Agent 355 is a short story about a nameless woman in history who bravely spied on the British and reported her findings to George Washington’s 5 stars
Agent 355 is a short story about a nameless woman in history who bravely spied on the British and reported her findings to George Washington’s men. We will never know exactly what happened to her, or anything other details besides her code name: Agent 355.
This revolutionary war tale gives us a chance to know her as a brave American patriot. It also gives us a chance to put the brave women of this time in our minds and remember them when we remember the rest of our brave women and men who risked their lives to help us win the revolutionary war.
Agent 355 is the only name we have for this woman. She may have used her place in society to attend parties with her parents. While there, the British soldiers would freely discuss military plans in front of the ladies since they were considered to be pretty baubles and not intelligent women.
Please listen to the Author’s Note at the end of the story. It tells why she wrote this story. May I say I’m very glad she did.
I highly recommend this short story to you....more
Oh my, this series continues to excite my imagination.
I love seeing the 6-year-old twins. They have a few highlighted scenes here and there4.50 Stars
Oh my, this series continues to excite my imagination.
I love seeing the 6-year-old twins. They have a few highlighted scenes here and there. They do not dominate the book. I loved meeting Diana Bishop’s (paternal) side of the family. I love the new magical elements we see in the Proctor property and I appreciate that it is very different from the Bishop’s home property.
I have always loved that Diana was a white witch practitioner. I am uncomfortable with her new course. I am excited that this series still thriving. I hope it doesn’t take too long for the next release.
I listened to the audio version of this book. The narrators were amazing. The accents were slightly hard to understand for the 5.0 stars and 3 tissues
I listened to the audio version of this book. The narrators were amazing. The accents were slightly hard to understand for the first few pages, but then became very clear. (After working at a university for 38 years, I became adept at understanding American English with strong foreign accents.)
This story is about a Somalian family with two young sons. The father was working in the fields one day while his oldest son was playing under a tree. Strangers approached the farmer and the small child saw his father gunned down. The boy started running for home and his mother was running toward him. She decided to keep going toward her husband and instructed her son to take care of his special needs little brother.
Many Somalians lives were changed that day. The boys ended up in a Kenyan refugee camp where they lived for many years. An older woman took the boys under her care and kept the children as safe as she could.
The great thing about middle grade stories like this is that adults can read the gentle text (geared for middle-graders) and learn what life was like for these refugees. To stay in Somalia meant death. Leaving their homeland was the only choice they had.
Whether you agree with refugees coming to your country or not, I beg you to read this memoir and learn how they all ended up homeless. Knowledge is power. This book tells some sad tales. But it also brings hope, found family, and gratitude for living in a stable society.
There are many memorable quotes that will stay with me forever. I predict that this may well be my favorite read of 2024.
It is 2 am and I stayed up just to finish this story. Although I fell into the story right away, it felt like the beginning of the story moved 4 Stars
It is 2 am and I stayed up just to finish this story. Although I fell into the story right away, it felt like the beginning of the story moved slowly. Or, it could just be that I wanted to see Georgie give birth!
I knew immediately how the poison was administered. But I didn’t have a clue about the who, why or when. I was tickled to see Mrs. Mallowan guest star in this volume. (If you know, you know.) It was nice having all of Georgie’s loved ones make appearances in this story. I’ll be curious to see if we get to spend time with Darcy’s father in the next installment. I hope so.
I definitely recommend this book. But I do think you will enjoy it more if you start with book 1 and read the entire series. ...more
4 stars It is hard to give a book about any war a 5 star rating. War is very obscene to me. Yet, we are free because our brave military fight our enemi4 stars It is hard to give a book about any war a 5 star rating. War is very obscene to me. Yet, we are free because our brave military fight our enemies. This is an historical short story about Allied troops and German troops fighting each other on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day.
The Allied troops were anxiously awaiting their holiday dinner. What the Allied command sent the troops was not a tasty meal, but the worst kind of obscenity I could imagine.
One of the new recruits started singing Silent Night, Holy Night. His commanding officer wasn’t happy to hear him sing a German Carol. Yet, the Germans could hear the song and soldiers on both sides were able to open their hearts for the holiday. A temporary truce is better than unending fighting.
There is music throughout the hour-long Audio drama. Recommend.
This was a re-read for me. But the first time I read/listened to Maisie Dobbs was so long ago that I remembered nothing 5 stars and a few dozen tears.
This was a re-read for me. But the first time I read/listened to Maisie Dobbs was so long ago that I remembered nothing about the plot. Jacqueline Winspear is an amazing author. Her writing is captivating. I literally listened to this book continuously during my daily routine.
It appears I have this audiobook in my library twice. The first copy is by the narrator named: This 2nd copy is about 7 minutes longer than my first audiobook and the narrator, Rita Barrington, not only did a stellar job performing the story, but she has a lovely singing voice. Listening to her sing these war songs were both comforting and surprising. I was born in the 1950’s, so remembering these tunes may not be unusual. I hope younger readers can remember, or look up these tunes on line. They warmed my heart, which was the intent of the composers. However this book makes me think of a brilliant anti-war song entitled WAR and sung by Edwin Starr:
WAR…war…what it is good for? Absolutely nothing. I recommend looking this up and listening to it after you read the book.
I will warn you that there are more than a few characters you will meet while reading this. Fortunately, you get a handful of characters at different stages of Maisie’s life. For example, her childhood/teenaged years…followed by a few new people during her college years, etc.
I tend to cry easily…and this book did a number on me while the events unfolded. Yet, I felt the ending of book one lead to a hopeful outlook for the future.
Triggers: war wounds, loss of loved ones due to war.
This is my second book by Kimberly Brubaker Bailey. The first was Jefferson’s Sons, another big winner.
This book is a WWII historical fiction4.5 stars
This is my second book by Kimberly Brubaker Bailey. The first was Jefferson’s Sons, another big winner.
This book is a WWII historical fiction, The War that Saved My Life. Be warned that children Ada (9) and Jamie (7) have an extremely hateful/abusive mother. She inhabits the first couple of chapters but then the children are shipped out to live in the due to the fear of Hitler’s bombing raids in London.
We see how two extremely neglected children have to learn almost everything. They don’t know the names of simple things like sheets, table clothes or indoor plumbing. Little Ada has spent the first 9 years with a club foot and never was allowed to leave her slum apartment. Now you are at the start of their transformation and salvation. I recommend this book....more
I chose this book to fulfill a challenge of reading a book with a Z in the title. Lo and behold, my public library search delivered this delightful auI chose this book to fulfill a challenge of reading a book with a Z in the title. Lo and behold, my public library search delivered this delightful audiobook. It takes place in 1950 and I fell into the book and didn’t come up for air until I hit the 50% mark. The narration was wonderful.
I love the writing style of Ella Griffiths. From reading other comments, she is a very popular author and I plan on reading more of her work in the very near future. I highly recommend this post war mystery. ...more
This is my new favorite middle grade historical fiction. It is a companion novel to Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s The War that Saved My Life. I listenedThis is my new favorite middle grade historical fiction. It is a companion novel to Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s The War that Saved My Life. I listened to the audio version of both books and highly recommend Jayne Entwistle’s narration of both books.
This book, The War I Finally Won, picks up where the first book left off. I don’t want to give details because they would spoil book one. Suffice it to say, both of these books can be read as stand-alone, or in a series. I certainly feel reading them in order will give you the very best reading experience available.
The first book centered on the condition of children who were relocated to the country before the Blitz started. This book focuses on how the war disrupted lives everywhere in the UK. I did cry. Not just once, but at several different points in the story. Wars are heartbreaking. We also get to see the unsung heroes who were just ordinary country folk who kept their heads and did what was necessary. It tells us about many phases of WWII. Jewish prejudice, the fear of spies infiltrating the general population, rationing and the delivery of the dreaded telegrams that just tear your heart into tiny pieces. Based on these facts, it might be best to Buddy-read this book with your middle-grader.
I hope you will read this duology. It reminds us atrocities we should never forget. ...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery. Before writing this review I checked out a couple other reviews and was pleasantly surprised to learn that Ms. AlliI thoroughly enjoyed this mystery. Before writing this review I checked out a couple other reviews and was pleasantly surprised to learn that Ms. Allingham’s work was loved by Agatha Christie. I am not sure how I lived these many decades without running across her work, but I’m excited to read more from her catalog now!
The author did a great job of leading me on a merry dance as I tried to guess whodunnit. In fact, my first guess was correct, but quickly dismissed as being too terrible to be true. The narrator’s excellent reading of this story allowed me to experience this book with keen interest. I ended up loving the conclusion of this story and the gentle lesson woven into the words. I definitely recommend this story/author to you....more
What a fabulous blend of historical fiction and a sort of time warping that allows our protagonist to interact with a US serviceman in 2023. I highly What a fabulous blend of historical fiction and a sort of time warping that allows our protagonist to interact with a US serviceman in 2023. I highly recommend this short story. I look forward to reading the rest of author, Kate Quinn’s catalog....more
I have read several books about children evacuated from London to the countryside during WWII. They have always been from the perspective of the adultI have read several books about children evacuated from London to the countryside during WWII. They have always been from the perspective of the adults responsible for their welfare.
This story is told from the point-of-view of three siblings who had recently been orphaned when their elderly grandmother passed away. The eldest son, 12 years-old, is the only child with memories of their mum and dad. The youngest child, a girl, was just a baby when the three children were sent to live with their not-so-nice grandmother. Although her death left the children fortunate enough to have inherited a sizable fortune, there were no other family members to take on the care of the three of them.
With the declaration of war between Great Britain and Germany, families in London started sending their children to live with family, friends, or complete strangers, in the country, until the war was over.
Speaking with their family solicitor, they are cautioned to keep the truth about their wealth a secret so that they are not adopted for the sake of their money. After living a loveless, yet privileged life in London, these newly made orphans must hold their family together, and survive everything their country hosts throw at them.
This story highlights the indomitable spirit of children when they must face an uncertain future. I highly recommend this well-written and narrated book....more
I started school in the 1960’s in Ohio. A free state during the Civil War. I learned quite a bit of this stuff in schooWritten for children and adults
I started school in the 1960’s in Ohio. A free state during the Civil War. I learned quite a bit of this stuff in school. With the advent of school curricula being edited, this is a gentle, factual account of the history of this nation. I highly recommend this to any and all Americans who want to know what the Underground Railroad was. Now, I want to learn about the Boston Tea Party. Yes, this series is fabulous!...more
This is my favorite book of 2022. The writing is absolutely beautiful. The narration welcomed me into the story slowly at first. But a couple of chaptThis is my favorite book of 2022. The writing is absolutely beautiful. The narration welcomed me into the story slowly at first. But a couple of chapters in, I got lost in this amazing story and basically read 3/4 of the story in one sitting.
The synopsis tells you everything you need to know about the plot. At the end of the book, the author gives you a peak into the creative process she used to write this gem. Do yourself a favor and read every word she writes, or speaks, for those of us who listened to the audiobook. Her process enhances almost every detail of the story. I won’t say more because I want you to make these discoveries on your own.
Now, I’m going back to page one to re-read this story. I am sure the author’s comments will enhance every detail in this book. I hope you love this story as much as I did....more
Joan Hess finished writing this saga since we lost Dear Elizabeth Peters. It was a bittersweet ending to an incredible saga. My tanks to Ms. Hes2020.
Joan Hess finished writing this saga since we lost Dear Elizabeth Peters. It was a bittersweet ending to an incredible saga. My tanks to Ms. Hess for staying true to the author’s original vision.
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