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Widow of Gettysburg

July 27, 2026 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

27 Jul

Title: Widow of Gettysburg
Author: Jocelyn Green
Series: Heroines Behind the Lines, book 2
Major Themes: Civil War, Pennsylvania, Nursing
Synopsis: When Union widow Liberty Hollow’s farm is confiscated by the Confederate army and turned into a field hospital, she must figure out what the Lord wants her to do, while long-buried secrets from the past threaten her future.

After thoroughly enjoying (and being surprised by!) Wedded to War, I eagerly picked up Widow of Gettysburg. I’ve become a big Jocelyn Green fan over the past few years, and I knew I’d be in for a good story…and once again, she didn’t let me down. This is a powerful story, one I had a hard time stopping once I got into it. And, once again, there were some great surprises along the way!

Publisher’s description:

The farm of Union widow Liberty Hollow is confiscated and converted into a Confederate field hospital, bringing her face-to-face with unspeakable suffering and a Confederate scout who awakens her long-dormant heart. While Liberty’s future crumbles, the past comes rushing back to Bella, Liberty’s hired help, who was formerly enslaved. Bella finds herself surrounded by Southern soldiers—and one reporter who learns a secret she’s hidden from Liberty for 20 years.

In the wake of shattered homes and bodies, Liberty and Bella struggle to pick up the pieces the battle has left behind. Will Liberty be defined by the tragedy in her life, or will she find a way to triumph over it?

Widow of Gettysburg is a work of fiction inspired by first-person accounts from women whose letters and journals offer a glimpse into the lives of women living in Gettysburg during the battle and its aftermath.

My thoughts:

Before starting this book, I never really stopped to consider what life may have been like for people living in or near Gettysburg before the war came to their area. Usually, wartime fiction deals with people directly involved with the war effort in some way—not ordinary civilians who find the war on their doorstep. I felt like this book was a unique perspective on that battle, and I especially appreciated getting to know a bit more of the surrounding events at that time beyond what a history book might tell me.

Liberty…I connected with her almost right away. It was fascinating to see her change and grow in confidence as the story went on, and I also appreciated her attitude toward the different people who came along. One of my favorite parts about what she did in this story was the way she extended love and genuine kindness toward Confederate soldiers, even though she sided with the Union. She saw them as people made in the image of God who needed help, not just “the enemy.” That kind of love and care isn’t something I’ve seen in fiction very much (I remember being surprised by a similar theme in Fields of the Fatherless), and I really appreciated that!

Then, too, there’s Bella. I loved getting to know her, and especially appreciated the perspective she gave of what it was like to be black and looked down upon at that time. Her courage, conviction, and drive to do everything she could to help Liberty were beautiful to watch.

If you enjoy historical fiction that tells lots of history while still pulling you into the characters’ lives and making you care for the characters, I’d highly recommend you pick up Widow of Gettysburg (as well as the rest of the books in the series! I’ve only read two, but I’m sure the other two will be just as good!). There’s a little romance in this story, but the main focus of the book is on the historical events and on the characters’ growth as people and in their faith. (I’ve read that there’s a bit more romance in the 10th anniversary edition, but knowing Green’s typical writing style, I’m guessing that will be tastefully done, too.) A great read!

WARNING: There are multiple mentions throughout the book of white men taking advantage of slave women. Chapter 5: For pity’s sake, “Took slaves to bed, and shot pa dead” (a rhyme repeated several times through the book). Chapter 7: “Which one should we ride first?” (lewd man referring to a woman or a horse), woman’s life is threatened. Chapter 27: Story of a man who woke up with a woman in his arms (and an assumption she took advantage of him while he slept). Chapter 28: Man tries to rape a woman, someone killed (some detail, but not gruesome). Chapter 29: Woman admits to ordering someone to give herself to a man, the devil it isn’t.

Age levels:

Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults

Links to buy this book:

Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Audible Audiobook (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com

Operation Posthaste

July 24, 2026 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

24 Jul

Title: Operation Posthaste
Author: Chautona Havig
Major Themes: Friendship, Christian Romance
Synopsis: After discovering a decades-old sack of letters in his attic, nine-year-old Dylan realizes he has to deliver all of them, or potentially face even more loss than he’s already endured so far.

After finishing a longish classic, I was ready for a lighter read. In scrolling through my Kindle’s offerings, I came across Operation Posthaste. I remembered hearing something about it several years ago, and after a bit of deliberation, I decided to try it out, and it ended up being exactly what I needed at the time.

Publisher’s description:

{ Neither rain, nor sleet, nor seventy-five years… }

Brandie Oliver is starting a new life with her son in Elmhurst—one of Rockland’s oldest neighborhoods. It’ll just be the two of them now, and she’s determined to be the best mom possible. Heaven knows she hasn’t been in the past.

Then Dylan starts acting strange. His teacher, the grandson of her matchmaking neighbor, says he is falling behind and sleeps during class. Why, when he nearly passes out at dinner, she can’t understand. Is he sick?

Rudy Vincenzo hasn’t had so much fun in years. He’s finally found a girl his grandson, Jack, can’t seem to resist, Dylan isn’t too cool to talk to an old guy like him, and he’s helping the boy with a secret mission.

Every night, he follows Dylan up and down streets delivering mail—ensuring the boy’s safety. Jack’s worried about him. Brandie’s worried about Dylan, and conveniently, they’re spending all their time trying to figure out what’s going on. Could anything be better?

Operation Posthaste: They must finish the mission before someone catches on.

My thoughts:

I haven’t watched You’ve Got Mail, but as I understand it, this book is loosely inspired by that movie. I loved the mail part of the story—as a big history fan, that part was a lot of fun! Plus, I loved the mentions of Operation Mincemeat in the story; having just read The Man Who Never Was, those mentions felt like meeting an old friend all over again.

Another thing I loved about this book was the combination of two cultures in this story. Although the Latino/Mexican (I can’t remember right now which one it was) side didn’t come through as much, I loved that that was still there. I also loved the peek into Italian culture that this book gives. I mean, a pizza dough that takes three days to reach perfection? I’ve never heard of that before—but it does make me curious!

And then, of course, there are the friendships and romance. I loved the way Rudy took Dylan under his wing, and I also loved watching Rudy and Jack’s relationship as grandfather/grandson. That was great. The romance was too sweet, and I especially appreciated that it felt like the relationship was built on mutual trust, getting to know the other person, and seeking the Lord’s will, rather than solely on attraction and a “Will this make me happy?” attitude.

The faith element in this story was also convicting. I especially appreciated a discussion about why we can sometimes feel like something is missing in our relationship with the Lord, and how sometimes that’s because we’re holding something back from Him. That gave me pause to reflect—I love when Christian fiction does that!

If you’re looking for a mostly lighthearted, easy-to-read story that still has a bit of depth and some strong characters, I’d highly recommend you check out Operation Posthaste. It’s a novella, so a quick read (I almost read the whole thing in one day—if I’d realized I only had one or two chapters left at bedtime, I would have finished them!), but I came away thankful for another solid story from Chautona’s pen, and eager to start my next book by her. I’m thinking Clock Tower Bound is up next; I guess I’ll see which one I actually end up picking up!

WARNING: No warnings, aside from maybe one or two kisses and a 9-year-old hiding something from his mom.

Age levels:

Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults

Links to buy this book:

Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com

The Forgotten 500

July 22, 2026 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

22 Jul

Title: The Forgotten 500
Author: Gregory A. Freeman
Major Themes: Rescues, World War II, Yugoslavia
Synopsis: Forced to escape their crippled bombers, more than 500 stranded American airmen were involved in an elaborate rescue mission to get them out of Yugoslavia during World War II.

Sometimes, you come across books that look interesting, and happen to have time to fit them in right away. The Forgotten 500 was one of those for me. I find rescue stories fascinating, and due to the unusual setting of this story—Yugoslavia—I was even more interested! I don’t think I’ve ever read a book set in that country before, and certainly not one that told much history, as this one did!

Publisher’s description:

The astonishing, never-before-told story of the greatest rescue mission of World War II—when the OSS set out to recover more than 500 airmen trapped behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia.

During a bombing campaign over Romanian oil fields, hundreds of American airmen were shot down in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. Local Serbian farmers and peasants risked their own lives to give refuge to the soldiers while they waited for rescue, and in 1944, Operation Halyard was born. The risks were incredible. The starving Americans in Yugoslavia had to construct a landing strip large enough for C-47 cargo planes—without tools, without alerting the Germans, and without endangering the villagers. And the cargo planes had to make it through enemy airspace and back—without getting shot down themselves.

Classified for over half a century for political reasons, the full account of this unforgettable story of loyalty, self-sacrifice, and bravery is now being told for the first time ever. The Forgotten 500 is the gripping, behind-the-scenes look at the greatest escape of World War II.

My thoughts:

Though the goal of this book is to tell this little-known rescue story (and that was quite a story!), it of course had to back up some, and tell how the airmen got there in the first place, as well as set the scene for what kind of a political world they found themselves in when they landed on the ground. I found it fascinating to hear of different airmen’s experiences, and the ways and reasons they weren’t able to make it back to base after a bombing run. Usually, their baling out was rather harrowing. It’s hard to imagine the kinds of pressures these young men faced at that time!

One of the larger sections of the book, which I found especially interesting, was the discussion of Draža Mihailović. In some ways, this book is a defense of his actions—and an explanation of how Allied intelligence played a role in how Yugoslavia eventually became a communist country after the war. I looked up the Wikipedia article about this man after reading the book, and found it interesting to see where it backed up what this book said—and where the accounts differed!

The Forgotten 500 is a fascinating tale of survival, hospitality, and the courage of a people who were willing to sacrifice themselves in the hopes that it would make for a better country for their children and fellow citizens in the future. It is about a rescue mission—but it’s much bigger than that, too. If you enjoy adventure stories and learning a little more about history, I’d recommend you check this book out. It’s a good read!

WARNING: (I listened to this book, so I may have missed some warnings.) Chapter 1: Hell. Chapter 2: Best damn, damn. Chapter 3: God-awful, oh, my God, seeing a plane full of men crash. Chapter 4: Man tries to unzip another man’s pants when they’re trying to sleep, [it was a] hellfight. Chapter 5: Girls try to seduce some men. Chapter 7: (Somewhere around here) seeing a tram blow up. Chapter 8: By God, damn, lying. Chapter 10: Bastards, damn, a few descriptions of Nazi torture. Chapter 12: Where the hell, what the hell (twice), the hell, son of a bitch (twice), damned, you God-damn Brits, damn. Chapter 13: Damn, my God. Chapter 14: Damn. Chapter 15: Damn, damnedest. Chapter 16: God knew, by God, giving the Germans hell. Chapter 17: Be damned, what the hell, crap.

Age levels:

Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults

Links to buy this book:

Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com

Song of the Trees

July 20, 2026 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

20 Jul

Title: Song of the Trees
Author: Mildred D. Taylor
Series: Logan Family Saga, book 3 (chronological order)
Major Themes: Racism, Family, 1930s, Mississippi, Depression
Synopsis: With the family struggling to make ends meet during the Depression, Cassie and her brothers are distressed to find out Big Ma was forced to sell the trees that have always been part of their beloved land.

When I was still in my middle-grade years, Mom read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and Let the Circle Be Unbroken aloud to the family. Both books were powerful, unforgettable stories, and I’ve been intrigued about the rest of the series ever since. I was thankful to see that my library bought an e-copy of Song of the Trees, and recently took the time to read it. It turned out to be a much quicker read than I thought it would be, since it’s just a short story, but it’s a solid addition to the series, and gives another brief picture of the kinds of things black families faced in their fight for justice and fairness back in the 1930s.

Publisher’s description:

With the depression bearing down on her family, there isn’t much that Cassie Logan can count on anymore.

But there is one thing that hasn’t changed—the whispering trees outside her window. Cassie’s trees, which have stood for centuries, are a great source of comfort to her. But they are also worth a lot of money. With Cassie’s daddy gone to lay tracks for the railroad, it seems like no one can stop Mr. Andersen from forcing Big Ma to sell their valuable trees. How can Cassie sit by and watch them disappear? The beloved heroine of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry enchants us again in this story of strength and pride.

My thoughts:

I loved that this story is inspired by something Mildred Taylor’s father experienced as a child—that brought a lot more realism to the story for me, and I enjoyed seeing how she honored her father’s memory in the narrative. I can’t imagine being under the kind of pressures this family experienced as they tried to figure out what to do in the face of threats (and potentially worse). And I loved the way the parents’ and grandparents’ fortitude and determination were on display here—they were the adults in the situation, and acted with level heads, not letting the children just act on their impulses.

I wouldn’t consider this book essential to the Logan Family Saga as a whole, but if you’re interested in getting another glimpse at what Black families faced during the Depression years (and, unfortunately, beyond), Song of the Trees would be a good story to read.

WARNING: The words shoot, darn, and Lord knows are all used once in the story. A boy tries to hurt a man, and the children are disobedient.

Age levels:

Reading Independently—Ages 12 – 15, 15 and Above, Adults

Links to buy this book:

Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com

Fever 1793

July 17, 2026 by Emma Filbrun · Leave a Comment

17 Jul

Title: Fever 1793
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Major Themes: Yellow Fever, Disease, Epidemic, Pennsylvania
Synopsis: When Yellow Fever struck the city of Philadelphia, Mattie’s life was turned upside down.

I have loved historical fiction books as long as I can remember. I love learning about history through stories. For that reason, I was delighted to get to read Fever 1793 to my daughter recently. Several years ago, we read a different book about the 1793 Yellow Fever outbreak in Philadelphia, but that book is hard to find, so it was nice to find one that is easy to source.

Publisher’s description:

During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out.

Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning Mattie’s world upside down. At her feverish mother’s insistence, Mattie flees the city with her grandfather. But she soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.

My thoughts:

To be honest, I didn’t like Fever 1793 as well as the other one we read—which I can’t remember the title of. There were attitudes I didn’t appreciate in this one; Mattie wasn’t always respectful to her mother, and she was crazy about a boy. However, those attitudes turned around towards the end of the book as she endured a lot of hard times and learned some valuable life lessons.

We did enjoy this story overall. There was enough tension throughout the story, as we wondered if Mattie and her family would survive, to keep us going. The author did a great job of making us feel the fear of the people of Philadelphia when faced with a disease they didn’t understand. Knowing what we know now about how Yellow Fever was transmitted, it is amazing to see how they reacted. This is a good book for those who like a strong, realistic female protagonist in a historical setting.

WARNING: Chapter 5: Boy/girl friendship, not too healthy. Chapter 10: Damned fool. Chapter 19: Fight, injuries, man dies. Chapter 20: Many dead people, thoughts about death.

Age levels:

Listening Level—Ages 10 – 12
Reading Independently—Ages 10 – 12, 12 – 15

Links to buy this book:

Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com