Books I've Read: Under the Same Stars

 

I've loved all of Libba Bray's books, so when I saw this one in the library, I knew it was a must read for me.  And I wasn't disappointed.

The book is set in three different time periods - Nazi Germany during the early part of the war, 1980s Berlin and 2020 New York during the pandemic.  Very different times, very different characters, but somehow, all the people in these three eras are connected.

The story centers on a tree known as the Bridegroom's Oak.  Legend has it, if you write a letter and post it in the tree, your true love will write back.  In 1940s small town Germany, Sophie is still young enough to believe in fairy tales even as her best friend Hanna urges her to grow up and think about other things.  But Sophie continues to write to the tree, the letters she receives back the only bright thing in an increasingly dark world as war sets in.  

When she and Hanna join the Resistance, the oak and its legendary powers become critical to their mission to get innocent people out of the country before they are put to death.

In 1980s Berlin, Jenny has just arrived with her family to spend the summer.  She's suffocating under the weight of their expectations and unsure if the life she wants is the one she sees her mother living.  When she meets Lena, a punk determined to tear down the wall splitting the city in two, everything changes.  And then there's the old lady in her apartment building whose secrets are too intriguing to ignore.

And in 2020, the pandemic has everyone shut into their homes.  Miles, just finishing his final year of high school, is alone in his apartment, on of his mothers trapped overseas, the other staying away because she works as a nurse at a local hospital.  When his friend Chloe receives a strange package from her Swedish grandmother, they embark on a mission to discover the truth behind a mystery from 80 years ago - how two girls went missing near the Bridegroom Oak.

When I started this book, I had no idea how these three very disparate stories might relate to one another and how they might come together.  I was fascinated by the portrait of Berlin in that 1980s period - I lived in Berlin later, in the early 2000s, and by that time so much of the division between East and West had already been erased.

When, at about the halfway point, I started to figure out how each time period related to each other, I was compelled to keep reading, desperately wanting to know how everything played out.

The details of each time period were vividly drawn .  There must have been a lot of research done to get each time and place feeling this authentic and lived in.  And even though the wartime story was the the central one, neither of the other ones felt like they were in service of it or existed solely to push through ideas and information that would help resolve that one.  Every set of characters had their own lives, loves and things that concerned them, outside of the other story.

So, I'd recommend this one.  It's well written, well researched, and more importantly, a compelling story that will keep you turning the pages as each new revelation comes to light.

But don't just listen to me. Here's the blurb:

It was said that if you write to the Bridegroom’s Oak, the love of your life will answer back. Now, the tree is giving up its secrets at last.

In 1940s Germany, Sophie is excited to discover a message waiting for her in the Bridegroom's Oak from a mysterious suitor. Meanwhile, her best friend, Hanna, is sending messages too—but not to find love. As World War II unfolds in their small town of Kleinwald, the oak may hold the key to resistance against the Nazis.

In 1980s West Germany, American teen transplant Jenny feels suffocated by her strict parents and is struggling to fit in. Until she finds herself falling for Lena, a punk-rock girl hell-bent on tearing down the wall separating West Germany from East Germany, and meeting Frau Hermann, a kind old lady with secrets of her own.

In Spring 2020, New York City, best friends Miles and Chloe are slogging through the last few months of senior year when an unexpected package from Chloe’s grandmother leads them to investigate a cold case about two unidentified teenagers who went missing under the Bridegroom’s Oak eighty years ago.

Weekly Goals 18-5-26

 It's going to be another busy week, although a little less busy than last week.  I'm only teaching three classes instead of six this week.  But my day job will be busy because we have concerts this week.

I managed to write another story for the anthology yesterday.  A really nasty story that I'm not sure I'll keep, but for now it works.  I really don't know where my imagination comes from sometimes.  This week I plan to write another story and hopefully get a few flash fiction pieces written too.  I didn't get much flash done last week because I was too busy.

I haven't been to the movies in a few weeks either, and there are a few things on I'd like to see, so I'm going to try to do that too.  It's tough to find time for everything I need to do at the moment.  Weekends just aren't long enough!

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 15-5-26

 

It's the end of the week, so what am I celebrating?

It's my birthday!

But, I'm not really celebrating as such.  I have to go to work today because we have a concert out of town I need to get some things ready for and I'm teaching a class at lunchtime.  I am going to take the afternoon off, but I have to learn the class I'm teaching the next two days during that time.

Because I knew I wasn't going to have time to do anything much today, I went to a show last night and got my nails done beforehand.  Nice little treat for me.  And on Sunday a friend is cooking dinner for me, which will be lovely.  I haven't seen much of her recently, so I'm looking forward to that.

Otherwise, not a whole lot to celebrate this week.  Had a work win and have managed to push a big new project over the line.  It's going to mean a lot of work for me between now and September, but in the long run, I think it will make everything much easier.

What are you celebrating this week?

Books I've Read: Brother, Brother

 

Once again, I read this book and discovered after reading it that I had read it before.  A long time ago, but still... weird that nothing about it rang a bell for me.  Usually I get a sense of familiarity when I re-read something, but not this time.  And even stranger, I really enjoyed this book, so you'd think I'd remember it.

It's about a boy who has always been called Brother.  He's lived with his grandmother since his mother died, but she's been sick with cancer for years and as the book begins, she too dies, leaving Brother alone.  Among her things, he finds a newspaper story about a senator she's vocally despised for years and his son.  The accompanying photo shows the son and Brother is shocked to recognize his own face.

Understanding that this can only mean one thing, Brother heads to the near--private island where the senator lives to find out why he is only now discovering he has a twin.

On the way, he meets Kat, a smart, resourceful and very exciting girl who is eager to help him.  Not being someone who accepts help easily, he accepts her assistance grudgingly, but quickly finds he enjoys her company.  

On the island, he takes his time before approaching the senator, meeting his stepsister first and learning a little about the family he never knew was his.  He also begins to understand his grandmother's relationship with the family and reasons behind her ongoing hatred of them.

As secrets layer on lies, Brother has to decide if he even wants to be a part of this family who have claimed him, or if he'd prefer to make a family of his own.

I really enjoyed this book.  Brother's voice and perspective were unusual and effective and the supporting characters were well drawn.  I particularly enjoyed little Jack, the five-year-old Brother finds himself saddled with for the journey after his guardian disappears for a few days.

It's a fairly simple coming of age story, but Brother is an interesting character to spend time with and watching him figure out who he is and who he wants to be was satisfying.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

After his grandmother's death, seventeen-year-old Brother sets out, with the abandoned son of a friend, on a 200-mile trip to North Carolina's Outer Banks to find his twin brother, of whose existence he just learned.

Part coming-of-age story, part love story, this is a book about finding out that who you are and where you come from aren't necessarily the same thing.

Weekly Goals 11-5-26

 It's looking like a busy week, so I'm not setting myself any big goals.  I'm teaching every day at the gym except Monday because it's our new release week and some classes need two instructors to launch the new programs.

After saying on Friday I hadn't had any new rejections, two came in yesterday, including one for a query I sent on Saturday.  Which was disappointing, but I always feel like it's better to know than to have to assume it's pass because it's been six months with no word.

I wrote a story yesterday for my collection.  I'm not sure I like it much, but I'll sit on it.  If I still hate it when I've written the rest, I'll write a different one to take its place.  My crit group are giving me good feedback on the ones I've already written.  I hope they can get through the bulk of them before I have to submit the story to the contest.

This week's goals are to write another story for the anthology and to learn all the spin classes I need to learn in time to teach them.  I think I've got the R30 one down, but tomorrow morning will be the test of that.  Once I've done it a couple of times, it'll be in there for good.  And I only need to learn half of the Ride for the weekend, so I'll do that on Friday.  It's my birthday, so I'm planning to take half a day off to celebrate (and to learn the class).

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 8-5-26

 

It's the end of the week, so what am I celebrating?

It's the weekend!

And it has felt like a really long week too.  Unfortunately, I have a lot to do this weekend, so it's not going to be as restful as I'd hoped.

I want to try and write the next story for the anthology, but I also have a lot of other things I need to do.  I have 10 bags of mulch sitting on my lawn that need to be spread over the garden.  The weather isn't that great, but looks like it might improve on Sunday, so I think I'll do it then.

I'm teaching 6 classes next week, so need to learn both the new R30 and the new Ride classes for that.

And my house hasn't been cleaned in over a week, so that needs to happen too.  Plus, I'm going to have dinner with my extended family on Sunday.

But, on the plus side, I got no new rejections this week and a nice note from an agent who has my MS to tell me she's just behind, not ghosting.

On the work front, we sold out two out-of-town concerts, which is an exciting work-related milestone.  And a big piece of work I've been doing is close to getting the green light as a new project for us.  

I've taught four classes this week on top of all that, plus done a tuition session, so it's no wonder I'm a little tired.

What are you celebrating this week?

IWSG - May

 It's the first Wednesday of the month so it's time for....

The awesome co-hosts for the May 6 posting of the IWSG are Jenni Enzor, Jemima Pett, Jamie of Uniquely Maladjusted but Fun, and Kim Lajevardi!

This month's question has me scratching my head: What is the most inspiring feedback you received from readers, including agents, editors, and beta readers?

I have, and have had, tons of amazing feedback over my many, many years as a writer, so picking the most inspiring is a really tough ask!

But I think when I get down to it, I always feel the most satisfied when one of my readers (and most of all one of my crit partners - she's tough) tells me I made them cry.  I know...  it's not usually a positive thing to cry, but my books tend to have heartbreakingly sad moments in them and when a reader tells me they cried, I feel validated.  I did a good job and nailed the emotional intensity the way I wanted. 

Realistically, it's not just crying either; I write emotional stories about people going through a range of things in their lives.  I want the reader to feel the giddiness of falling in love for the first time, or the joy of reuniting with a loved one they thought they had lost forever.  So, if a reader tells me they felt those emotions along with the characters, that's a win for me.

Weirdly, one of my crit group stopped reading my latest book because he found it too difficult to keep reading.  Is it strange that I felt almost triumphant about that too?  If he felt that deeply about the situation my poor Arlo was in, I must have done it right.  Admittedly, I feel like that doesn't bode well for trying to sell the book, but I feel like there are enough lighter moments in the story to carry it through the darkness.

I also really like it when people enjoy my description.  I try hard to balance my writing and give just enough description to allow the reader to understand the setting.  And if I can use description to give character details as well, all the better.  So, it's a real treat for me when readers tell me they liked my descriptions.  Apparently I'm really good with food...

What pieces of feedback have really resonated with you?