Book Review: Palisades Park

 

Palisades Park by Alan Brennert

The 1930's are a time of great dreams for the Stopka family, who own a French fry concession stand at the fabulous Palisades Park in New Jersey. After seven year old Toni Stopka sees a high dive act perform for the first time, she knows that is what she wants to do, even while The Great Depression, WWII, and even the Korean War threaten to tear her family apart.

This book was magical for me! I don't know if it's just this era (Mainly the 1930's through the 1950's), which I absolutely love, or the idea of having such a grand amusement park at your every whim (I could practically smell the fresh French fries and candy floss, and hear the sounds of the rides and their riders!), or even the fact that there's mention of Doc Carver's High Diving Horse and Diver act, which is what my favorite childhood movie, Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken, was about, but I loved this book, and I've been recommending it left and right since even before I finished it.

Alan Brennert is also the author of the books Moloka'i and Honolulu.

I give this book an A.

Book Review: Sarah's Key

 

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

American journalist Julia Jarmond is living in Paris with her French husband and their daughter, when she is asked to write an piece for her magazine on the Vel' d'Hiv, a roundup by the French police of the Jews living in Paris during WWII. When she finds that for the past sixty years her in-laws have been living in an apartment that had belonged to one of those Jewish families, her discoveries threaten to destroy her family.

 I really liked this great work of historical fiction. It really brought to light the terrible conditions of the  Vel' D'Hiv, which I had never heard of before, and the sad, yet hopeful, story stayed with me for a long time after I finished reading the book.

I give this one an A.

If you liked this book, you might also want to try The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak.

Book Review: The House at Riverton

 

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

In England in the 1910's, 14 year old Grace goes to work at Riverton, the large country estate belonging to the Hartford family. As she gets older, she becomes the ladies maid, and confidant, to Lord Hartford's daughter. Now, at age 98, Grace must recall secrets she's kept for the family all these years, including events surrounding the night in 1924, when a famous poet committed suicide at Riverton.

If you are a fan of Downton Abbey, this is the book for you. Although some aspects were slightly predictable, I really enjoyed the story, and the relationships between the English upper-class and the people who work for them.

I give this book a B.

If you liked this book, I definitely recommend The Forgotten Garden, also by Kate Morton.