Front Lines by Michael Grant

OVERVIEW: This book follows three different young ladies in an alternate history of World War II. In this reality, women were also drafted into the war. These three different girls come from different parts of the United States with different backgrounds. There is one white girl, an African American girl, and a Jewish girl; these three all enlist into the army before they can be drafted. The first half of the book follows the girls' decisions to enlist and their time in boot camp. The second half follows the girls' to Tunisia, North Africa, to the front lines.

MY THOUGHTS: I was so disappointed with this book. World War II is one of my favorite historical fiction subjects so I'll read almost anything with high expectations. This book did not meet my expectations. I felt that the plot was really slow, with no twists or turns or unexpected events. I couldn't even pick out what the climax was. The one thing I did find interesting was the setting of Tunisia, I have never read a WWII book set in Africa, so I did like that perspective.

I give this book a 2/5 stars.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

OVERVIEW: This story follows an assassin in the land of Adarlan that is imprisoned in a death camp. The Crown Prince travels to Endovier to find Celaena, the assassin, and bring her to the castle to train and fight to be the King's Champion. Dorian, the Crown Prince, really takes to Celaena and believes in her right from the beginning. Meanwhile, Dorian's friend and a guard named Chaol is very untrusting of Celaena. This book is filled with twists and turns.

MY THOUGHTS: I honestly wish that I would have found this book sooner. It is such a great, fast paced read and I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes a famous YA movie series. I kind of felt like this book was like The Selection, but with killing and magic and unexpected elements. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes corrupted societies and fantasy.

SPOILERS: I thought that Nehemiah was the killer, and Cain was just on drugs. When Maas pulled magic into the book, I was mindblown. During Cain and Celaena's duel, my heart was pounding because I thought she wouldn't drink the wine and when she did I just wanted to throw my book!! I had absolutely no idea how Celaena would survive, and didn't know how the next book could continue if Celaena didn't win. But she did, and I was SO happy!! I just finished this as I'm writing this and still cannot put into words how crazy this book was for me. When Celaena "let go" of Dorian, I was kind of sad; but in a way I want her to be with Chaol, but then I'm torn. I'm excited to see where this love triangle leads in the next book, which I will be getting next time I visit my library!
**I also want to predict that something bad was in Celaena's contract and there's going to be a shitstorm ahead for Celaena, Dorian, and Chaol.

I give this book a 4.5/5 stars

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

OVERVIEW: Salt to the Sea follows four different refugees from World War Two in each of their perspectives. The perspectives are from Alfred, a German sailor; Joana, a Lithuanian nurse; Florian, an East Prussian boy; and Emilia, a Polish teenager. The four all meet on the ship Wilhelm Gustloff.

My thoughts: This is such a beautiful, heartbreaking story. I've always enjoyed historical fiction books about WWII and the Holocaust; and I absolutely loved Sepetys's Between Shades of Gray, but this book exceeded my expectations and easily become one of my all time favorite books. Before reading Salt to the Sea, I had never heard of the Wilhelm Gustloff. I would suggest you read the book before researching the Gustloff if you've never heard of it; this will ensure no spoilers. But what happened is so heartbreaking and honestly made me mad that I never learned about this event in school. While I did not cry while reading the book, I cried when I read the author's note and hearing the disturbing facts of this event. This book was so fantastic, I am having such a hard time putting my thoughts into words. I would recommend this book to EVERYONE.





SPOILERS AHEAD:

I am SO upset that Emilia sacrificed her life for others, but I SO admire the action. I just wish she was able to survive and watch Halinka grow and have a wonderful life. The fact that Alfred died made me strangely happy, he was just too corrupted by Hitler's propaganda. My favorite part, though, was that Joana and Florian ended up together and raised Halinka, along with a family of their own. Although, I was kind of hoping that Emilia and Florian would stay together.



I give this book a 5/5 stars!