Lost in America by Marilyn Sachs

Lost in America by Marilyn Sachs is about Nicole, a young Jewish girl living in France during World War II. One night she stays over with a friend, and her parents and younger sister are taken by Nazis. Nicole finds herself alone and no one will help her. She eventually stays at her school until it closes. Then, she tries to stay with her aunt, in hopes that her family will soon return. Her aunt ruins her parents' apartment with ugly paint and furnishings, and allows her boyfriend to move in. Then, she learns that her parents and little sister were killed at a concentration camp. As a result, Nicole decides to follow her best friend, Rose, to America to stay with a cousin. Life in America is hard for Nicole. It is busier, louder, and less friendly than the small town in France where she was from. Her clothes are not right, she doesn't understand English very well, and has a hard time speaking to Americans. Her new family is very unpleasant to her, forcing her to get a job and pay rent! Nicole uses this first year in America to find new friends and learn the ways of the Americans.

This story was based on the actual events in the life of the author's close friend. She described her first year in America as the best and worst year of her life! The history in this book was interesting. I have never read a book from the perspective of a person who was touched by WWII in this way. This was a great historical fiction novel!

Curse of the Winter Moon by Mary Cassanova

Curse of the Winter Moon by Mary Cassanova is set in 16th century France. It is about Marius and his brother, Jean-Pierre. Jean-Pierre was born on Christmas Eve, and is suspected of being a werewolf because of it. As they grow up, the townspeople in their small village grow increasingly wary of the family. Eventually Marius's father is accused of being a heretic and is jailed. The church officials find him guilty and sentence him to burn at the stake. Jean-Pierre is also apprehended and held in order to determine once and for all if he is a werewolf. In the end, Marius has some difficult choices put before him and has to do some tough thinking for such a young boy. Marius promised his mother on her death bed that he would watch out for Jean-Pierre, but what if he really is a werewolf? How can he help his father escape judgement and execution? Should Marius take the evil Abbott up on his offer to become a monk and play his lute at the monastary?

I really liked this book. Our Vampire Book Club read it for our June meeting, and I can't wait to talk to the other members about it. The story was really more historical fiction - not fantasy, which is what we usually read. The way the village acted reminds me of the Salem Witch Trials. I wasn't familiar with what happened in France when Protestantism began to rise, so it was interesting to learn some new information about that time period. I also enjoyed the author's note at the end that went into more detail about the research that went into writing the story.