Armchair BEA 2014

Fiction Overdose will be participating again in the annual Book Expo America virtual convention!

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Sunday, July 22, 2012

REVIEW: Winter in Wartime by Jan Terlouw




Title: Winter in Wartime
Author: Jan Terlouw
Genre: Young Adult, War
Format: Paperback, 220 pages
Published:  Published June 1st 2011 by Lemniscaat USA (first published 1972) 
ISBN: 
1935954024 (ISBN13: 9781935954026)

About the Author:

Jan Terlouw was born in Kamperveen, Oversijssel. He was the eldest son in his family, he has two brothers and two sisters and grew up in the Veluwe. After high school, Terlouw studied at Utrecht University were he obtained an MSc degree in mathematics and physics and a PhD degree in nuclear physics. After graduating, he worked as a physics researcher in the Netherlands, the United States, and Sweden. After working for thirteen years, he became a politician, joining the Dutch House of Representatives(the lower house of the Dutch legislature) as a member of the Democraten 66 political party in 1967. Terlouw acted as party leader from 1973-1982. He was minister of Economic Affairs from 1981 to 1982 and Queen's Commissioner of Gelderland from 1991 to 1996, the year in which he retired. He joined the Dutch Senate in 1999.

Terlouw also wrote 24 children's books, most notably Winter in Wartime (Oorlogswinter, 1972) and How to Become King(Koning van Katoren, 1971), both of which won the Goudon Griffel and have been made into motion pictures directed by Martin Koolhoven.

Terlouw is married to Alexandra van Hulst and has four children.


Synopsis:

This autobiographical novel provides a counterpoint to The Diary of Anne Frank, as another Dutch teen becomes an unwilling hero in the twilight of World War II.

Michiel feels resentment towards his father, a mayor, seemingly only interested in maintaining the status quo between the town and the German Army. He worships his uncle Ben, an adventurer in contact with the local resistance. During the winter, Michiel's loyalties are tested. When he discovers an injured pilot in the woods, Michiel must find a way to keep the wounded man alive, hidden from the increasingly desperate occupying force.

As Michiel mounts his own small resistance, he becomes aware of the currents of Resistance that are swirling through the town. A German soldier is killed and his death must be revenged so they take six townspeople, threatening to shoot them if the murderer does not surrender. They compromise and shoot only one--Michiel's father.

Winter in Wartime has been a Dutch classic since it was first published in 1972. Author Jan Terlouw's wartime experience provided the inspiration for the novel and the gritty reality of living under an occupying army is realistic without being graphic. The small insurrections are shown for the monumental acts of bravery they truly are and the defiance of a people who refuse to give up their humanity makes this story as timely today as it was then.

My Thoughts:

Winter in Wartime is a great book about the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Set during the days of World War II, Winter in Wartime (previously published in Dutch as Oorlogswinter in 1972) tells the story of 15-year-old Michiel van Beusekom.  After he discovers and helps an injured British soldier named Jack, Michiel found himself accidentally involved in the underground Dutch resistance. Winter in Wartime is a really fast and engaging read with hard to forget characters. The way Terlouw made the readers feel what it was like living in a Nazi occupied area was amazing. Terlouw has created a very well-detailed, well-plotted, and well-written book that makes it very hard for the children as well as adult to put this book down. This is definitely one of the best books I’ve read this year! Winter in Wartime deserves its status as a Dutch classic. 

My Rating:

5 out of 5 stars
Phenomenal!
This book was so good I would buy it without looking at the price tag.

In My Mailbox (3)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme made by The Story Siren. 

For Review:


1. Glitch by Heather Anastasiu (Glitch, #1)

Bought:



2. The Old Country by Mordicai Gerstein


3. Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor


4. Shiloh Season by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor


5. Saving Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (I just adore this series!)
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Please leave a comment/link to your own In My Mailbox post, or share what's in your mailbox in the comment box.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

REVIEW: The Weepers by Susanne Winnacker




Title: The Weepers (The Other Life, #1)
Author: Susanne Winnacker
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Horror, Dystopian
Format: Hardcover, 261 pages
Published:  Published May 15th 2012 by Marshall Cavendish (first published February 1st 2012) 
ISBN: 0761462759 (ISBN13: 9780761462750)

About the Author:


Susanne Winnacker studied law and lives with her husband, a dog and three bunnies in the Ruhrgebiet, Germany. She loves coffee (in every shape and form), traveling and animals.


Synopsis:

3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life.

Sherry and her family have lived sealed in a bunker in the garden since things went wrong up above. Her grandfather has been in the freezer for the last three months, her parents are at each other’s throats and two minutes ago they ran out of food.

Sherry and her father leave the safety of the bunker and find a devastated and empty LA, smashed to pieces by bombs and haunted by ‘Weepers’ - rabid humans infected with a weaponized rabies virus.

While searching for food in a supermarket, Sherry’s father disappears and Sherry is saved by Joshua, a boy-hunter. He takes her to Safe-haven, a tumble-down vineyard in the hills outside LA, where a handful of other survivors are picking up the pieces of their ‘other lives’. As she falls in love for the first time, Sherry must save her father, stay alive and keep Joshua safe when his desire for vengeance threatens them all.

My Thoughts:

Sherry and her family have lived in a bunker for exactly 3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days. And just two minutes ago, they have eaten their last can of food. With their family starving, Sherry and her father have no other choice but to leave the bunker to find food.

Winnacker has delivered an electrifying fresh new series that will surely capture the hearts of everyone who loves dystopian books. The Weepers has me begging for the next installment! This book is a quick read that is impossible to put down.  Well drawn main characters, brilliant writing style, vivid imagery, breathtaking suspense, unforgettable love scenes, extraordinary plot - what more could you ask?


My Rating:

4.5 stars
Fantastic!
An excellent read.

REVIEW: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer



Title: The Time Paradox (Artemis Fowl, #6)
Author: Eoin Colfer
Genre: Young Adult
Format: Paperback, 391 pages
Published: Published July 15th 2008 by Hyperion
ISBN: 1423108361 (ISBN13: 9781423108368)


About the Author:

Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) was born in Wexford on the South-East coast of Ireland in 1965, where he and his four brothers were brought up by his father and mother, who were both educators.

He received his degree from Dublin University and began teaching primary school in Wexford. He has lived and worked all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy. After the publication of the Artemis Fowl novels, Eoin retired from teaching and now writes full time. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.

Official Site: http://eoincolfer.com/

Synopsis:

After disappearing for three years, Artemis Fowl has returned to a life different from the one he left. Now he's a big brother, and spends his days teaching his twin siblings the important things in life, such as how to properly summon a waiter at a French restaurant. 

But when Artemis Fowl's mother contracts a life-threatening illness, his world is turned upside down. The only hope for a cure lies in the brain fluid of the silky sifaka lemur. Unfortunately, the animal is extinct due to a heartless bargain Artemis himself made as a younger boy.  

Though the odds are stacked against him, Artemis is not willing to give up. With the help of his fairy friends, the young genius travels back in time to save the lemur and bring it back to the present. But to do so, Artemis will have to defeat a maniacal poacher, who has set his sights on new prey: Holly Short. 

The rules of time travel are far from simple, but to save his mother, Artemis will have to break them all.and outsmart his most cunning adversary yet: Artemis Fowl, age ten.

My Thoughts:

This is the 6th book in the Artemis Fowl Series. The Time Paradox was simply incredible. This book starts off at a heart-thumping pace and never slows down. It literally grabbed my attention from the very first page up to the last. So exciting, it is definitely worth losing sleep over. If you have read the previous Artemis books and thought that they were full of fun and mind wrenching excitement, just wait until you read this one! Get ready for a wild roller coaster ride that is filled with humor, action, excitement, and romance.

My Rating:

4.5 out of 5 stars
Fantastic!
An excellent read.