The Medallion by Cathy Gohlke

"The Germans do their best to make us forget who we are, Whose we are. Not just today, but for all time. We must work that much harder so that we don’t forget. How can we hope that the world will not forget us if we forget ourselves?”

Powerful story, a recounting of true events and people, adding a fictional piece that illustrates and brings the time and people to life. What it may have been like to live during the time of Hitler and the those who destroyed so many other people, with such cruelty you would never believe possible. This was in Poland after it was taken over by the Germans, enslaved, crushed. Two main families who fought every day to live. Of few survivors, the torture they endured. Of people who did all they could to save as many people as possible, at their own risk. Yet their hearts wouldn't let them do anything less, always wishing they could have done more. ". . . when someone is drowning, you jump in to save them, whether or not you can swim."  How this whole experience affected the minds of these persecuted people, trying to survive, witnessing so much inhumane suffering, losing their families. And the amazing foresight of many. This story also tells of the new families that came about as their own were torn apart. How love can continue, lives reformed. How much a difference even one person can make. And the heroes that were born.

It makes you realize how much love and family mean to you. What it is that makes you who you are, what holds you together. What is really most important to you in the life that you are living. It also makes you appreciate the victims of persecution from this time. Making you realize how quickly things like this can happen under the wrong leadership, and hope that it will never happen again.

"“Adonai makes a way when there appears no way. It is His specialty . Remember the Red Sea." The words of her old friend came back to her, just as they did so often when Sophie felt at her wits’ end."

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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An article about Jolenta, one of the real characters this book is based around, can be found here.

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Until We Find Home by Cathy Gohlke

Captivating!
In Paris, American Claire and her boyfriend, who belongs to the French Resistance, are smuggling French Jewish children out of the country before they are invaded. She is all caught up in the romance of their life and hopes to become a great writer. She is sent alone with the children to the checkpoint, but her boyfriend and her contact don’t show up, so she is forced to get on the boat with the children. A harrowing story in itself, once ashore and again without a contact, she is practically abandoned when she remembers that she once heard that she had an Aunt in England. She knew little beyond the address and is finally taken there. It turns out to be a huge estate in the Lake District and a beautiful place for them to stay, except that her Aunt isn’t thrilled to see them and has been depressed by grief after the loss of her son and husband. Claire doesn’t know anything about children and find it difficult to be moved by them now that the romance of the situation is worn off. She finally gives up on the idea of going back to France. Of course the kids are scared, missing their families and need to be loved as well as cared for. The Americans aren’t received much better than the Jewish children by the community, which makes everything that much harder. Everyone is scared and wanting to protect themselves and their families. It’s a long process for Claire and her Aunt, with struggles and adventure they all learn to live together. David, another American, comes to stay with them for awhile and brings a fresh perspective to them all as well as a new love interest for Claire.  The story is beautifully told with lots of depth, danger, intrigue, love and life lessons in faith and family.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Tyndale Publishers - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”.

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Publisher's Description
For American Claire Stewart, joining the French Resistance sounded as romantic as the story lines she hopes will one day grace the novels she wants to write. But when she finds herself stranded on English shores, with five French Jewish children she smuggled across the channel before Nazis stormed Paris, reality feels more akin to fear.

With nowhere to go, Claire throws herself on the mercy of an estranged aunt, begging Lady Miranda Langford to take the children into her magnificent estate. Heavily weighted with grief of her own, Miranda reluctantly agrees . . . if Claire will stay to help. Though desperate to return to France and the man she loves, Claire has few options. But her tumultuous upbringing—spent in the refuge of novels with fictional friends—has ill-prepared her for the daily dramas of raising children, or for the way David Campbell, a fellow American boarder, challenges her notions of love. Nor could she foresee how the tentacles of war will invade their quiet haven, threatening all who have come to call Bluebell Wood home and risking the only family she’s ever known.

Set in England’s lush and storied Lake District in the early days of World War II, and featuring cameos from beloved literary icons Beatrix Potter and C. S. Lewis, Until We Find Home is an unforgettable portrait of life on the British home front, challenging us to remember that bravery and family come in many forms.