Fiction

Title: Crack Between the Worlds
Author: Carmen Stenholm
Genre: Fiction, Literary
Reviewer: Bob Flounoy

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0980006473

There is an interesting story to tell about all of us and our families. Crack Between the Worlds is such a story. It has universal appeal because, through this family, we have a mirror that reflects our own ancestors --- and the courage, unyielding tenacity, and occasional bouts of luck that
must have occurred in a somewhat similar fashion, to bring each of us into the world. The power of this story comes from an unflinching look at the character's lives. In it, heroism is balanced with selfishness and petty concerns; perseverance is sometimes rewarded and sometimes dreadfully crushed. It's a story of horrific tragedies and unquestioning resolution to keep living despite the cost. It's a story of big mistakes and small kindnesses, of roads taken at great cost and roads untaken, perhaps at greater cost. It's the story best summed up by the words of Johanna, the family matriarch, who, on the day the Nazi soldiers ravaged her town said to her granddaughter in response to the child's desire to simply give up, "You have to care, Ella. That's what this is all about, you know---to care even when it hurts, to have the strength and courage, my little one, to care even when your mind and body want nothing more than to run away."

Title: The Letter
Author: Jerry Yellin
Genre: Fiction, Literary
Reviewer: Kathleen Rodgers

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1590957342

A powerful fundamental End Time Christian Senator, anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic, discovers that his birth parents were Catholic and Jewish through a letter written by his dying Catholic mother to the Jewish father who knew nothing about having fathered a son.

Title: Digger Dogface Brownjob Grunt
Author: Gary Prisk
Genre: Fiction, Literary
Reviewer: Rob Ballister

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0615253431

Digger Dogface... is the winner of "Best New Fiction"and "Fiction & Literature: Literary Fiction" in The National Best Books 2009 Awards. (May 2010) Digger is a winner in ForeWord Reviews' Book of the Year Awards 2009. (May 2010) Digger is the Winner for "The Best Fiction Book 2010" in the International Book Awards. Gary Prisk brings to the art and craft of fiction the sensibility and the facility of a poet, rendering his narrative with a depth and texture that is unique and rare. Raw, gritty and saturated with black humor, "Digger..." is tender in a way most will struggle to understand. *****APEX REVIEWS 5-star. Over the past four decades, countless books have been written about the Vietnam War, often highlighting the experiences of soldiers who fought -and -died in it. Very few works, though, offer the unique perspective of the soldier on the ground, in the heat of battle, detailing the conflicting thoughts and emotions that often consumed them from day to day - and moment to moment.-----Throughout the pages of "Digger Dogface...", though, Gary Prisk provides the reader with just such insight. Based on his own experiences in Vietnam, "Digger..." takes the reader on a vicarious journey through the heart, mind, and soul of a soldier struggling to come to grips with the unfamiliarity of his surroundings, as well as the uncertainty surrounding his future. Deep, raw, and real, Prisk's riveting narrative will serve as an eye-opening introduction to the gritty truths of war and conflict for readers heretofore influenced by pop culture's more glamorous depiction of its true nature. Furthermore, the not-so-subtle commentary that Prisk proffers on the Vietnam War - and such conflicts in general - ultimately proves to be quite difficult to rebut. Equally tinged with humor and gravitas, "Digger Dogface..." is an intellegent, insightful take on a pivotal time in world history that will never be forgotten. A highly recommended, enlightening read.

Title: Days of Smoke
Author: Mark Ozeroff
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Reviewer: Bob Flournoy

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1934337455

Days of Smoke offers a mold-shattering view of war and Holocaust, from the unique perspective of German flyer Hans Udet. Across aerial battlefields ranging over much of Europe, Hans progresses from naive young Messerschmitt pilot to ace of increasing rank and responsibility. But unfolding events pit Hans' love of the Fatherland against his natural compassion for humanity, after he saves a young Jewish woman from brutal assault. As growing feelings for Rachel sensitize him to the "Jewish problem," Hans is torn between mounting disdain for the Nazis and his sense of duty to Germany. Rachel is the unlikely bridge joining his disparate halves.

Title: The Great Hour Struck: On Eagles' Wings: Part One
Author: Gary Varner
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Reviewer: David Tschanz

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0595517870

As the inferno of World War II engulfs 101st Airborne Division paratrooper Lieutenant Sam Henry, the scholar-turned-soldier is thrust on a collision course with the embodiment of beauty-and the horrors of combat. Training and awaiting D-Day in England, Sam's can-do Yank confidence suffers the harsh realities of a war-weary nation under siege as well as a tyrannical platoon leader. His fascination with the beautiful British schoolteacher, Maggie Elliott, sustains his hopes and softens the bite of military life but cannot erase the dread of Sam's upcoming mission. When that fateful day arrives, June 6, 1944, Sam embarks on one of the most dangerous missions of the war. But the massive parachute night drop behind Hitler's Atlantic Wall disintegrates into pockets of fractured units and individuals locked in kill-or-be-killed close combat chaos, testing Sam's optimistic intellectualism to the breaking point. His personal mission becomes nothing more than getting his beloved men out-alive. Yet, with the D-Day airborne objectives nearly secured, an unforeseen clash against a Russian Front hardened storm trooper, Helmut Behr, threatens to destroy Sam's sanity-and his life.