Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone by Phaedra Patrick (who also wrote The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, reviewed here) is the story of Benedict, who has just been left by his wife because they are unable to have a baby. He is overweight, down in the dumps, and estranged from his only relative, the brother he helped to raise when their parents died. Then along comes his brother’s daughter, escaping her own troubles, and things begin to turn around. Like Arthur Pepper, this charming book is a gem (no pun intended) and a light, enjoyable read (though a bit slow to start – stick with it).

We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter, was the suggestion of my former colleague with all the good recommendations. While I said I would swear off WWII books this summer, I have to say, this was an amazing one – best book I have read in a long time. I dove right in and had a hard time not reading when there were other things to accomplish. This is the story of a Polish family and how they all fared throughout the war. Each story is interesting, they are easy to follow, and they weave together back and forth in a fascinating way. I thought about reading this book when I wasn’t reading it and was eager to find out what happened to each character. While the historical facts were hard to read (as they always are in WWII books), it was a surprise at the end to learn that the book was based on the author’s ancestor’s real history.