The Chosen, by Chaim Potok

Read and reviewed in April, 2014

An excellent little novel (270 pages) that packs so much into it! Very well written, captured me from the first chapter, a softball game between two Jewish schools in which Danny injures the protoganist's, Reuven's right eye. It encompasses so much, particularly father-son relationships . Danny and Reuven become best friends although Reuven and his father are orthodox and Danny's family is Hasidic. The differences between parenting styles is emphasized throughout. Reuven's father is a wise and gentle counselor to his son, even in poor health and caught up in his work (a professor) and pro-Zionist speeches. Danny's father uses silence as a tool to guide his son, forcing him to look inward for guidance. The only times he talks to Danny is when they are studying Talmud together.
The book also delves extensively into Jewish history, especially that concerning the Hasidic branch of Judaism. Other significant historical events were World War II, the Holocaust, and the Zionist movement and eventual establishment of the new state of Israel.

Of particular interest to me was Reuven's emotions when he learned of the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt:

"...Davey Cantor burst into the room, looking as though he was crying, and shouted breathlessly that someone had just told him President Roosevelt was dead. ... everyone turned and gaped at him in total astonishment. ... I stared at him and felt myself slide slowly back onto my desk. I found myself in a sudden cold sweat. ... I didn't believe it. Until I got to the street. ... No one on the trolley was talking. It was crowded and it became more crowded as it went along, but there was only the silence inside."

It reminded me of President Kennedy's assassination, the silence in the school halls, the shock and unbelief written on every face I saw.
This is a book that will stay with me a long time, in my heart, but it is available for release through Bookcrossing.

The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom

I read and reviewed this book in September, 2002; then gave it to another Bookcrosser. She read and reviewed it, then sent it to a third Bookcrosser who did the same! This is what Bookcrossing is all about, reading and sharing books, and perhaps learning if others enjoyed it as well!
Bookcrossing reviews

Corrie ten Boom and her family lived in Haarlem, the Netherlands, during the first half of the 20th century. Part of the Dutch Resistance during World War II and the Nazi occupation, they hid and rescued many Jews, and subsequently were arrested. Most of Corrie's family died in Nazi prisons and concentration camps, but Corrie survived to tell her story of God's grace through terrible times. She spent the rest of her life traveling and telling her story, and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, until her death in 1983, at the age of 91.
My husband and I were able to visit the Ten Boom clock shop, home and museum while visiting in Haarlem, the Netherlands in 2001. It was an unforgettable experience!
Ten Boom House information