OK, this is the one! Even though I live in the Southern Hemisphere and am therefore not exactly dreaming of a white Christmas, if I was wandering through a bookstore looking for a kiddie Christmas book, this is the one I’d be taking home with me.
Why? Call me superficial but the small things really can be big things for me. At just a glance of the front cover I’m greeted by two colourful penguins in striped beanies and the dot on the i in Christmas is a snowflake. Then when I turn over to the back cover, our cute as a button penguins are putting a glowing star on top of a Christmas tree and some of the tree’s decorations are smiley fish!
So, by judging a book by its cover we already have a winner but then inside the story told in rhymes and the illustrations are aww-worthy. We follow Big Penguin and Little Penguin prepare for their Christmas celebration and while the presents are wonderful, what’s even better is the love they share. Aww! Heart melted.
P.S. There’s a giant teddy bear close to the middle of the book that I’ve already claimed. You may borrow it if you ask nicely.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Two penguins discover that love is the perfect gift at Christmas in this sparkling festive picture book!
The countdown to Christmas has begun and there is so much for Little Penguin to be excited about: decorating the tree, cooking festive treats, sending a letter to Santa, wrapping presents, and much more. But what does Big Penguin want for Christmas? The answer will warm the hearts of every penguin, big or small!
Did you know that the Egyptian mummy-making process took 70 days? Or that 15 of those days were needed to wrap the mummy?
I’ve been an Egypt nerd for most of my life. I learned so many new facts while reading this book and it’s ignited the need to learn more. I would have done some serious drooling over this book as a kid. My Nan and I shared our fascination of Ancient Egyptian culture, beliefs and customs, and for a time I was sure I was going to be an archaeologist when I grew up.
I read books and more books about Egypt. When we got to choose our own topic for a project in primary school I chose Ancient Egypt. That project is still sitting in a box in the garage, pulled out and leafed through from time to time when nostalgia finds me. I had a silver necklace I wore throughout high school with a Nefertiti bust charm on it. I laboured for months over a detailed Tutankhamun burial mask cross stitch for my Nan and although she was an incredible artist, she removed one of her paintings from the living room wall and hung my framed present in its place. My Nan was totally awesome!
I loved that this book takes you on a journey through the mummification process that is appropriate for children (it’s recommended for ages 8 and above), but it is also interesting enough to hold an adult’s attention. Just some of the snippets of information I enjoyed coming across while reading include:
What images were on the inside of coffins and why
Who the first Egyptian mummy was
Where we get the English word mummy from
What determines whether you read hieroglyphs from left to right or right to left
What different colours symbolised in Egyptian culture.
While there were plenty of photos and illustrations interspersed with the text, the layout didn’t feel cluttered. The copy I read was digital so I haven’t seen the final die-cut model but from the photos throughout the book I can imagine it would help bring what you’re reading about to life. I’m also quite proud to be able to tell you that I now know how to write my first name in hieroglyphs thanks to this book.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – becker&mayer! kids for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Calling all explorers and archaeologists! Inside Out: Egyptian Mummy comes with everything you need to start an Egyptian adventure, from discovering a tomb to unwrapping a mummy.
Though the ancient civilization of Egypt may be long gone, itsdead still have secrets to tell. From the myth of Isis and Osiris, to King Tut’s tomb, to the intricacies of preparing the body for its underworld journey, Inside Out: Egyptian Mummy takes you step by step into a tomb. Get a fascinating glimpse into how an ancient culture saw death and the afterlife beyond.
That isn’t all though! Alongside beautiful illustrations and photographs, an interactive die-cut model reveals the many rites of the Egyptian tomb. You will be amazed by everything from the iconic golden burial mask, to the lucky amulets the dead were buried with, protective linen wrappings, and even the mummified body and preserved sacred organs. And when it comes to hieroglyphics, hidden burial grounds, and missing treasure, there’s always more to uncover, so get your start now, who knows where your journeys will take you!
I never read this one as a kid. It’s so lovely! Snoot is the cutest little echidna and he becomes friends with Grug. Until you’ve seen an echidna laying on its back smiling, you don’t know what adorable is. I may have accidentally bought all of the Grug books that Mum and I don’t already own during the latest Booktopia free shipping bookathon so over the course of the next few months, be prepared to become well acquainted with this quirky childhood favourite. I’ll be hiding them for Mum randomly, interspersed with some Clifford books bought at the same time. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. 😊
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
An echidna called Snoot is the perfect, prickly friend for Grug!
I love abandoned places photography so much! This book was no exception. The photography itself was brilliant but the subject matter was everything for me. There’s just something about abandoned places. They have a strange combination of the overwhelming sadness of something cast aside, nostalgia of what once was and a haunting beauty of what the elements have transformed the structure into, and I can’t get enough of them. Like losing myself in a fire’s flames, I get mesmerised by these places.
When I saw my first abandoned house photo I had a lightbulb moment. Weird as it may sound these are my fantasy buildings. I would love to buy an abandoned house like one of the ones in this book, ensure it’s structurally sound and then leave the outside as close to the state that I found it in as possible. I’d restore the interior, bringing back to life the character it once had, but the outside would remain as is. It would be my “don’t judge a book by its cover” dream brought to life.
I don’t expect this would make sense to most people but I love the idea of people walking up to a building that looks as though a gust of wind could bring it down and then stepping inside to the enchanted world of my imagination, with the requisite hidden rooms and the library of my dreams. Hmm … one day …
So, back to this book. It was gorgeous and my biggest decision now is whether to keep reserving it over and over at the library or buy my own copy because I have to look through it again and again. As you page through, you’ll be taken on a journey around the world through abandoned homes, recreation, rooms, journeys, society and industry.
I could easily say they were all my favourites but there were particular photos that stood out to me. The children’s playroom in Pennhurst Asylum, Pennsylvania, USA, with sections of a painted merry-go-round on the cracked wall and a wooden chair sitting in the middle of the room. The operating chair in an unnamed mental asylum in Italy, creepy in and of itself. Who knows how many peoples’ lives and minds were irrevocably changed in that room laying on and most likely strapped to that chair. Okay, so I may have a teensy morbid interest in old asylums.
There’s also an abandoned two storey mansion somewhere in the USA with eery clouds overhead, trees in the background and a curtain on the second floor that’s not quite closed, so it’s very likely a ghost is peering out at you. There’s a merry-go-round at the funfair somewhere in Italy and a lonely ferris wheel at Chernobyl, Ukraine. There’s also churches, shopping malls, planes, cars, motels and rooms overtaken by sand. The whole book is just amazing. I will never get tired of looking through it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
From the empty magical theatres of Detroit to the lost playgrounds of Chernobyl, there are places across the globe that were once a hub of activity, but are now abandoned and in decay. With nature creeping in and reclaiming these spots, we are left with eerie crumbling ruins and breath-taking views of deserted places, that offer us a window into past and capture our imagination. Abandoned showcases the very best photographs from around the world documenting this phenomenon.
More immersive than a museum and more human that a lecture, abandoned photography has given the world an exciting way to look at our history and the places we have long neglected.
Kill Creek is best read when the weather is on your side. While I travelled to the Finch House there was torrential rain, thunder that rattled the windows, hail that pounded on the roof, 30,000 lightning strikes one night in the local area (or so they reported on the news) and wind that howled through the trees. One windy night around 3am as I crept through the dark house trying to be quiet so I didn’t wake anyone up I walked through a cobweb. Reading at night with the only light coming from my Kindle I could almost imagine something that used to be human reaching for me in the darkness of the room just beyond what I could see. It was creepy and it was perfect. I highly recommend reading Kill Creek under similar circumstances.
If ever a book was written with a cinematic quality where you could practically watch the movie as you’re reading the book, this is the one. An hour or so before walking through my cobweb I’d read a part in the book with spiders (so many spiders! 🕷) and sitting there in the dark I convinced myself I could feel something crawling along my arm. Now that’s the kind of creepy I love, when the book reaches out from the pages (or screen) and convinces you that what’s happening in the book and what’s happening around you as you read it are related, like the book knows and is somehow causing these ‘coincidences’. After reading his book, Scott Thomas almost had me convinced the house at Kill Creek had the power to reach into my life, and that is the type of creepy fun I haven’t experienced in a book in a long time.
Kill Creek takes us to Finch House, a gorgeous and meticulously crafted house with over 150 years of tragedy living within its walls. Wainwright of WrightWire (an internet “destination for horror events”) and his photographer Kate plan to interview four of the world’s most famous horror writers at Finch House for WrightWire’s annual Halloween stunt.
Our lambs to the slaughter authors are Sam, a lecturer at the University of Kansas and best-selling author who’s struggling to write his next novel, Sebastian who’s basically horror writer royalty, Daniel who I imagined as a Christian version of R.L. Stine and Moore, who writes what I can only describe as torture porn. Horror means something different to each author and each has their own reason for agreeing to take part in this interview. What they experience may reveal that the ghosts of the past that haunt your mind can be some of the most terrifying ghosts of all.
And the house? The house enjoys entertaining visitors. I remember one of my English teachers talking about how locations can become characters in stories and in my adolescent omniscience I sat there rolling my eyes thinking, ‘Yeah, whatever’. So, anonymous English teacher, I get it now! The house in Kill Creek is my favourite character!
Told in third person from multiple points of view, you are granted access to each character’s thoughts, desires and greatest fears. At times the writing was so poetic I almost forgot I was reading a horror novel. Then there’d be a description of seeping wounds, crunching bones or goo oozing out of eyeballs, and I’d remember, sometimes almost cringing from the detailed descriptions of agony and torment. With some humour, action sequences, egos battling egos and mystery thrown in along with some good old fashioned murder, Kill Creek is pure entertainment.
Should you ever star in your own horror novel, there are some basics that Kill Creek teaches that you should probably keep in mind.
Horror Novel 101
If there’s a creepy basement with a rickety staircase, stay the hell out.
No matter what, stay together as a group.
If a house has a reputation for being evil, don’t think it’ll let you leave unscathed, if it lets you leave at all.
If there’s a creepy third floor room whose entrance has been bricked over, take note. There’s probably a reason and you probably don’t want to know what’s in there.
If someone who you know is dead is standing before you asking you to do something really weird, it’s probably not them and you probably shouldn’t do that really weird thing.
I did find that there was a section around the middle of the book that I felt was a bit long-winded and slowed the pace down at a time when I was eager to just get back to the house and get some answers. I found the themes of Moore’s novels kinda out there but in terms of relating those to her backstory I did understand where she was coming from. I found something to like about all but one of the characters (Adudel). I really had a fun time reading this book and will most certainly be on the lookout for future novels by this author.
Biggest disappointment: Looking up Last One Out Kills the Lights on Goodreads because Sam makes it sound like my kind of horror short story book, only to find it doesn’t exist. Just to make sure I looked up the author’s name and found they do exist! Except they’re a romance novelist. ☹️
Favourite sentence:
“That may be the most perverse thing of all: ignoring the horror, even as it happens around you.”
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Inkshares for the opportunity to read this book. This is the second book I’ve read by this publisher and both were home runs.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
At the end of a dark prairie road, nearly forgotten in the Kansas countryside, lies the Finch House. For years it has perched empty, abandoned, and overgrown – but soon the door will be opened for the first time in many decades. But something waits, lurking in the shadows, anxious to meet its new guests.
When best-selling horror author Sam McGarver is invited to spend Halloween night in one of the country’s most infamous haunted houses, he reluctantly agrees. At least he won’t be alone; joining him are three other masters of the macabre, writers who have helped shape modern horror. But what begins as a simple publicity stunt soon becomes a fight for survival – the entity they have awakened will follow them, torment them, threatening to make them part of the bloody legacy of Kill Creek.
You know those amazing people who can look at a branch and think to themselves, ‘Gee, this would make a brilliant bird’ and then go and whittle that branch into something that actually looks like a bird? I’m not one of those people, but Chris Lubkemann certainly is! I page through books like Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Whittling Book, Gift Edition in jaw dropped awe and wish I was a tenth as talented as this man.
I grew up coveting my Dad’s Swiss Army Knife and felt like I was super special whenever he’d let me play with the toothpick – carefully, so I didn’t break it. The day that I was judged responsible enough to have my very own Swiss Army Knife I felt like I’d achieved a major rite of passage. I love these little marvels of engineering and currently have my grandfather’s but am eyeing off this gorgeous purple one that I may be forced to purchase.
So, this book. From the dedication to Carl Elsener, Sr., complete with a lovely photo of him with one of the happiest smiles I’ve ever seen, leaning on a table filled with upstanding Swiss Army Knives in battle formation, I began smiling and the only times I wasn’t smiling after that was when my brow was furrowed in astonishment at what author and whittler extraordinaire Chris can create out of so little.
Chris is passionate about his craft and there’s something contagious about passion. After learning about the history of the company and seeing some of the incredible variations of the models, I almost feel like a Swiss Army Knife evangelist now. From the basic model to the extraordinary Swiss Champ XAVT with 118 parts to the adorable limited edition ones with designs like bees or an astronaut dog in space, I never realised how many different functions these tools can achieve or how cute they can be. Also, in just their Ibach factory alone, 60,000 Swiss Army Knives are produced per day! Who knew?!
Onto the whittling. Not only do you get step by step instructions, you get coloured photos to support them. You will learn how to customise your knife to make it easier to whittle with, safety instructions, how to choose your branches and the other tools you will need. The projects will show you how to make tools, toys, animals and household items such as coasters. My favourite creation has to be the rowboat, complete with oars! So, have I converted you yet?
I am all too aware of my own klutz level so you won’t be seeing any updates from me with photos of my marvellous creations. I’d prefer my fingers to remain attached to my hands. For those of you like me this book is simply incredible to look through. You will gain such an appreciation for the talented non-klutzes of the world.
For those talented or soon to be talented whittlers, I applaud your artistry. This book would be perfect for anyone looking for a new hobby or for current whittlers looking to master new projects.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Fox Chapel Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
With this well-illustrated guidebook and a trusty Swiss Army Knife, readers will be ready to whittle wherever they go. World-famous whittler Chris Lubkemann shows how to carve 43 useful and whimsical objects using nothing more than a stick and an Original Swiss Army Knife. Chris offers step-by-step instructions for all the traditional whittling favorites like spoons, forks, and flowers, plus some decidedly funny animals and the classic curly tail rooster. He also provides sage advice on how to choose wood, sharpen a blade, and safely control your knife. Published in collaboration with Victorinox AG, makers of the Original Swiss Army Knife.
Confession time: All Spot books are automatically ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me. I grew up reading about Spot. I still love Spot. My mother loves Spot. I made a Spot birthday cake for her 50th.
So, now that you know I’m completely biased, let me tell you something I didn’t know about Spot. His grandfather is a fireman! Grandpa is adorable in this board book and there’s also an adorable brown bear fireman. Outside the fire station a cat is having a lovely nap until Spot has some fun with the siren.
Fun fact: Cats don’t appreciate getting woken up by sirens.
Like all Spot books, there aren’t a lot of words but there’s still a nice little story, the illustrations are sweet and colourful, and the whole book is basically cute overload.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Spot’s visiting Grandpa at the fire station, where he decides he wants to be a fireman too! Grandpa gives him his very own fireman’s helmet and they set to work.
Cheeky Spot slides down the pole, climbs the ladder, soaks Grandpa with the hose and finally sounds the noisy siren. Spot thinks he’s a very good fireman, but Grandpa may not be so sure!
⭐️ – Inventions with cool names like Tea-Mendous and Swirly-Spagsonic that look like something Doc Brown would make. Remember that wonderful contraption he made to feed Einstein?
⭐️ – Lovely Grandpa who is so encouraging and adorable, and who doesn’t believe in giving up.
⭐️ – Crow with heaps of character who helps teach our girl inventor perseverance, empathy and teamwork.
⭐️ – Beautiful story told in rhymes and quirky, fun illustrations that make you smile.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Izabelle Gizmo just loves to invent, but her inventions never seem to work the way she wants them to. And that makes her really CROSS! When she finds a crow with a broken wing she just has to help. But will she be able to put her frustrations to one side and help her new friend to fly again?
Where to start. Oh, I know! K.C. Tansley, puh-lease let me read book 3 ASAP! Without sounding too desperate, I’m The Girl Who Desperately Needs to Read Book 3! Right. So now that I’ve gotten that bit out of the way, let me tell you about book 2.
I am extraordinarily grateful that I had The Girl Who Saved Ghosts on hand when I finished reading The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts. While book 1 introduces us to some of our cast of characters, past, present and future, book 2 focuses more on Kat and Evan’s friendship, with a delicious side order of Toria and Alistair’s eternal love. ❤️
Disclaimer: As some of you already know, romance and I both pretend the other doesn’t exist and we’re happy that way, so for me to be wanting to read more about this couple is either a sign we’ve entered The Twilight Zone or it’s an awesome book.
Book 2 also introduces us to Kat’s two aunts on her unknown father’s side, Vivian and Jacqueline, who certainly got their fair share of the personality gene. Vivian is the lovely, caring, encouraging aunt and Jacqueline is, well, quite snippy (but with good reason) and does have a beating heart beneath her grimaces. We spend a fair amount of time at Dumbarton, safe haven for the Langley family. Vivian and Jacqueline are the guardians of Dumbarton and as such cannot leave, although seriously, why would they want to?!
Dumbarton is such an amazing place and has such yummy breakfasts that I don’t know why you’d ever leave. We’re talking “a plate of bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, French toast, and a fruit cup”, with coffee and orange juice to wash it down. If you’re still tempted to leave allow me to invite you on a tour of the super secret underground heart of the house that has some pretty cool features including a library of spells. And if you’re still not convinced, Dumbarton is the only place in the world where you are completely safe from all of the nasties, including the Dark One, who’s trying to destroy you. What? You’re staying? Awesome choice!
While at Dumbarton we get some of the goss on Maximillian, Kat’s absent father, and his sister, Shannon. We also go on a trip back in time to early nineteenth century Vienna where we catch up with more of the ancestors. I loved the newold alive people in the past but ghosts in the present characters in Vienna. The danger ramps up for Kat and Evan in this book, and Kat is more hopeful of the possibility of finally meeting her elusive father.
While we haven’t been given that much information about the Dark One yet, we did get to know a ‘villain’ in greater depth and I loved this person. You’ve gotta love a good villain and I especially like ones that are relatable, the ones where you can put yourself in their shoes and see how it would’ve been possible for you to make the same choices they did.
That’s one standout for me in books 1 and 2 of this series. The characters are substantial, not just your leads, but pretty much everyone. You learn their history, what makes them tick, why they made certain life changing decisions. Each of the four families have rich histories that all contribute to their combined mythology. Each step of the way I was piecing more of the overall puzzle together and I was given enough information to chew on so while I know there’s more to come, I don’t feel short changed by what I learned in this book.
And now for my Time Travel Conundrum. Please don’t click that spoiler button unless you are prepared for some spoilage and some possibly scary insights into the way my brain operates. In the first book, Kat took the Radcliffe rubies from the past and gave them back to the present day heir. In this book, Kat is supposed to go back in time to take the Kingsley dagger from Percy and give it to the present day heir. In the next book, we’re going to hopefully find the Mallory bracelet. These family amulets have been missing for generations. So my question is, would they have been missing in the first place if Kat didn’t time travel to the past to steal them?
I know that when this series comes to an end (hopefully after many more instalments) that I’m going to need to reread them. I’m already anticipating revisiting The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts to read it in the context of what I now know after finishing this book. I can only imagine that anticipation growing stronger as the series marches on.
Toria remains my favourite character and I was thrilled to get the chance to find out more about her human life and ghost life. I missed Morgan and Professor Astor’s continual presence and hope to see them with larger roles in future books. I also hope Kat has some of her blood in storage at Dumbarton. If she keeps doing spells that require her blood, at the rate she’s going she’ll be in need of a transfusion fairly soon. 😜
This book has taken me practically forever to finish (15 days) but it wasn’t for lack of enjoyment, obviously. I was so interested in learning more about the history of the four families and how everything was going to play out that I didn’t want to miss a thing. Each time I didn’t have prime reading conditions I’d reluctantly put this book aside and move on to something else until the stars aligned and I knew I’d get the most out of the experience. These are the kind of books that I come to the end of, sigh and say to whoever will listen, “That was so much fun!”
If you enjoy magic, time travel, ghosts, family legacies, loyalty to the death, friendships, the threat of the Big Bad lurking, or breakfast, then I highly recommend this series. I’d prefer you to start with book 1 so you know who’s who in the ghostie zoo, but if you don’t mind jumping in at the deep end and look forward to hearing me very politely telling you that I told you so, then start with book 2.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Beckett Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
She tried to ignore them. Now she might risk everything to save them.
After a summer spent in a haunted castle – a summer in which she traveled through time to solve a murder mystery – Kat is looking forward to a totally normal senior year at McTernan Academy. Then the ghost of a little girl appears and begs Kat for help, and more unquiet apparitions follow. All of them are terrified by the Dark One, and it soon becomes clear that that this evil force wants Kat dead.
Searching for help, Kat leaves school for the ancestral home she’s only just discovered. Her friend Evan, whose family is joined to her own by an arcane history, accompanies her. With the assistance of her eccentric great aunts and a loyal family ghost, Kat soon learns that she and Evan can only fix the present by traveling into the past.
As Kat and Evan make their way through nineteenth-century Vienna, the Dark One stalks them, and Kat must decide what she’s willing to sacrifice to save a ghost.
This is one of the most powerful books you will ever have the privilege of holding in your hands. I would recommend The Last Veterans of World War II to absolutely everyone, regardless of your personal views on war, life experience or the genre you usually read. This book is simply too important for you to miss out on.
Richard Bell’s photography is beyond stunning. The black and white portraits of the American veterans as they are today are some of the most extraordinary portraits I’ve ever seen. The lighting is just gorgeous and unlike the forced poses and toothy grins you see so often with this type of photography, the expressions captured are natural, as if taken during conversation. There’s an honesty and depth to these images that captures the joy, sorrow, wisdom, grace, heartache, humour and character of the veterans. I don’t know enough adjectives to adequately describe the way they made me feel.
On the opposite page of each full page portrait you’ll find text accompanied by a smaller image of the veteran’s hand/s holding a photograph of themselves taken around the time of their service, most times in uniform. There’s something about the juxtaposition between the young man or woman in the photo and the elderly hand holding it that made me really emotional. It’s such a simple yet beautiful way of connecting each person through time.
If this book had been filled with photographs alone, the quality and evocative nature of them would have been enough for this to be a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ book. However, there’s more to this book. Each entry tells you the veteran’s name, current age, details about the branch they served in and where, along with a portion of the veteran’s story told to the author while he interviewed them.
It feels so wrong to be giving a star rating to peoples’ wartime experiences so my rating will be based solely on the photography in this remarkable book. While I won’t tell you anything about the experiences shared in this book as my words can’t do them justice, I will tell you that I was consistently moved by the integrity, humility and bravery of those interviewed. I learned about so many aspects of the war that I was previously unaware of. One of the quotes that I know will linger with me is by Ben Skardon, who served in the Army and is a Bataan Death March survivor:
“Nothing else is on my conscience that I know about, except why I’m the only one of my friends that made it back.”
The Last Veterans of World War II is one of those books that part of you doesn’t want to read because gut wrenching is not an adequate descriptor for the horrors these veterans have experienced. Yet you must read books like this because being an ostrich does not work in this situation. We must never forget and we need to continue to honour the heroism and sacrifice of these men and women.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Schiffer Publishing Ltd. for the opportunity to read this book.
Finally, but most importantly, to the ladies and gentlemen featured in this book along with other past and present service members, I am honoured to have read some of your stories and I thank you for your service.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Chronicling the many faces of the WWII effort, these contemporary black-and-white portraits of the longest surviving veterans remind us that the war comprised a collection of Americans from all walks of life. Their penetrating gaze captures the ethos of the endeavour of war. Intimate memories offer glimpses into the horrifying, and at times awe-inspiring, reality of war. The faces of these veterans, from all branches, are juxtaposed with images of their youthful selves and serve as a visual representation of the expanse of their life experiences. Appealing to the families of soldiers, academics, history buffs, and veterans of other wars, this collection is a testament to the spirit of patriotism and strength of a collective American effort.
Schizanthus Nerd 