I have no idea where my copy of The Keeper of Secrets by Julie Thomas came from – it may have come from my Little Free Library, but I’m not certain. In any event, it’s another WWII book – there are just SO many. In this story, we jump from present to past and family to family around antique violins, their origins and secrets. While you have a hint of how the story is going to tie up, the book was well-written and enjoyable. And, of course, while the underlying thread of the Holocaust is awful, the hope, survival, and redemption make it not so painful to read.

The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff came highly recommended from multiple sources. And, it didn’t disappoint. I have read my fair share of Holocaust/WW II books, and, while this one was certainly sad, it didn’t carry the same weight as most of the others. We begin with Noa, who has been exiled by her parents because she has become pregnant by a Nazi. The home for girls where gives birth takes the baby from her. She leaves and finds shelter in a train station, where she comes upon a railcar full of babies, presumably stolen from their parents by the Nazis. She makes off with a baby, flees the train station and ends up becoming part of a traveling circus. As we learn about Noa’s life, we also encounter Astrid, a former circus aerialist. Astrid had married a Nazi but was forced to divorce him because she was Jewish. After fleeing Berlin, she returned home, only to find her home emptied and her family missing. But, the competing circus was still in place and she was able to join their ranks. It is here where she and Noa meet one another, train together, and survive with the stolen baby. This book moved along at a quick pace, and while moments might have required some suspension of disbelief, overall, it was quite a story and well worth reading.

The Day I Died by Lori Rader-Day was sent to me by William Morrow for a “Reading Group Choices” contest. Anna is a handwriting expert who usually tells companies who to hire and gives advice to the lovelorn. When she is asked to help with a missing child case in the new town where she and her son have moved, things go awry. The story alludes to Anna’s past and we get small snippets as we read, but I had trouble keeping track of the characters and found the snippets distracting and unnecessarily cryptic. Overall, while I wanted to like this story, I didn’t find it to be well-told and was ready for it to be over when it ended. I’d give this one a skip.

I have enjoyed Elinor Lipman in the past, but haven’t read anything of hers in a while. On Turpentine Lane is a quick read and not too taxing. We begin with Faith, who has returned to her hometown to work in the alumni office at her alma mater. Subsequently, she buys a falling-apart home while her fiance is walking across the country to find himself. Things then start going wrong with the house and also in her work and love life. Of course, things turn around by the end. This is light-hearted read, perfect for the summer.

The premise for Our Short History is completely depressing. A woman who is dying of stage IV ovarian cancer, writes the book for her six-year-old son. In it, she describes who his father is and why he hadn’t met him before (she and the dad had been dating for six months when she found out she was pregnant and he didn’t want a family with her). But, the book wasn’t depressing. It was sad, sure, but it was written in such a way that you weren’t unhappy while you read it. The ending left things hanging, but it worked. I’d pick it up if you think you can brave it.

Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee, came highly recommended from various sources. It a story that covers 50 years in the life of a Korean family, displaced to Japan. I loved this book. It is the kind of book that you think about all day and long to get back into so you can find out what’s going to happen next to the family. My only (small) complaint was that it was a bit long. If you aren’t frightened off by length, and are, like me, a fan of family sagas, this is a good one to grab for the summer.

I gave up on Jodi Picoult a few years ago. While I loved The Pact (the first of hers I read – if you haven’t read it, you should) and several other early novels, I was finding her work too predictable and formulaic. I kept reading positive reviews of small great things, however, and I thought I would try it out. I was encouraged when the librarian told me it was worth a read when I checked it out. I fell right into this book and read about a quarter of it the first day. And, while it was a fast read, about 1/3 of the way in, it read like most of her others – medical drama followed by court case. This was a good read, and, if you haven’t read any of her others, I would definitely pick it up. It gives you pause and is a unique way to look at race relations in America. If, however, like me, you are tired of her predictability, I would give this one a pass.

I received North Haven by Sarah Moriarty as a Kindle First option for May. Since we have been lucky enough to spend a few weeks in North Haven, Maine the past few summers thanks to the generosity of good friends, it seemed like it would be a good choice. The beginning was a bit of a disappointment – shallow character development and jumping around through history and present. And, while when some of the mysteries were revealed, the plot became more interesting, in the end, this book was not really for me. I didn’t really like any of the characters, and they weren’t developed enough to care much about them or their story. Additionally, the book didn’t take place on North Haven, as far as I can tell. It seemed to take place on nearby Vinalhaven, which meant that, through the entire story I was annoyed about the title. While the scenery is undoubtedly the same (and was well, though not often described), there was nothing tying the book specifically to North Haven and a few references to Vinalhaven. I did finish, since it was a short book, but I can’t recommend this one.

I like Elizabeth Berg (Open House, The Year of Pleasures) and found an older one of her books, The Art of Mending, in perfect condition in a Little Free Library. It was a quick and fairly simple read – a family comes together once a year to attend the State fair. Family secrets are revealed, death is involved, and the siblings have to figure out how to manage it all. There was something I can’t really put my finger on that made this story not work for me. Perhaps it was overly simplistic. Perhaps the characters weren’t developed enough. Either way, I didn’t love this read and felt let down once I got to the end. I’d give it a skip in favor of some of Berg’s other novels.

I found Night Road in my Little Free Library. Since The Nightingale is one of my all-time favorite recent reads, I thought I would give Kristen Hannah another try. While Night Road moved at a good clip and the story was interesting, it wasn’t nearly as good as The Nightingale (to be fair, an almost impossibly high bar). We begin the story with Lexi moving in with her great-aunt after living most of her life in foster homes. On Lexi’s first day at her new school, she meets Mia who has no friends and can’t connect with her classmates despite having a happy home life and wonderful twin brother, Zach. Lexi and Mia become the closest of friends and Lexi becomes ensconced in the family’s life. Senior year brings trouble to the idyllic situation as Zach and Lexi fall in love, hoping that the rest of their lives won’t be upset. Of course, feelings are hurt, bad decisions are made and things fall apart. Night Road felt like a young adult novel for the first 2/3rds. The beginning was a little predictable and too shallow. The last 1/3, however, changed my opinion of the whole book. In fact, it took my rating from a 3.5 to a 4. So, while I originally said I’d skip it in favor of trying some other Hannah options, upon finishing, I would say it’s worth picking up. Fair warning, Hannah has a way with prose that makes a reader cry.