What my Post-Apocalyptic Book Club is Reading

by Donna Huber 

A couple of years ago I joined my library's post-apocalyptic book club. Partly I joined to be more social, but I also enjoy reading dystopian novels. At the time I was mostly reading young adult dystopian and I was hoping to read more books in the genre but for adults. We have a broad definition of post-apocalypse so I've been exposed to books that I would never pick up normally. In July, we choose the books we are reading for the next 12 months and I thought I would share the list with you in case you are also looking for books in this genre. If you are interested in discussing any of these, I would be happy to put together an online book club.

Shatter The Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells ~ a Review

by MK French

Maren just wants a quiet life with her girlfriend Kaia in the kingdom of Zefed. The Aurati seers visit different districts to do a population count, leave prophecies for the future, and sometimes take girls to become part of their ranks. Kaia is abducted by agents of the emperor and forced to join them. To save her, Maren wants to steal one of the emperor's dragons and storm the stronghold. In order to do that, she has to become an apprentice to the dragon trainer, which then leaves her privy to a host of secrets she was unprepared to learn.

2 Memoirs about the Holocaust

by Susan Roberts

Amsterdam Publishers is specialized in Holocaust memoirs & WW2 historical fiction. Every year survivors with unique testimonies are passing away. Their stories need to be kept alive. Especially today, these accounts seem more important than ever. As a publisher, it is my task to publish Holocaust testimonies with gratitude and become the witness of witnesses. – Liesbeth Heenk

I have recently read two memoirs published by Amsterdam Publishers.  Here is a quote from one of them:

"This narrative will assure that her descendants will know about her family members, her history, her indomitable spirit, her courage, determination and pluck and her ability to move forward and live a productive and fruitful life despite the traumas.  it is an attempt to comprehend the incomprehensible - the horrors of history's largest act of genocide and of inhumanity itself.  Almost as important, it is an act of defiance against the revisionists and Holocaust deniers who shamelessly defile the memories of all those millions who were killed and the surviving souls who experienced indescribable torture and abuse."  (A Holocaust Memoir loc 148)

The Duke is But a Dream by Anna Bennett ~ a Review

by MK French

Lily Hartley writes the column "The Debutante's Revenge" anonymously, delivering her column dressed as a boy. When she is caught up in a tavern brawl and hits her head hard enough to lose her memory, she has no idea who she really is or why she dresses as a boy. The duke that had been present at the brawl feels obligated to help her recover, and with time is more and more drawn to her. While he agrees to help her find out who she is, he's reluctant to let her go that easily.

A Whisker in the Dark by @LeighannDobbs ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

"I'm fairly certain that having a guest die before breakfast is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Even so, I was feeling a bit nervous as the guest at my newly acquired Oyster Cove Guesthouse dug in. Never mind that the memory of how a previous breakfast had been spoiled in a most alarming manner was still fresh in my mind, the reason I was nervous about this breakfast was that I was trying out a new pumpkin-bread recipe on my guests and, seeing as my culinary skills were meager at best, I was worried they might not like it." (chapter 1).

Two Coming of Age Stories

by Susan Roberts

There are a lot of books about growing up but it seems that most of them about teenage girls.  These two books are both about teenage boys.  One book takes place in the South in the late 50s and the other takes place current day and is about the drug epidemic in this country.

Two Books about Sick Children

by Susan Roberts

I try to stay away from books about sick children because I hate to see them suffer and somehow, I ended up reading two in a row.  Their illnesses are very different as is the outcome of the novels but I recommend both of them.