Book Review by Lynn Grundstrom
The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson
From Back Cover
London, 1944: Clara Button is no ordinary librarian. While war ravages the city above her, Clara has risked everything she holds dear to turn the Bethnal Green tube station into the country’s only underground library. Down here, a secret community thrives with thousands of bunk beds, a nursery, a café, and a theater—offering shelter, solace, and escape from the bombs that fall upon their city.
Along with her glamorous best friend and assistant Ruby Munroe, Clara ensures the library is the beating heart of life underground. But as the war drags on, the women’s determination to remain strong in the face of adversity is tested to the limits when it may come at the price of keeping those closest to them alive.
The Little Wartime Library offers a powerful glimpse into war-torn England, highlighting the resilience, courage, and strength of the people who endured such a difficult time. It beautifully demonstrates the essential role that books and stories played in helping individuals cope with daily hardships during an era marked by immense loss and suffering.
Something as simple as a nightly bedtime story or a community book club could provide comfort, connection, and hope—small yet meaningful acts that made a world of difference.
This book is a wonderful and inspiring read. It comes highly recommended and is available for checkout at the Fluvanna Free Library and digitally through Libby.
Book Review by Lynn Grundstrom
The Christmas Tree Farm by Melody Carlson
From the back cover
“When Madison McDowell returns from several years teaching overseas, she has high hopes of picking up where she left off at her family’s Christmas tree farm in Oregon. But between damage from a recent wildfire and the neglect due to her sister Addie’s unwillingness to invest, the farm is in sad shape. In fact, Addie is intent on selling the property. And to top it off, her former high school flame, the now-widowed Gavin Thompson, has plans to break Madison’s heart again by turning his neighboring property into a dusty, noisy dirt bike track for his daughter.
With the odds stacked against her, Madison decides there’s only one thing to do: double down on her dreams. It will take a ton of hard work–and some help from an unlikely ally–to save the farm she so dearly loves. But it may take a miracle to restore her relationship with her sister.”
Because everyone needs a little Christmas once in a while, this novella is a fun and refreshing read anytime of the year. Melody Carlson books give me a sense of peace when the world gets a bit crazy and I highly recommend this book. It’s a warm, humorous, and cozy read. She writes both full novels and shorter novellas. The Christmas Tree Farm is available at the Fluvanna Free Library and can be found in our Christian Fiction section.
Book Review by Lynn Grundstrom
The Four Corners of the Sky: A Novel By Michael Malone
From Back Cover
“In small towns between the North Carolina Piedmont and the coast the best scenery is often in the sky. On flat sweeps of red clay and scrub pine the days move monotonously, safely, but above, in the blink of an eye, dangerous clouds can boil out of all four corners of the sky…The flat slow land starts to shiver and anything can happen.
In such a storm, on Annie Peregrine’s seventh birthday, her father gave her the airplane and minutes later drove out of her life. Thus begins an enchanting novel that bursts with energy from the first pages, and sweeps you off on a journey of unforgettable characters, hilarious encounters, and haunting secrets.
Thus begins an enchanting novel that bursts with energy from the very first pages and sweeps you off on a journey of unforgettable characters hilarious encounters and hunting secrets.”
The Four Corners of the Sky is a powerful coming of age novel with twists and turns that will keep you riveted and I highly recommend this book to anyone who ever wanted to fly off into the sunset.
The Four Corners of the Sky was featured in the 2025 Fluvanna Free Library’s Blind Date with a Book.
Book Review by Lynn Grundstrom
Christmas With the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
from the back cover
December 1952. While the young Queen Elizabeth II finds her feet as the new monarch, she must also find the right words to continue the tradition of her late father’s Christmas Day radio broadcast. But even traditions must evolve with the times, and the
queen faces a postwar Britain hungry for change.
As preparations begin for the royal Christmas at Sandringham House in Norfolk, old friends—Jack Devereux and Olive Carter—are unexpectedly reunited by the occasion. Olive, a single mother and aspiring reporter at the BBC, leaps at the opportunity to cover the holiday celebration, but even a chance encounter with the queen doesn’t go as planned and Olive wonders if she will ever be taken seriously.
Jack, a recently widowed chef, reluctantly takes up a new role in the royal kitchens at Sandringham. Lacking in purpose and direction, Jack has abandoned his dream to have his own restaurant, but his talents are soon noticed and while he might not believe in himself, others do, and a chance encounter with an old friend helps to reignite the spark of his passion and ambition.
As Jack and Olive’s paths continue to cross over the following five Christmases, they grow ever closer. Yet Olive carries the burden of a heavy secret that threatens to destroy everything.
Christmas With the Queen is sweet and comfortable and takes you into the world of post war England where the world celebrated a new monarch and welcomed era of peace. The book is a well reachered and well written historical fiction and I highly recommend it. Christmas With the Queen is available at the Fluvanna Free Library in our Large Print section.
Book Review by Lynn Grundstrom
The Sound of Light by Sarah Sundin
From the Back Cover 
Copenhagen, 1940
When the Germans march into Denmark, Baron Henrik Ahlefeldt exchanges his nobility for anonymity, assuming a new identity so he can secretly row messages for the Danish Resistance across the waters to Sweden. American physicist Dr. Else Jensen refuses to leave Copenhagen and abandon her research–her life’s dream–and makes the dangerous decision to print resistance newspapers.
As Else hears rumors of the movement’s legendary Havmand–the merman–she also becomes intrigued by the mysterious and silent shipyard worker living in the same boardinghouse. Henrik makes every effort to conceal his noble upbringing, but he is torn between the façade he must maintain and the woman he is beginning to fall in love with.
When the Occupation cracks down on the Danes, these two passionate people will discover if there is more power in speech . . . or in silence.
In true Sarah Sundin fashion, The Sound of Light is a suspenseful, historical Christian novel that will keep the reader involved from the very first page. Mrs. Sundin’s expertise at research is present throughout the book with intricate detail about the daily life of the Danish people during Nazi occupation in the early 1940s. I highly recommend this book.
The Librarian Spy: A Novel of World War II, by Madeline Martin 
Based on the true accounts of undercover agents sent to Portugal to collect valuable information, in the form of books and newspapers, the Librarian Spy centers around two ladies, Ava Harper, an Archival librarian with the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, and Elaine Rousseau a housewife working with the French Resistance in occupied France.
Because of her knowledge of photographing and creating microfilm and her language skills, Ava is recruited by the United States military to pose as a librarian in Lisbon, Portugal while working undercover to gather information crucial to turn the tide on the war in Europe. Her job is collecting foreign publications, photographing them, and sending the film to America.
Elaine (Helene before her involvement with the Resistance), upon discovering her husband had been arrested by the Nazis, joins the Resistance as a courier delivering newspapers, explosives, and printer parts. She begins learning about the printer and, later, printing the many underground pamphlets and newspapers distributed to members of the Resistance as well as smuggled out of the country.
Filled with suspense, this well-researched book is well worth the read. Martin’s descriptions are accurate and at times chilling as they enhance the bravery, courage and sacrifice faced by two strong women and the individuals that surround them.