Neil returns to his small home-town after his wife’s sudden death, in search of comfort and healing. Once home, Neil must decide whether to pursue an old girlfriend, and also must confront the mysterious murder that drove him from his home-town many years earlier. While the book wasn’t terrible, it wasn’t of the quality that I’ve come to expect from Tatlock. Tatlock has written several wonderful Christian fiction books such as I’ll Watch the Moon. This book is just average.

Although Miri lives in a remote village of stonecutters, she is forbidden by her father to participate in the work of the village. While the rest of the teenagers and adults go off to work in the quarry each day, Miri must stay behind. When a messenger of the king comes to town with the news that the prince is looking for a wife from their tiny village, everything changes. Miri and the other young ladies must leave their home and go into training as potential princesses.

This Cinderella-type story was very entertaining. Miri is a strong, likeable heroine, and her growth as a person far outshadows the importance of romance in her life. Some of my favorite parts of the book were the poems that began each chapter. They were short, simple verses that gave a taste of what was to come. The first poem in particular is quite applicable to my feelings about this time of year:

The east says it’s dawn
My mouth speaks a yawn
My bed clings to me and begs me to stay
I hear a work song
Say winter is long
I peel myself up and then make away.

After my disappointment with True Believer, I was quite reluctant to pick up the sequel. At First Sight actually sat in my house for a week before I began reading, which isn’t normally how a Nicholas Sparks book is treated. But my love of Nicholas Sparks overcame my disgust for his previous book, and I soon dove in. I was pleasantly surprised. While the book wasn’t one of my favorites by any means, Sparks has redeemed himself. The characters seemed more likeable (even though they were the same characters from the first book), the focus on the paranormal was kept to a minimum, and there was even an element of suspense to the plot. One reason that the plot was interesting to me (which won’t of course be true for all readers) is that the main characters are expecting their first baby, and much of the plot focuses on that. My biggest complaint about the book (and this might be a spoiler for some) is that Sparks seems to have read James Patterson’s Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas and tried to imitate some major elements, without nearly as much success as Patterson had.

12 young people’s stories are intertwined in this overview of the Hitler Youth. Hitler’s skill in manipulating teenagers and their parents is chilling, as are the atrocities that “children” were willing to commit. These atrocities stand in sharp contrast to the acts of heroism and bravery, also commited by teenagers who had everything to lose. My one complaint about the book is that with 12 different stories being told simultaneously, it is difficult to keep everyone straight.

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