Recent Reads - What I Would Tell You

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What I Would Tell You by Liz Tolsma - Mathilda and her husband are Sephardic Jews building a life in Salonika, Greece in 1941, when the Nazis march in and their world changes. Mathilda uses the small Jewish newspaper she publishes herself to urge the people of their community to be brave and to not give in to fear, even to resist, but what can they do against such a relentless enemy? Their movements are restricted, businesses confiscated, and eventually most of the men are sent away to labor camps. Mathilda helps the council come up with a plan to ransom the men back, but the cost is tremendous, and soon the Jews are all forced into ghettos and the transportations to Poland begin. As things get more bleak each day, Mathilda is anxious for the future of the baby she carries, and grateful for the help and support of one Greek Christian friend who takes her own risks to offer hope.

In 2019, Tessa is a college student struggling with the awkward dynamics in her family when she and her cousin get the results from genetic testing to find out their family background. Tessa is puzzled when hers doesn't match her cousins at all, and that she has Sephardic Jewish heritage. With no answers from her mother, and her grandparents gone, she impulsively decides to travel to Greece and research her family's roots there. With help from a guide at the museum, she digs into the little information she has in hopes of finding relatives of her great-grandmother that still lived in the area. And she realizes she must answer for herself the questions of whether she could be Christian and Jewish, and what her Jewish heritage might mean.

This novel tells the story of the Jewish people in Greece and what they suffered during World War II in a poignant way, with its focus on the character Mathilda. She is a courageous and decisive character, and through what she writes in her diary and in her little newspaper, the horrors and uncertainties of the time are made very real and personal. The modern character Tessa and her complicated family with all its tensions is a relatable and sympathetic character as well. She borrows Mathilda's translated diary from the museum in her effort to understand what happened to the Jews in Thessaloniki around the time her grandmother was born, and in this way the two stories unfold together. Both characters keep a diary or journal, and excerpts from these writings are what mark the shift from one viewpoint character to the other.

The story is well-written and very moving, and although I found it hard to read at times because I knew what the likely outcome would be for Mathilda and her loved ones, it was carefully told so that it was honest but not graphic. While telling a piece of history that many are not familiar with, the story also draws on the themes of a mother's powerful love and the importance of family and loyalty.

From the Publisher:

Determined to resist the invading Nazis, a Greek Jewish woman's greatest dream has become her worst nightmare, and now she faces an impossible choice whose consequences echo across the generations.

1941 - The pounding of Nazi boots on the streets of Salonika, Greece, reverberates in Mathilda Nissim's ears, shaking her large community of Sephardic Jews to its core and altering her life forever. If only her people would rise up and resist their captors. At great risk to herself and those around her, she uses the small newspaper she publishes to call them to action, all to no avail. Her husband encourages her to trust God to watch over them, but God has once again deserted His people. Amid the chaos, Mathilda discovers she's expecting a longed-for child. Still, nothing stops the occupier's noose from tightening around their necks, and she may have to resort to desperate measures to ensure her daughter's survival.

2019 - College student Tessa Payton and her cousin take a popular DNA heritage test only to discover they don't share any common ancestors. In fat, the test reveals Tessa is a Greek Sephardic Jew. This revelation threatens her tenuous faith. Always the overlooked child in her family, she empties her savings account and jets off on a journey to Greece to discover where she belongs and which God demands her allegiance. The enchanting curator at the Jewish museum guides her as she navigates life in Thessaloniki, helps her with her genealogical research, and loans her a fascinating journal written by a Jewish woman during WWII. Tessa's search, however, may open old wounds and uncover long-hidden secrets that could fracture her family forever and leave her with more question than when she started.

Based in part on true accounts of Jews in Salonika, Greece, What I Would Tell You traces two women's journeys, delving into what faith looks like and where it leads us as they navigate difficult circumstances and impossible choices that have ripple effects across the years.

Visit Barbour Publishing for more info on where to buy.

By the same author: A Promise Engraved, The Silver Shadow, The Gold Digger, The Pink Bonnet, The Green Dress

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

This is a book with a dedication (#9) for The 52 Book Club's 2023 Reading Challenge

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2023

©2008-2023 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

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Friday Fun - The Friday 56 and First Lines for January 20, 2023

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. 

Usually I'm not drawn to novels set during WWII, or during the twentieth century in general, but this one intrigued me when it was offered for review. I'm just getting started. 

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I thought this would be a fun adventure, but I'm having second thoughts. All I know is that I can't run home and admit to Mom and Jay that they were right and that I was crazy for wanting to come here. I may not find out anything about where I came from and who my ancestors were. I may not find out anything about what it means to be Jewish.

~from page 56 of What I Would Tell You by Liz Tolsma

Determined to resist the invading Nazis, a Greek Jewish woman's greatest dream has become her worst nightmare, and now she faces an impossible choice whose consequences echo across the generations.

1941 - The pounding of Nazi boots on the streets of Salonika, Greece, reverberates in Mathilda Nissim's ears, shaking her large community of Sephardic Jews to its core and altering her life forever. If only her people would rise up and resist their captors. At great risk to herself and those around her, she uses the small newspaper she publishes to call them to action, all to no avail. Her husband encourages her to trust God to watch over them, but God has once again deserted His people. Amid the chaos, Mathilda discovers she's expecting a longed-for child. Still, nothing stops the occupier's noose from tightening around their necks, and she may have to resort to desperate measures to ensure her daughter's survival.

2019 - College student Tessa Payton and her cousin take a popular DNA heritage test only to discover they don't share any common ancestors. In fat, the test reveals Tessa is a Greek Sephardic Jew. This revelation threatens her tenuous faith. Always the overlooked child in her family, she empties her savings account and jets off on a journey to Greece to discover where she belongs and which God demands her allegiance. The enchanting curator at the Jewish museum guides her as she navigates life in Thessaloniki, helps her with her genealogical research, and loans her a fascinating journal written by a Jewish woman during WWII. Tessa's search, however, may open old wounds and uncover long-hidden secrets that could fracture her family forever and leave her with more question than when she started.

Based in part on true accounts of Jews in Salonika, Greece, What I Would Tell You traces two women's journeys, delving into what faith looks like and where it leads us as they navigate difficult circumstances and impossible choices that have ripple effects across the years.

The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice

*Grab a book, any book.

*Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your e-reader.

*Find a snippet, short and sweet.

*Post it, and share in the Linky.

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Sunday, April 6, 1941

Salonika, Greece

This is the day I dreaded, the day I feared might come, the day I prayed never would. Greece will never be the same. Will the Nazis treat the Jews here the same way they are treating them in Poland and in Czechoslovakia?

~From the beginning of What I Would Tell You by Liz Tolsma

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader.

*It's Book Beginnings on Fridays! Time to gather with our fellow book lovers and share the opening sentence (or so) of the books we are reading this week. Or share from a book that is on your mind right now -- whatever catches your fancy.

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First Line Fridays is hosted at Reading is My SuperPower

*Share the first line or two of the book closest to you, then visit other FLF participants.

*Please keep posts family friendly or clean reads.

*Link back to Reading is My SuperPower within your post or grab a button.

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And here is the weekly bookish question in the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.  

This Week's Question: Do you use social media to keep up with your favorite authors?

My Answer: I do follow several of my favorites on Facebook and a couple on Instagram. I don't interact directly with them very often though. 

Book Blogger Hop

 ©2008-2023 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Tuesday's Treasures {The Seven Wonders of the World}

This post is copied from my main blog, Homeschool Coffee Break, but because this link-up is about books, my contributions will appear here too!

The Seven Wonders of the World by Ron Tagliapietra - A long time ago (but not in a galaxy far away) I picked up this book because I thought it might be helpful in our study of the ancient world, and give us more information about the seven wonders of the ancient world. It met those expectations, but there's a lot more to this book. It's sort of a combination of a travel brochure, a history lesson, and a Bible lesson. The seven wonders of the ancient world are discussed and described, but there is also great information about other lists of wonders - technical, archaeological, architectural, and natural. Of course, these lists change from time to time and vary depending on who compiles them. Kennady and I recently completed a lapbook project about the seven natural wonders of the world, and only three of them are the same as the ones listed in this book, which was published in 1999. I haven't checked, but I imagine a few of the technological wonders listed have been eclipsed by structures that are bigger or more amazing. For each of the ancient wonders, the author describes them and puts them in context of Biblical history. By comparing and contrasting the religious beliefs of the builders of the ancient wonders to the God of the Bible, there are some interesting lessons as well. The wonders from the other lists are also well described along with some historical context. This book has proved to be a great resource for studying history and geography, and has come in handy for science as well. It's probably best suited as a reference, and some of the Bible lessons are a tiny bit forced, but I'm glad it's in our homeschool library.

I found it available through Amazon and through Christian Book Distributors. I'm sure it's available through other vendors as well.

(I originally wrote about The Seven Wonders of the World a couple of years ago for this blog.)

The original post is linked at Every Bed of Roses for Tuesday's Treasures. Blog about a book on your shelf, one you're reading, or one you found at the library.

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt}

Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt by Joyce Tyldesley - I decided to read this biography because I'd recently read a couple of novels set in Cleopatra's Egypt and was curious as to how accurate some of the fictional portrayals of the queen, her court, and her city were.  While the book was definitely interesting and went into great detail separating the myth from the facts about Cleopatra, it is not exactly light reading and is probably more "scholarly" than would appeal to the casual reader.  Much of what most of us think we know about Cleopatra has been influenced by the popular movie portrayals so our concepts of what she looked like and how she behaved have been modernized and shaped by Hollywood to a greater extent than we are aware of!  Tyldesley gives a great deal of background on Egypt under the Ptolomaic dynasty, and explains the culture and politics and many other details exceptionally well.  One thing I found confusing at times was that the book was arranged more topically than chronologically.  However, I learned much that was new to me and very interesting.

Recent Reads {Guardian of the Flame}

Guardian of the Flame by T.L. Higley - This is the third in Higley's Seven Wonders series, and is set in Alexandria, Egypt in 48BC.  If you're sketchy on your ancient history, that was when Julius Caesar and the Romans entered Egypt and the battle for power between the Romans and the Ptolomaic heirs to the Egyptian throne, including Cleopatra.  The main character is Sophia, a reclusive and embittered widow who is the Keeper of the lighthouse at Alexandria.  She faces many difficult decisions in the uncertain times - how to protect the scholars from the Museum and their work, how to support her former student Cleopatra, and how to respond to the Roman centurion who is invading her lighthouse and possibly her heart.  One of the scholars is an elderly Jewish man that has been Sophia's friend through many years, and who gently but persistently reminds her that the One God loves her and she doesn't need to prove herself worthy of His love. The story explores the time from the viewpoints of Greek Egyptians and Romans, and is a great read for anyone interested in historical fiction.

By the same author: City of the Dead, Pompeii: City on Fire, In the Shadow of Colossus

Recent Reads {City of the Dead}

City of the Dead by T.L. Higley - This novel in Higley's Seven Wonders series was not what I expected, but I mean that in a good way.  Obviously it is based in ancient Egypt, during the building of the Great Pyramid, but I thought it would probably be a romance.  Although there is a love story winding through it, it is actually a murder mystery, and a fairly good one!  The story is told in first person by Hemiunu, the Grand Vizier and the architect of the Great Pyramid.  He references a tragedy that occurred in the past that still haunts him, and as events unfold he realizes that it is linked to the murders happening in his present.  Hemi is also cousin to Pharoah Khufu, and their royal circle includes Khufu's wife, Merit, and a couple of other high-ranking Egyptians.  One of their number, Hemi's closest friend, is murdered and Hemi is determined to find the killer and restore ma'at (the Egyptian concept of order) without losing any time on the ongoing construction of the pyramid.  When Merit is also murdered, the search for the killer is intensified, but Hemi begins to meet resistance and to see the possible connections between the murders and what happened in his youth.  During this time he also befriends his new foreman and his daughter, who happen to be People of the One - worshippers of the One God of the Jews - and accepts their help in his quest for answers, and a relationship between himself and the daughter blossoms.  Hemi is himself accused of the murders and spends time in prison and on the run before the mystery is solved.

So is this book a "Christian romance" novel?  Not exactly.  It's unusual in a few ways, and a very enjoyable read, one I highly recommend.  By the way, you can also visit Higley's website, No Passport Required, for more information about her books and what is fact and what is fiction in each of them.

By the same author:  Pompeii: City on Fire, In the Shadow of Colossus

Recent Reads {The Seven Wonders of the World}

The Seven Wonders of the World by Ron Tagliapietra - This book is kind of like a combination of a travel brochure, a history lesson, and a Bible tract.  It presents a short description of each of the accepted wonders of the ancient world, and then lists and describes the seven wonders of some other categories - technological, archaelogical, architectural, and natural.  In each Tagliapietra carefully explains the criteria and why some 'wonders' were chosen over others.  When describing the wonders of the ancient world, he puts them in context of Biblical history and draws some contrasts between the religious beliefs of the builders of these wonders and the truth of God.  The descriptions of all the wonders are fairly short - about three to five pages - and most include historical background and some brief information about visiting the sites.  I've found this book to be a good "extra" when studying history and geography in our homeschool.  When we studied Egypt, we read the section on the Great Pyramid.  When we studied Australia, we read about the Great Barrier Reef (a natural wonder).   The narrative lacks continuity in some places, and a few of the Biblical lessons seem a bit contrived, but overall it's a unique study of various wonders of the world suitable for readers from middle school up.

Recent Reads {Cleopatra's Daughter}

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran - I didn't know much, if anything, about the children of Cleopatra and Marc Antony before reading this historical novel, so it came as a bit of a surprise to me that the daughter, Kleopatra Selene, and her husband were known for their great love story as well. Moran's well-researched novel tells the story, from Selene's viewpoint, of the defeat of Marc Antony and the death of Cleopatra, followed by the exile of the three youngest children to Rome under Caesar Augustus (as he would be later known). Selene and her twin brother Alexander must cope with the sudden deaths of both parents, followed by their captivity and the death of their younger brother.  They are treated as honored guests in Rome, brought up in the Caesar's household, with his sister Octavia (who was Marc Antony's former wife! - this is where soap operas get some of their ideas, I think!) as their guardian.  Friendships grow and are threatened, especially as they all grow older and closer to marriageable age.  At the same time, someone calling himself the Red Eagle is challenging the system of slavery in Rome and stirring up possible rebellion, and Alexander and Selene have their own speculations about the Red Eagle's identity.  Selene faces tragedy, fear and injustice with determination and hope, and there is a happy ending for her when she is given in marriage to Juba, the heir to the kingdom of Mauretania who has been serving Caesar for most of his life.  This is a great read for anyone interested in this historical time period!