The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer

It's no secret that I absolutely love reading about World War II. Not because I enjoy reading about death and suffering, but because I am amazed and awed at the courageous people who lived in Nazi-controlled countries and risked their lives, and the lives of their family members, to help those that were hated by the Nazis. This particular book was set in Poland during the early years of the 1940s. The main character is Alina Dziak. She is 15 years old and engaged to marry Tomasz Slaski. Tomasz had left their home town of Trzebinia to attend college in Warsaw. He wanted to be a doctor like his father. Alina lives with her parents and twin brothers. They run a small farm. Alina has an older sister too, but she is married and lives in town with her husband. Tomasz' mother died in childbirth, but he has a young sister, Emilia, who lives with their father.

There is a current day story that is also told in alternating chapters. Alice is the mother of two young children. Her son, Eddie, is on the more severe side of the Autism Spectrum. He can only communicate using AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication). He communicates by pointing at images on his iPad screen. Alice's oldest child is Callie, who is 10. She is brilliant - and easily bored. Alice is married to Wade, who works a lot, favors Callie, loves Alice but doesn't seem to know how to best support her as she tries to manage Eddie's severe behaviors.

These two families are connected, although they don't know it until Alice's grandmother, Babcia, who is 95 and has lost her ability to communicate because of suffering a stroke, asks Alice to go to Poland "to find Tomasz". She communicates this by using Eddie's iPad. She can't really explain anything else though, so Alice is at a loss as to what she is supposed to do. Time is running out through, and since Babcia was Alice's primary caregiver and biggest supporter (since Alice's parents were always working), Alice wants to fulfill Babcia's dying wish. This is a true dilemma though, since going to Poland would mean leaving Wade to take care of Eddie & Callie by himself. Wade has no clue how to handle Eddie.

This is truly a well-written story. I definitely got caught up in the characters and their personal stories. I loved how each and every character grew in a meaningful and relevant way as both stories unfolded. I certainly shed a tear or two at times! I would absolutely recommend this book!

Wendy's Rating:*****

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal

This was an entertaining read. Sometimes I am put off by the title of the book, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. It's the story of three sisters, Rajni, Jezmeen, and Shirina. They all have secrets. They don't really get along with each other. They were raised in Britain, but their heritage is India. Rajni is the oldest (by several years). She has a teenage son who is involved with an older woman in her 30s. Rajni is extremely upset by this news, especially after she finds out she is going to be a grandmother. Jezmeen is an actress. She is having a difficult time getting her "big break" in the industry. She made a huge error in judgement, which is all over the internet. Everyone seems to know about it except her sisters. Shirina lives in Australia with her husband and mother-in-law, who controls her every movement. Shirina chose to enter an arranged marriage and live an authentic India culture-style life. Since Shirina's husband is wealthy, kind, and handsome, Jezmeen and Rajni assume that Shirina is living the "good life".

When the sisters' mother dies, she leaves written instructions to her daughters, asking them to embark on a pilgrimage to India together. She has their trip agenda all prepared, with several stops that have significance to her. She wants them to spread her ashes at one of the locations. Their mother hopes that this pilgrimage will bond her daughters together and that the trip will be meaningful to each one of them since India is their heritage. The sisters feel duty-bound to comply with their mother's wishes, so they each leave their homes (with their secrets) to travel to India.

The trip to India allows all three sisters to think about their own lives and the decisions they have made. Their forced togetherness also gives them a chance to repair their relationships and share their secrets with each other. In the end, blood is thicker than water. I really enjoyed this novel!

Wendy's Rating: ****

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

This is a young adult novel. The two main characters are teenagers who fall in love, but can't be together. Maddy is 17 years old and is living with SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency). She is "allergic to the world". This means that she lives in a sanitized environment. Everything is sanitized before it enters her space. The only people she actually sees in person is her mother, who is also her doctor, her nurse Carla, and occasionally a tutor (after he goes through a hour-long decontamination process. There is no one else in her life, except for on-line. Maddy's dad and brother were killed in a car accident when Maddy was just a few months old. Maddy spends her days reading and her evenings playing games with her mother. Her two best friends are her mother and Carla.

Olly and his family (parents and sister) move into the house next door to Maddy. Maddy watches them move in from her bedroom window. She spends a lot of time watching the family. She figures out that Olly's dad is abusive and the family fights a lot. She eventually develops a relationship with Olly by emailing. Sometimes Olly communicates with Maddy be writing backwards on his window. She notices that Olly climbs out his window at night and spends time of the roof of his house. Maddy finally tells Olly why she can't leave her house - ever.

For obvious reasons, Maddy is incredibly lonely. She really wants to see Olly in person. Carla surprises her one day and invites Olly over. He goes through the decontamination process and they get to spend time together in the same room - although on different sides of the room. Once this "door is open", Maddy and Olly want to see each other more and more - and they want to touch each other, kiss, etc. Once Maddy's mother finds out, she is incredibly angry and fires Carla, Maddy's "best friend" and confidante. Maddy's world gets even smaller.

Maddy needs to make the decision to stay in her sterilized environment or take a significant risk by breaking free for her love for Olly. I don't want to explain more than what I have because of what happens after she makes her decision. Let me just say that sometimes we make well-intentioned decisions in our lives that deeply impact the people we love in a negative way. It's a good book and an easy read for an adult. 

Wendy's Rating: ****