Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

new book releases

A surprising novel from start to finish: Review of The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert

Sometimes I think if I’ve read one World War 2 novel, I’ve read them all. (And I’ve read a lot of World War 2 fiction. I should make a list for you, if that’s a genre you enjoy.)

And sometimes I read a World War 2 novel that surprises me. And while The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert (not to be confused with the wildly popular mainstream novel The Girl on the Train) starts during World War 2, it reaches years beyond to illustrate the effects of war on a particular girl.

girl from the trainI didn’t know this book or author existed before the book arrived in my mailbox. (I received a free copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my review.) But this is one of those times that I’m glad to receive a book that wasn’t on my radar. It’s worth taking note of.

The author presents a World War 2 story unlike any I’ve ever read. (And this book has been translated into English and is an international bestseller before it has released in the States.) She takes us on a journey with a young German girl with Jewish blood who escapes a train bound for the concentration camps in Poland. She is found by a Polish resistance member who takes her to his family’s farm to be cared for.

Thus begins the intertwined lives of Gretl and Jakob and the journey that spans almost 15 years and two continents. Gretl is eventually adopted by a family in South Africa where she lives with her secrets as she grows into a woman. Jakob’s opposition to his country’s Communist rule forces him to flee. Through the years they cling to the memory of each other. Until the improbable happens.

That’s all I’ll say so I don’t ruin the surprise.

From the setting to the storyline to the writing, I enjoyed this book as a whole.

You can look for this book at Target this month, and I don’t think you’ll be sorry for letting this story into your life.

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When the mission seems impossible: Review of The Queen's Handmaid by Tracy L. Higley

Whenever I pick up a Tracy Higley book, I feel smarter after I’ve read it, and it was no different with her latest, The Queen’s Handmaid. As a non-student of ancient history, I had never considered that Cleopatra lived only decades before Jesus was born. Shows what I know. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book through Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my review.) queen's handmaid

So, with that new knowledge, I was eager to read this story of Lydia, who is handmaid to Cleopatra in Alexandria at the time of Herod’s visit to the queen of Egypt. During his visit, Lydia is given a seemingly impossible mission by her aging mentor who is murdered not long after he reveals a secret to her. Lydia then embarks on a journey that eventually takes her to Jerusalem as lady’s maid to Herod’s wife, with the mission burdening her at every turn. What she carries with her is the hope of the Jewish people in a Messianic King, a hope Lydia, herself, will struggle with.

In typical Higley fashion, this is a suspenseful and entertaining read. But it’s also hard to follow at times, which is not necessarily the fault of the author but the scope of the story and timeframe. The book covers a lot of years, though the story is not bogged down by irrelevant events. And because the historical characters play a part in the plot, I often found myself confused by which Herod was which and who was connected and related to whom. Again, that’s information for a history book, not necessarily a novel, and I appreciate the way Higley is able to write a story using the historical context without it feeling like a textbook. I wish I knew the history of this time period better so I didn’t have to keep flipping back to the family tree at the beginning of the book.

But let me be clear: those are not reasons to not read this book. By the end, all of the connections and relationships made sense and I was excited about the possibility of another book to come that follows up the events in this one.

Higley is one of those rare authors who makes history lifelike to me, and I can see the events as they happen. Her stories enrich my understanding of Bible stories and events. For those reasons, her books are a must-read for me.

If you want to know more about the author, read the back cover synopsis or see what other people have to say, click here.

And if you want a chance to win a prize as part of the book’s release, keep reading!

Tracy L. Higley is celebrating the release of The Queen’s Handmaid with a fun giveaway.



Retailers + Resources gave it this glowing review: “Rich in historic detail, Higley’s vivid writing brings to life the plots and intrigues that swirled through the ancient world as alliances were built and broken on the calculated schemes of power-mad monarchs.” 

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  • A Kindle Fire HDX
  • The Queen’s Handmaid by Tracy L. Higley

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on April 19th. Winner will be announced April 21st on Tracy’s blog.

Don’t miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to stop by Tracy’s blog on April 21st to see if you won.