Great book about the privileged lives of the women in the 1960s time of monthly bridge games and Junior League Meetings and the other ladies behind the scenes who make life bearable for them. You get a good sense of both sides, black and white, of the way life is for them and see the trials and tribulations of what the "help" go through to keep the peace, keep their heads down, and keep their jobs.

I really liked this book. We all have that family member who is a little out of control and crazy--and this book keeps you clinging to what this woman will do next to a little girl who is being raised by her by circumstance. A mystery uncovers itself and the adult child is going to do everything it takes to get to the bottom of the story. I wasn't expecting so much of the Iclandic language, history and geography in the book; I was drawn in by the mystery of the family secret, but I really enjoyed the educational benefits the book had to offer. I have an Icelandic friend and I saw a lot of parallels of her life and family to the character's description of life in Iceland and her family. If you like Iceland or ever wondered about it--I'm sure you will LOVE this book.

Set on Bainbridge Island, WA, Emily finds a diary in a room in her Aunt's house that she's never been in. As she tries to uncover the author of this diary and if the story she has read is true, she uncovers a web of secrets that have been buried for decades.

This book was a page turner. I wished it was longer...

This book is simply the best story of someone who lived through the holocaust I have ever read. The story follows a young girl and her family through the Second World War in Poland. You really get a good look and feel of the traditions of the Jewish people since she describes everything as though you are right there with them. This also makes you feel connected to everyone in the family...immediate and extended.

Another thing that I liked about the book is that it didn't linger too much on one single thing. She gets a lot covered in this book because she keeps moving on to the next thing that happened. Even though the book still covers horrific and very graphic things, I felt I had the sense of "moving on" and small chapters helped in this as you have a "stopping place" if you want to put the book down and pick up fresh with the next chapter.

There are grammatical errors throughout the book and I'm not sure if they were left on purpose or not...but for me, it really gave a feel of "English as a second language" and wasn't bothered by it at all.

I read the Kindle version of this book and actually found it easier to type the footnotes out so I would have them right in front of me as I read. With my older Kindle, it was a little hard to go back and forth so much and save where I had left off. With my new Kindle Fire, there would have been no problem as you can bookmark and go back MUCH easier! The paper copies have the footnotes listed in the back of the book and can be easily referred to.

All in All -- five stars, hands down.