Anna Hart is a detective who specializes in missing persons cases. When we first meet Anna, she is returning home to Mendocino, California, the town where she grew up with her foster parents. It’s clear from her emotional state that something tragic has happened and that she needs time to heal and regroup, but it’s also clear that she doesn’t have fond memories of her time in Mendocino and is only returning as a last resort because she feels she has nowhere else to go. I was drawn to Anna right away and wanted to know what had happened to her, both recently and in her past, since it seems like she must have quite a backstory.
As much of a mystery as Anna herself is at first, the real mystery kicks off once she arrives in her hometown and learns that a teenage girl has gone missing and that foul play is suspected. Even though she is meant to be using this time to recover from her own personal tragedy, Anna becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. She remembers a similar case with a missing girl in this town back when she lived there. That case ended in tragedy and left the town reeling, and she’s not about to let it happen again. It’s revealed that some events from Anna’s own past have made her especially skilled in the area of figuring out exactly how some victims initially come into contact with predators. Anna knows she has this unique skill set that can help local law enforcement find the girl and bring her home, so she forces her own pain to the background and focuses all her energy on the case. I admired Anna’s strength and resilience here, especially considering how truly devastated she is at the beginning of the book.
I really enjoyed watching Anna work all angles of the case and especially liked the way the author starts to weave bits of Anna’s past into what’s going on in the present. It’s an evenly paced story, with the tension and suspense building slowly as we get closer and closer to the truth about the missing girl as well as to the root of Anna’s personal pain. Usually I love a mystery that has me on the edge of my seat, but the even pacing really worked for me here since it allowed me time to really get into Anna’s head more and get a sense of where she is emotionally along the way.
I don’t want to give away any details about the mystery itself or Anna’s tragedy, past or present, as I think those are best discovered as you’re reading the book, but I highly recommend When the Stars Go Dark to anyone who enjoys a well crafted mystery that is equally driven by character and plot. 4 STARS
The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba Goodreads
Author: Chanel Cleeton
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Publisher: Berkley
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Set in the late 1890s, Chanel Cleeton’s new novel, The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba gives her readers an inside look at the Spanish-American War and at the journalistic war between famous newspaper publishers, William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer.
What really brings Cleeton’s story to life are the three perspectives she uses to let the events of the story unfold through, 3 women who find themselves at the center of the action. Grace Harrington is a young American socialite who wants to be the next Nellie Bly. She marches into both Joseph Pulitzer’s office and William Randolph Hearst’s and demands they give her a chance to prove herself. She is hired by one to spy on the other, while earning her living working undercover as a “stunt girl reporter.” It is through Grace’s eyes that we not only see how difficult it was for a woman to break into the field of journalism, but also how sensational or “yellow” journalism played a huge role in drawing America into Cuba’s war for independence. Grace is a sympathetic character as she’s clever, talented, and very passionate about the kinds of stories she wants to write and of course because she’s an underdog in a man’s world.
The other two perspectives provide an intimate look at how badly Cubans were being hurt living under Spanish rule. Eighteen year old Evangelina Cisneros dreams of a free Cuba, and even more so after she is wrongfully imprisoned because she turned down the romantic overtures of a high ranking Spanish officer. When William Hearst hears of her imprisonment and sees a photo of how beautiful she is, he plasters her photo on the front page of his newspaper and uses her as a rallying cry for the U.S. to get involved in the war. What I found most interesting about Evangelina is that Hearst and his people portray her as this delicate flower in need of saving, but when it comes down to it, she writes her own escape plan, complete with diagrams, and has someone on the inside of the prison smuggle it to her would-be rescuers. She’s much tougher and more resourceful than she is portrayed and in her own way is a force to be reckoned with, especially once she gets to New York and starts making speeches on behalf of those in Cuba she has left behind.
The third perspective is that of Marina Perez, and in some ways, I found her perspective the most interesting of all. Marina is a wife and mother, trying to safely raise her child against all odds in a reconcentration camp while her husband is off fighting for Cuba’s independence. In addition to that, however, Marina is also trying to do whatever she can to advance the same cause. She works as a laundry woman and because she has access to so many people, she has become a courier ferrying messages back and forth to help the Cuban revolutionaries. I was captivated my Marina’s story, especially her passion and devotion to both her family and her country. I also thought her relationship with her husband was beautifully portrayed, as they are both sacrificing so much and each just wants the other to come home safely. It was very moving.
If you enjoy beautifully written, well-researched historical fiction that features unforgettable characters, look no further than Chanel Cleeton’s new novel, The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba. 4 STARS