Thursday, December 29, 2022

Book Spotlight Fridays! What I Would Tell You

 

Book Beginnings and Friday56


Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading. Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice and asks you to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader and share a non-spoiler sentence or two.  First Line Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Reading is my Superpower that asks you to share the first sentence of the book you're reading.

A dual-time story between featuring WW2 in Greece.


What I Would Tell You






About the book:

Determined to resist the invading Nazis, a Greek Jewish woman's greatest dream has become her worst nightmare, and now she faces an impossible choice whose consequences echo across the generations. 
 
1941—The pounding of Nazi boots on the streets of Salonika, Greece, reverberates in Mathilda Nissim’s ears, shaking her large community of Sephardic Jews to its core and altering her life forever. If only her people would rise up and resist their captors. At great risk to herself and those around her, she uses the small newspaper she publishes to call them to action, all to no avail. Her husband encourages her to trust God to watch over them, but God has once again deserted His people. Amid the chaos, Mathilda discovers she’s expecting a longed-for child. Still, nothing stops the occupiers’ noose from tightening around their necks, and she may have to resort to desperate measures to ensure her daughter’s survival.
 
2019—College student Tessa Payton and her cousin take a popular DNA heritage test only to discover they don’t share any common ancestors. In fact, the test reveals Tessa is a Greek Sephardic Jew. This revelation threatens her tenuous faith. Always the overlooked child in her family, she empties her savings account and jets off on a journey to Greece to discover where she belongs and which God demands her allegiance. The enchanting curator at the Jewish museum guides her as she navigates life in Thessaloniki, helps with her genealogical research, and loans her a fascinating journal written by a Jewish woman during WWII. Tessa’s search, however, may open old wounds and uncover long-hidden secrets that could fracture her family forever and leave her with more questions than when she started.
 
Based in part on true accounts of Jews in Salonika, Greece, What I Would Tell You traces two women’s journeys, delving into what faith looks like and where it leads us as they navigate difficult circumstances and impossible choices that have ripple effects across the years.
Split time fiction: WWII and 2019
Stand-alone novel
Approximate book length: 91,000 words
Includes author’s notes

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Book Beginnings

This is the day I dreaded, the day I feared might come, the day I prayed never would.

Friday 56

I have sat by idly for far too long. I allowed the Nazis to take my husband away. Who knows if he's even alive?

My thoughts so far

This is one of the best WW2 stories I've read. The past POV is so good!                  


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18 comments:

  1. Sounds like a serious and heavy book. But important and potentially a powerful ending, too.

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  2. I love a good dual-timeline book, and this sounds like it tells a story I hadn't ever given much thought to. I'll have to read it. Thank you for sharing!

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  3. Liz’s book is on my radar!

    Here is the first line for this week!
    The Rose and The Thistle by Laura Frantz. Another fantastic book!
    April 1715 France
    Struck by sunlight, the sprawling chateau was a blinding, rose-hued white.

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    1. I'm bit behind on Laura Frantz's books. Hope to read one or two this year :-)

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  4. There are SO many WWII books out there but this one sounds a little different and I like that it's set in Greece and how people there were affected....we always think just of Germany & France, but people throughout the world were affected in one way or another. I'll give this a chance for sure.
    Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
    https://www.bookshelfjourneys.com/post/friday-memes-7

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    1. That is so true! I love it when authors show me different sides of the war I have yet to discover.

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  5. I enjoy dual time line novels, especially when both story lines are well done. This sounds like an emotional and amazing book. Thank you for sharing!

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  6. This one sounds really good! Thanks for sharing it on BBOF. Have a happy New Year!

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  7. This would be a hard book for me to read. I have a tough time reading about that time and the atrocities against human life. I hope you enjoy it though and what a beautiful cover!
    Wishing you the best for 2023!

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  8. I love the sound of this one! I hope you enjoy it!

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