The Great Divide

 

The Great Divide written by author, Christina Henriquez.

Henriquez brings the history of the Panama Canal to life in this well developed story.  It focuses on the people  whose lives were affected by the building of a canal in Panama to link the shipping lanes together.  How the changes changed the lives of the people whose lived there, the workers who came there looking for wealth and power.  Following the personal lives of a variety of people we see the hard times, the struggles, the triumphs of the Panama Canal project.

We meet characters from the United States who go over as doctors, engineers and site bosses.  They come from a variety of backgrounds and are looking for fortune or  fame.  There are characters that come from the islands, Jamaica, Barbados and Panama looking to make money and go back to lead easier lives on their islands.

Ada is a young girl who leaves home to find work in Panama to help raise money for an operation the local doctor tells her family her sister needs. Living a very poor life she hopes to quickly raise the money needed and return.  John, a research sccientist who hope to find the cure for maleria, goes to study and treat maleria in Panama.  Bringing his wife along, he is also hoping to escape his own demons.  Also many young men who came to put in the hard work, hoping to return to their islands wealthy enough to find a wife and a home. 

Also there are characters who show the feelings of the Panamanians, those who did not welcome these outsiders coming to change their land and life in Panama.

The conditions are treacherous and the dangers are very real.  It is an amazing and personal look at how this new canal would change the landscape.

Tree Spirits Around the World

 If you are looking for a wonderful book to read with a child, this is the perfect selection.  Tree Spirits Around the World written and photographed by Louise Wannier is an extremely unique and creative concept for a book that will fascinate both adults and children.

As a grandmother (Safta) Wannier created a magical book that explores photographs of trees and encourages the reader to use their imagination to see different animals in the photographs.

To help the reader, illustrator, April Tatiana Jackson has used her imagination to create beautiful drawings of animals that could be in each of the plants.  Using an overlay with the animal drawings layered over each tree we can see the tree come to life.

The photographs in this book were taken in various countries of plants native to that country. The animals are also native to the country.  

The book is beautifully composed and the idea is very unique. I will go back and find the first book, Tree Spirits. 

Kills Well With Others

 Kills Well With Others is the newest addition to the Killers of A Certain Age mystery series.  Deanna Raybourn is on a roll as she continues to bring four women of a certain age along for a exciting murder in the name of justice.

The premise of this series is four women assassins who are passed their prime in life but are ready to quit working yet. They work as a team and are assigned murders by the Museum, an organization that kills in the name of justice.  The targets are only people who are a menace to society.  Murder for a good cause, to make the world a safer place.

The characters are very relatable.  Each struggling with what to do with retirement.  Not ready to say their are not useful anymore, trying to hold onto their self worth.

Using clever disguises they go undercover and search out their targets.  The disguises are perfect and the descriptions of the places around the world they travel are colorful.  

The plot this time is that someone from the past is out to get them and they are both trying to figure out how to protect themselves and also find the culprit and disarm them.  There is a mole on the inside of the Museum and an angry villain.  There is reference to artwork stolen by the Nazis from the Jews during World War II.

All this leads to an interesting plot and a fun mystery novel.  Enjoy the read.

The Daughter of Auschwitz: My Story of Resilience, Survival and Hope

 Tova Friedman was four years old when her family was moved to a Jewish Ghetto in Poland and just six when they were forced into a cattle car bound for Auschwitz concentration camp. Tova is one of the youngest survivors of the horrendous death camp.  As time passes and the survivors of the Holocaust atrocities are fewer and fewer Tova feels it is her obligation to tell her story.  She must keep sharing her experiences so that the world will not forget what happened in World War II Germany and Poland. 

The story is told from Tova’s perspective with the help of author Malcom Brabant, a war reporter, whose detailed research helped Tova remember her experiences with meticulous detail.

Tova tells the story from the perspective of a young girl of twelve talking to a classmate.  This makes the story easier for young readers to understand and relate to the details.  We meet Tova when she comes to New York City and is starting her new life in America.  It is difficult at first adjusting to a new language and trying to fit into school.  She has never played with other children or had any friends before.  She dresses very differently and the school counselor even suggests she cut her long hair to look more American.

Tova Friedman was an incredibly lucky person.  She explains the many times she was saved by ingenuity, or just good luck from the jaws of death.  Her mother had many clever and good sense advice and ideas that helped them both live through the many horrible situations they faced. Her father also survived and they found each other after the war, traveling to the United States together.

Now Tova is in her eighties and has four children and eight grandchildren  She travels around the country telling her story and talking to young people about prejudice and anti-semitism.  She and her grandson Aron have a TikTok channel to reach a larger audience.  

This book has a strong message about being Jewish even in the face of adversity. The Jewish holidays are mentioned and food laws of kashrut. Judaism is integral to the story.  This is not a book that would exist without the Jewish component.  It is a great book for all young people to read, Jewish and non Jewish to understand the horrible consequences of hatred and prejudice.

This is an important memoir that will continue to honor the victims of the Holocaust and keep the atrocities that happened there fresh in our minds so that they will never be repeated again.