Germany

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

My Thoughts:

When I heard that this book was written from the perspective of Death as the narrator, I thought it would be too strange for me to enjoy.  Throughout this book I didn't feel like it was Death talking, but occasionally Death speaks as if it were a person.  Sounds creepy, but during this time of war, holocaust, and suffering, creepy seems appropriate.  

This book consumed me as I consumed it.  At the end, I was mad that so many people told me that they loved this book.  It is too tragic to love, but too moving not to read.  Thinking back on this book, a year later, I have to admit that I liked it, since I have gotten over the sadness of it.

The Book Thief is a different take on the holocaust.  The author says that he wrote this book based on stories he heard from older family members growing up.  It is a true historical fiction.

My Ratings:

Well written:  Yes

Easy to follow:  Yes

Held my attention:  Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend:  Yes
Did it represent the country: Yes

Content:

Explicit Language:  Yes

Sexual Content: Mild

Violence: Yes

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 552

Cuba

Skeleton Key by Anthony Horowitz

Alex Rider has been through a lot for his fourteen years. He's been shot at by international terrorists, chased down a mountainside on a makeshift snowboard, and has stood face-to-face with pure evil. Twice, young Alex has managed to save the world. And twice, he has almost been killed doing it. But now Alex faces something even more dangerous. The desperation of a man who has lost everything he cared for: his country and his only son. A man who just happens to have a nuclear weapon and a serious grudge against the free world. To see his beloved Russia once again be a dominant power, he will stop at nothing. Unless Alex can stop him first... Uniting forces with America's own CIA for the first time, teen spy Alex Rider battles terror from the sun-baked beaches of Miami all the way to the barren ice fields of northernmost Russia. Come along for the thrilling ride of a lifetime.

My Thoughts:

It was hard to find something set in Cuba.  I had read so many depressing books from other countries that when I came across a Spy novel set in Cuba I decided, why not?  It was nice to have something a little on the lighter side.  

Skeleton Key is a very typical Teen-Lit Spy novel.  It was somewhat sensationalized and hard to believe at times.  A fourteen year old with more spy skills than any over-the-top spy movie I've ever seen, and I like spy movies.

The book takes place on an island off Cuba called Skeleton Key.  Halfway through that book I decided to look up the island and found out that the island it is completely fictional.  There was so little content about Cuba that I feel like it shouldn't even be described as "set in Cuba".  It was a nice, light read, nothing special.

My Ratings:

Well written:  Yes

Easy to follow:  Yes

Held my attention:  Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend:  No
Did it represent the country: No

Content:

Explicit Language:  No

Sexual Content: No

Genre: Young Adult, Adventure

Pages: 327

Afghanistan

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime." 

Amir is the son of a wealthy Kabul merchant, a member of the ruling caste of Pashtuns. Hassan, his servant and constant companion, is a Hazara, a despised and impoverished caste. Their uncommon bond is torn by Amir's choice to abandon his friend amidst the increasing ethnic, religious, and political tensions of the dying years of the Afghan monarchy, wrenching them far apart. But so strong is the bond between the two boys that Amir journeys back to a distant world, to try to right past wrongs against the only true friend he ever had.

The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

A sweeping story of family, love, and friendship told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful novel that has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic.

My thoughts:

The Kite Runner is one of the best books that I have read in a long time.  Also, one of the heaviest.  The author claims that this book is purely fiction, but having read a lot of fiction and non-fiction I can't help but think that there has to be some truth to this story.  It is different from anything that I have read before, like most non-fiction, you can't completely make this stuff up.  The emotions are too real and hard to get through in many parts.  

I finished this book just before Independence Day and watched the movie with my husband.  I would stop the movie and give more details into the story as we watched.   We went to a neighborhood breakfast on Independence Day and a Veteran took some time to talk to us about his experiences in Afghanistan.  He mentioned some of the tribes that are described in this book and he gave some history.  His stories were so much more powerful after having read The Kite Runner and being able to know even a little bit more of what he was describing to us.

I felt completely immersed in this story while reading it.  Knowing almost nothing about this region of the world, other than the conflict that we hear so much about, it was fascinating to read a book that describes the area, culture, and ethnic traditions so well.  I learned so much.  This is the book that inspired me to read a book from every country in hopes to have a similar experience from each one.

My Ratings:

Well written:  Yes

Easy to follow:  Yes

Held my attention:  Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend:  Yes
Did it represent the country: Yes

Content:

Explicit Language:  Yes, all common explicit words

Sexual Content: Descriptive Rape of a child by another child

Violence: Beatings and executions, mentions of adult raping of a child

For mature readers.  I had days that I was not in a good frame of mind to read the dark heaviness of this book.  I had to take breaks from it from time to time. 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 391

Greece

Eleni by Nicholas Gage

In 1948, as civil war ravaged Greece, children were abducted and sent to communist "camps" inside the Iron Curtain. Eleni Gatzoyiannis, forty-one, defied the traditions of her small village and the terror of the communist insurgents to arrange for the escape of her three daughters and her son, Nicola. For that act, she was imprisoned, tortured, and executed in cold blood.

Nicholas Gage joined his father in Massachusetts at the age of nine and grew up to become a top New York Times investigative reporter, honing his skills with one thought in mind: to return to Greece and uncover the one story he cared about most: the story of his mother.

Eleni takes you into the heart a village destroyed in the name of ideals and into the soul of a truly heroic woman.

My Thoughts:

This book was fascinating and hard to read all at the same time.  Hard because of how horrific and real the story of Eleni is and fascination because of how heroic and even legendary she was.  There were times where I wasn't in right frame of mind to read about the heavy and dark circumstances that these people lived through for so many years, but when I finished the book I missed it, and even mourned that it was over.

The book was lengthy with details of war and history at times, but as I got about half way through it the pace picked up and I looked forward to reading it everyday.  The author, being an investigative reporter, as well as being able to give his first hand account of what happened, contributes to this book being very well written, thorough with facts and details, and an enjoyable read.  It reads like a history book at times, as well as a novel at times and he even gives his investigative narrative of how he searched for and found people in order to have their perspectives and all the facts included. He also includes his emotional struggles with coming face to face with those responsible for the torture and death of his mother.

Overall, I'm glad I picked this book to read about Greece. Greece has so much history and culture that it was hard to pick what to read about from their country.  This book is considered THE classic of Greece and I believe I read somewhere that it is required reading for most students in their country. I was not even aware that Greece had a civil war following WWII so it was educational to me, as well as culturally enlightening.

My Ratings:

Well written:  Yes

Easy to follow:  Yes

Held my attention:  Most of the Time

Would I recommend this to a friend:  Yes
Did it represent the country: Yes

Content:

Explicit Language:  Some, not much

Sexual content:  No

Violence:  Very Much, I would recommend for ages 17+

Dark and depressing content, not an uplifting read, but inspiring.

Genre: Historical

Pages: 480