Monthly Wrap Up : January 2017

Hi guys! We’re now in the second month of the year! Where did January go? That was a little fast. Continue reading „Monthly Wrap Up : January 2017“

Friday Finds : Historical Fiction Edition

I read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak in 2014 and it became one of my all-time favorite books. It also made me want to read more historical fiction books especially those who were set in WWII. I’ve been seeing a lot of positive reviews of Salt To The Sea after it got published. The cover of Anna and the Swallow Man reminds me of The Standover Man (an illustrated story in The Book Thief). I’ve recently added these two books on my TBR list.

28103790SALT TO THE SEA
by Ruta Sepetys

Edition: Paperback (400 pages)
Publisher: Puffin (February 2016)

It’s early 1945 and a group of people trek across Germany, bound together by their desperation to reach the ship that can take them away from the war-ravaged land. Four young people, each haunted by their own dark secret, narrate their unforgettable stories. Fans of The Book Thief or Helen Dunmore’sThe Siege will be totally absorbed.

This inspirational novel is based on a true story from the Second World War. When the German ship the Wilhelm Gustloff was sunk in port in early 1945 it had over 9000 civilian refugees, including children, on board. Nearly all were drowned. Ruta Sepetys, acclaimed author of Between Shades of Grey, brilliantly imagines their story.

25489036ANNA AND THE SWALLOW MAN
by Gavriel Savit
Edition: Hardcover (232 pages)
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (January 2016)

Kraków, 1939. A million marching soldiers and a thousand barking dogs. This is no place to grow up. Anna Łania is just seven years old when the Germans take her father, a linguistics professor, during their purge of intellectuals in Poland. She’s alone.

And then Anna meets the Swallow Man. He is a mystery, strange and tall, a skilled deceiver with more than a little magic up his sleeve. And when the soldiers in the streets look at him, they see what he wants them to see.

The Swallow Man is not Anna’s father—she knows that very well—but she also knows that, like her father, he’s in danger of being taken, and like her father, he has a gift for languages: Polish, Russian, German, Yiddish, even Bird. When he summons a bright, beautiful swallow down to his hand to stop her from crying, Anna is entranced. She follows him into the wilderness.

Over the course of their travels together, Anna and the Swallow Man will dodge bombs, tame soldiers, and even, despite their better judgment, make a friend. But in a world gone mad, everything can prove dangerous. Even the Swallow Man.

Have you read any of these? Can you recommend some historical fiction books aside from All The Lights We Cannot See and Between Shades of Gray. These two are on my TBR list already. Happy Friday! ♥


Friday Finds is hosted by the awesome Jenn of Books and a Beat. It showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… Whether you found them online, or in a  bookstore, or in the library – wherever! (They aren’t necessarily booky you purchased)