Welcome to Litsy!

Cried my eyes out! I love books about generations.

I didn‘t know anything about the ship that was disembarked to Cuba during the start of the Holocaust. So I had to do a little research on my own when reading this book, but I did end up learning quite a bit. I also had a little problem understanding the author because his writing, at times, was a little all over the place. A very sad and heartbreaking novel, but a very important read in my opinion. This was a #bookspin book for January ❄️

This is my first time participating in #bookspin and #doublebookspin ☺️ I‘m so super happy to start this fun and laid back challenge! I might wrap all of my TBR in wrapping paper and then number them. That way, I can open them like a present each month, and be surprised at what I get! I saw my favorite book tuber do this, so maybe I‘ll give it a try ❤️

I started this book in August and finished it on audio on my road trip. It wasn‘t the book. It was just me and timing and other shiny books. This is a very well written book about Jewish families that fled Germany on the St Louis-those who were turned away and those able to make a life in Cuba.

The story is probably a good one but I can‘t get past the bad, confusing writing. Very juvenile and kind of all over the place. This was my #bookspin for July

@TheAromaofBooks

The tagged is my #bookspin and Sisters in Arms is my #doublespin for July. I guess I have a theme for the month 😉😂

@TheAromaofBooks

My list of #bookspin and #bookspinbingo reads for January 2021.

We are kicking off a podcast retreat weekend. We settled into a lovely log cabin and we are reading 24 hours in the next 48. #not24in48 #24in48 Check out our stacks! #1001books

Day 6: A book that broke your heart. 💔
.
.
So this book didn‘t break my 💜 the most but I have already done #TheNightingale for one of my days.
.
.
If you love historical fiction set during the Holocaust, this is a must read. Beautifully written that makes you connect with the characters which pulls at your heart strings. .

Thank you so much @StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego for the wonderful book, bookmark, and card! What a welcome surprise to find in my mailbox this morning. It‘s been on my TBR list for quite some time and now it‘s on the top of that list! This was so kind and generous of you and words cannot express how grateful I am. Also thought I‘d attach a picture of how the post office battered the package! Thank you so much for your kindness! 💗💗💗💗

It was interest! Just not the very best book I ever read

#7days7covers #bookcovercrush

I really need to read this one soon!!
#Ship
#LetsTravelAugust

Wonderfully written novel that valued two perspectives.

😰

Beautiful cover, but the writing isn't very good. I hope the storyline itself makes up for it.

Quite the uh.. quite the first line, there.

some puppy turned 3 yesterday! 😱 sadly, it's too cold for any celebratory adventures. instead, I've got homemade chicken soup set to cook all day. while the smell of winter comfort fills the house, we're going to cuddle up with a book. happy birthday Lilith 🖤 you're the thing I love the most in this world and the ween queen by right ❤

everyone around me is getting the flu 😷 so I ACTUALLY ran away back to my mom's for the weekend to avoid the plague. I figured I'd get some reading done in my self inflicted quarantine 👏🏼

Interesting WW2 story intermingled with Cuba and 9/11. I enjoyed learning about those who were able to flee Germany, yet not all on the boats were lucky. Has relevant ties to modern problems too.
I found the stories of the 2 girls confusing at times but that might have been the point and had some dark thoughts moments.

The Saint Louis was a boat upon which many Jews fled from 1939 Germany, only to be prevented from disembarking at multiple ports and sent back to Europe and certain death for most. What a terrible piece of history and great setting for a book. But the execution didn‘t work for me. I couldn‘t connect with the characters, found the dueling story lines unnecessary and confusing, and didn‘t care for the audio reader.

Book read in one of the reading clubs at BookMarkPR. It is a historical fiction based on the incident the occurred with the luxury transatlantic St Lois which departed from Hamburg to Cuba with more than 900 persons mostly German Jews.In an interview with the author he mentioned that he wanted a story to be narrated from German Jews perspective as his grandmother used to told him.The book has a bibliography at the end. Heartbreaking story! 3.75🌟

Today's mini haul 💛
I swear, Kmart books are my weakness because they're so cheap ! And look at my little Jug 😍 #funko #riverdale #minihaul

A realistic look at the impact of the Nazi regime on Jewish people living in Europe. It‘s appalling to find out that there were some countries who refused entry to the people who needed a safe haven more than anything. The story is told beautifully through the eyes of Hannah and Anna. One young girl who has tried to forget her past and one who yearns to find out where she comes from.

“I watched him die little by little. I realised this and was prepared.”

Hannah boards a boat to Cuba in the hope to escape the impending Nazi regime but will it be her salvation?
I‘m looking forward to starting this after it‘s been on my TBR shelf for ages!

Totally not invested in this book so skimmed a lot

Enjoyable!

Very moving. Well done!

Birthday gift for my sister, who loves novels set during WWII!

How do we not know more about this awful stain on our country? These terrified a Jewish families, stripped of everything, then rejected by Cuba and the US and sent back to Europe to die. Shameful. Painful to read, important, and memorable.

Book: “Papa had arrived in Belgium and was on a train to settle in Paris! Yay!” (1939)
Me: 😬 oh shit

Someone is helping me read

The books I read in December. Not bad for a busy month.

January read for my book club. #2018reading

Uuuuugh I just need 1 new finish to meet my goal of 50! But I cannot focus on reading! I‘m sitting here between 3 books and just can not. Now it‘s feeling like homework and I want to do it less 😭😭😭 motivation find me please!

Based on the true story of the St. Louis transatlantic ocean liner that left Berlin in 1939 with 900 plus Jewish passengers bound for Cuba. The German Girl is the fictional account of the Rosenthal family's fate on board the ship and in years spent in Cuba as seen through the eyes of young Hannah.

Look what came in the mail today? Unexpected surprise and I was just looking at it again the other day, but resisted! Sometimes resisting pays off! Thanks Simon & Schuster! Who has read it and what is your opinion?

Todays tea is chocolate macaroon, a black tea with coconut and pecans. I usually don't like chocolate teas but I like this one's nutty flavor. The candle is Gingerbread Man. I am determined to read at least 125 pages today so I plan on sitting on the couch for awhile. I have the yule log on t.v., pajammas, and my gramma's hand knit throw blanket.

The tea of the day is called Let it Snow. A green tea with cinnamon, clove, and white chocolate. It has a woody creamy flavor. The candle of the day is Winter Stroll with a crisp air and pine scent. Plus a small plate of girl scout trail mix and mint chocolates

Breakfast date with hubby before crazy busy day. Carne asada fries makes a great breakfast lol. After this we have 3 dr appts and 2 fun run fundraisers for kids school and christmas trip to look at lights.

A new read, a new bookmark, a new tea press that makes iced tea from loose leaf tea, and a new tea. The tea press is also from David's Tea like the advent calendar. The tea is a free sample they sent, it is called Midsummer's Night Dream. It is a citrus mint tea with apples and berries and flower petals and it is delicious.

Wow, the library booksale was such fun! Look at some of my finds👍🐉🍀

Loved this book. Love when I read historical fiction and then I need to read more about the true happenings. WWII/Cuba/911, you follow generations of a Jewish German family and their escape from Germany to Cuba on the ill fated St. Louis that was denied in Cuba, the US, and Canada. Why is this history not also told?

This novel is a fictionalized recounting of the voyage of the St. Louis in 1939 when German Jewish refugees were turned away by Cuba and sent back to Europe. The saga of the trek is sandwiched by chapters of alternating narratives of a contemporary teenager and her great aunt‘s reminisces (the Aunt narrates the middle part about the journey). The bookend stories are very YA in feel. My fav part was the central story of the ship‘s historic trip.

Looks like I've been on a bad reading streak lately. This book has a lot of potential built in to its premise, but it doesn't deliver. Maybe it has to do with the translation, but this read like a YA book. I also thought the structural choice to move backwards and forwards in time took all the narrative tension out of the story.

While this book was more YA than I prefer, it definitely enlightened me to yet another violation of WWII. The dual storylines did a good job of providing information about the devastating decision of Cuba to deny refuge to almost 1000 Jews trying to escape Germany in 1939. While I didn‘t quite connect with either MC (both 12 year old girls), the story held my interest throughout.

I love the color #brown and seem to have lots of #brown books! 📚❤️

#Octoberlibrary17