THE HUSBAND'S SECRET

By Liane Moriarty

[Burb: At the heart of The Husband’s Secret is a letter that’s not meant to be read.

My darling Cecilia, if you’re reading this, then I’ve died...Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . .
Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.]

I loved this book. It had be hooked once I read about the secret letter. This is a story of several families and characters, who bit by bit become entwined as one. It's well written and intriguing and although at first I wondered what the connection was going to be, the story was like an onion being peeled, layer by layer. I must admit I guessed the ending, well almost, there was a slight twist to what I had predicted, but it was a page turner for sure. 

SHAMED

By Sarbjit Kaur Athwal

[Burb: In 1998, Sarbjit Athwal was called by her husband to attend a family meeting. It looked like just another family gathering. An attractive house in west London, a large dining room, two brothers, their mother, one wife. But the subject they were discussing was anything but ordinary. At the head of the group sat the elderly mother. She stared proudly around, smiling at her children, then raised her hand for silence. 'It's decided then,' the old lady announced. 'We have to get rid of her.' 'Her' was Surjit Athwal, Sarbjit's sister-in-law. Within three weeks of that meeting, Surjit was dead: lured from London to India, drugged, strangled, and her body dumped in the Ravi River, never to be seen again. After the killing, risking her own life, Sarbjit fought secretly for justice for nine long, scared years. Eventually, with immense bravery, she became the first person within a murderer's family ever to go into open court in an honour killing trial as the Prosecution's key witness, and the first to waive her anonymity in such a trial. As a result of her testimony, the trial led to the first successful prosecution of an honour killing without the body ever being found. But her story doesn't end there. Since the trial, her life has been threatened; her own husband arrested after an allegation of intimidation. Shamed is a story of fear and of horror - but also of immense courage, and a woman who risked everything to see that justice was done.]

A hard but powerful book to read. When you think of the power of Religion and customs and what some women must go through to to keep their family from 'shame'. I felt for Sarbjit, who was caught in a very difficult situation, and was in fear of her life for so many years. Even when she was brave enough to reach out for help from authorities she was ignored. A fascinating story, which is probably not isolated to this family, but which made me thankful for my free choice.

THE SKY SO HEAVY

by Claire Zorn

[Blurb:  For Fin, it's just like any other day - racing for the school bus, bluffing his way through class, and trying to remain cool in front of the most sophisticated girl in his universe, Lucy. Only it's not like any other day because, on the other side of the world, nuclear missiles are being detonated. From an exciting new voice in Australian YA literature, Claire Zorn, comes a haunting novel, The Sky So Heavy - a mesmerising story inspired by the continued debate over Australia's treatment of asylum-seekers and how a line through a map can determine your fate.]

This was a great little YA fiction that had me thinking. Set in Australia, with the threat of nuclear testing going on in Asia,  most people go about their life without any thought of the impending disaster, but when the missiles testing goes wrong, Australia is suddenly thrown into an fight for survival. The sky does dark, snow is suddenly falling (which could be radioactive) as the temperature drops to freezing, families are separated and supplies are running out. Where is the army to help with food and reassurance?... there's none... and it's every man for themselves. As people start to get sick and die, Fin and his friends must try to head for the city to where his mother is more than likely heading up the Australian response team, but will they make it through without being killed and will she be able to provide them with the safety they need? It's go, go, go in this story and made me think how far I would go if my life and my family was in danger.

THE BOY ON THE WOODEN BOX

By Leon Leyson

[Blurb: Even in the darkest of times—especially in the darkest of times—there is room for strength and bravery. A remarkable memoir from Leon Leyson, one of the youngest children to survive the Holocaust on Oskar Schindler’s list.Leon Leyson (born Leib Lezjon) was only ten years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and his family was forced to relocate to the Krakow ghetto. With incredible luck, perseverance, and grit, Leyson was able to survive the sadism of the Nazis, including that of the demonic Amon Goeth, commandant of Plaszow, the concentration camp outside Krakow. Ultimately, it was the generosity and cunning of one man, a man named Oskar Schindler, who saved Leon Leyson’s life, and the lives of his mother, his father, and two of his four siblings, by adding their names to his list of workers in his factory—a list that became world renowned: Schindler’s List.

This, the only memoir published by a former Schindler’s List child, perfectly captures the innocence of a small boy who goes through the unthinkable. Most notable is the lack of rancor, the lack of venom, and the abundance of dignity in Mr. Leyson’s telling. The Boy on the Wooden Box is a legacy of hope, a memoir unlike anything you’ve ever read]

I really enjoyed this book and was touched by Schindler's persistence to keep this family together after they were separated several times and sent back to the camps. Years later when he was reunited with some of the people still alive that were on his list, he still remembered them, and in particular Leon. 

PRISONERS IN THE PALACE

By Michaela MacColl

[Blurb] London 1838. Elizabeth Hastings knows about suffering. At seventeen, she has lost her family, her home and her future. In desperation, she takes a position at Kensington Palace working for the sixteen year old Princess Victoria. But nothing is as it seems at the palace. The heir to the throne is practically a prisoner. A mother schemes against her daughter. Sir John Conroy, a man with no power or connections, is playing for the ultimate prize. And the servants - they know everything of course!

Liza's journey will take her through the bowels of the Palace and to the deepest slums of London. She'll learn about the power of the press and the attractions of one particular newspaperman. How far will Liza have to go to restore her fortune and put the Princess Victoria on the throne? Will she find independence and romance or find herself a prisoner in the palace, too?

This was a fabulous YA fiction novel, but don't be fooled, it was entriguing and exciting and I really enjoyed it. The author Micaela MacColl has read the diaries of Queen Elizabeth and established the base of her story around her journalling. The historical facts are well researched and it makes for a fabulous read. I loved the character of Liza and her courage, to stand up for her friend, the queen in waiting, and her struggle to survive on her own in this harsh city of London, in the early 1800's. This is a great read of 'faction' (half fiction, half fact).

DEAD TO YOU

by Lisa McMann


[Blurb] Some memories are better left untouched.
Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together. But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable...

This was a gripping book. Ethan, kidnapped as a young boy and now 9 years later finding his family and reacquainting themselves with each other. Not as easy as you may think! Time has passed, they have a 'replacement child' as Ethan puts it, his brother doesn't like him, there are only 4 hooks on the wall for coats instead of 5, and there are a family of 4 snowmen out the front of their home instead of 5. The realisation that his family has had to 'move on' as the police have told them that after all this time Ethan would be dead and there was little hope of him ever returning. We tend to think of the wonderful joy and excitement of stolen children blending back into the family as if nothing ever happened, but this book tells of just some of the frustrations and readjusting that goes on for all members of the family. A really good book but I thought it ended very abruptly. Bit of a twist too!

BY ANY OTHER NAME

by Laura Jarrett

This new YA fiction was a great read and something a little different. The story opens with Louisa trying to pick a new name for herself. Bit by bit the author releases titbits of information about why this teenage girl and her family are now in witness protection and must take on new identities and relocate.  Like peeling an onion, we gradually here the story from 'Holly' and the trauma she and her family are going through. She must start a new school and try to make friends, without ever letting slip her real past and the truth about their move. She struggles at first and longs for her former girlfriends support during this difficult time but she knows if she lets out any information she will be putting herself and her family in danger. 

It's a great story about new identities and learning who you really are and what really matters. Her sister Katie is autistic and that brings it's own problems but also new understanding. Holly's relationship with a boy, who she thought at first meeting was an Emo, turns out to be just the person to set her on the road to recovery. It gets very exciting at the end so I wont give too much away. I'm sure the teenage girls will love it!