the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a good but not great book. Written in letter form, it tells the story of Juliet, a writer from London just after World War II. She reeives a letter from a reader in Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands (located in the English Channel) who is looking for books. The Channel Islands were occupied during the war and a relationship forms between Juliet and the people from Guernsey who continue to write to her. All of this occurs as Juliet ponders her next book topic through letters with her publisher, Sidney. When she finally decides that she wants to go to Guernsey to meet the people whom she is falling in love with, she's in the midst of a love battle with a man who wants to marry her. The story continues with Juliet finding out and researching about the people of Guernsey. A good book that has love, mystery, and tragedy all wrapped together. Easy to read, but not a knock your socks off book.


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sarah's key

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Sarah's Key is a double-perspective WWII story about a much-neglected event within Paris in 1942. it's interesting that the vel d'hiv (the velodrome was an arena in Paris used for sporting events) is often overlooked when one speaks of the Holocaust. the main character, Sarah and her present-day counterpart, Julia Jarmond, are both telling the story from their perspectives in 1942 and 2005, respectively.



i enjoyed the relationship that Julia establishes with the history of Sarah and the apartment and the key, but at times it seems a big manic. i was happy to see that Betrand's father wasn't as crude and cocky as he seemed or as Betrand.



in the end, the book had some strong points and an alluring story that made you want to find out more.






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