Archive | September 2021

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo

Sep15

Absolutely Brilliant And Heartbreaking

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo is a powerful and heartbreaking historical children’s novel. I happened upon it as my ten year old granddaughter was studying it at school. It appealed to both the historian and the fiction-lover in me.

Michael Morpurgo is a masterful story-teller. He writes Private Peaceful in the first person with the result that the story feels very personal to the reader. As we read, we are on a countdown through the night with the memories of seventeen year old Tommo.

We witness the desire to know that heaven exists. “I want to believe there’s a heaven… that death is not a full stop, and that we will all see one another again.” Surrounded by death on the battlefield, this is a hope to hold on to.

The Belgium Front was a wasteland where even God seemed absent. “He [God] has long since abandoned this place and all of us who live in it.” The faith of men was shaken. “I could no longer pretend to myself that I believed in a merciful god… I could believe only in the hell I was living in… it was man-made, not God-made.”

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Time For Me by Jan Thompson

Sep14

A Time For Everything

Time For Me by Jan Thompson is a delightful contemporary Christian novella. It is the prequel to the Vacation Sweethearts series. It is part of the Save The Date Collection.

The characters are warm, welcoming and realistic. The reader feels completely at home in their presence.

We witness the importance of trusting God and waiting on His perfect timing. There is a time for everything under the sun if we would just be patient.

True wealth is never to be found in money but in people. When we love and are loved, we are rich beyond belief. We need to let go of our hold on worldly treasures and put our trust in God. We must put God first, family second. Everything else will slot into place when our hearts and priorities line up with His.

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I Take You by Marion Ueckermann

Sep14

Warming Your Heart And Soul

I Take You by Marion Ueckermann is the most delightful contemporary Christian novel that will leave you feeling good and smiling. It is part of the Save The Date Anthology.

The leading lady has always dreamed of a fairy tale wedding until she learns of a terrible secret and then her priority changes. Weddings are less about spending vast sums of money on one day and much more about the years that follow. Sometimes it is the simplest things that are the most magical.

There is the theme of forgiveness. Sometimes in life our hurt and pain runs deep. We cannot forgive in our own strength but need to lean on God and His strength in order to forgive. If we withhold forgiveness we risk becoming bitter and then dwelling in the land of regret. We must forgive because we have been forgiven.

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Girls In Tin Hats by Annie Murray

Sep12

The Indomitable Spirit

Girls In Tin Hats by Annie Murray is a powerful historical tale that will break your heart whilst simultaneously filling it with love and admiration.

The novel is set in Small Heath in Birmingham during the early years of World War II. It is a close-knit community with some big personalities. People were poor, living in back-to-backs, food was rationed but they shared all they had and helped where they could. People were in and out of each other’s homes as the spirit of community was alive and well.

Birmingham suffered dreadfully during the Blitz. It is a well-known fact that much of Coventry was destroyed on the night of 14th November 1940 but Birmingham also suffered, being bombed night after night. (Incidentally my Dad who lived in Birmingham at the time kept a notebook of bombing raids, it makes for fascinating reading) The indomitable spirit of the Birmingham people could not be kept down.

We follow the wardens on their nightly duties. They keep others safe as they walk the streets whilst the bombs fall. They see sights that no one should have to see.

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