German But Not German by J.C. Berger; The Parallels Between Past and Present

 German But Not German by J.C. Berger; The Parallels Between Past and Present 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: For obvious current Presidential Administration-sized reasons, many people are reading and studying various times of dictatorships, how those under them rebelled and fought the system, the ways and means that the ideals and values that propel such action are spread, and most crucially of all how the dictatorships were overthrown and the important steps to be taken afterwards to rebuild the country and not make the same mistakes of the past and fall under the spell of another dictator.

One of the most obvious examples because it has been shouted out so frequently lately is The Holocaust under the genocidal tyranny of Adolf Hitler. One of the books that illustrates what life was like under that tyranny is J.C. Berger’s German But Not German about a German-Jewish family whose world implodes because of the reign of a former paperhanger and failed art student with a destructive and fatal vision for the continent in which he lived.

Inge Schoenberg is raised in Germany in the 1920’s-’30’s by her frivolous mother, distant father, bickering but charming uncles, and her stern but loving grandparents. Their internal conflicts of changed jobs, school worries, and a frequently absent and eventually estranged wife and mother become minimal as Hitler begins his reign of terror. Many Jewish families are stripped of their rights, detained in mass arrests, forced to obey dehumanizing laws, and are deported somewhere never to be seen again. The Schoenbergs are left with a very important decision, should they remain and stick things out or should they emigrate.

Let's get the elephant in the review out of the way first. Yes, there are a lot of eerie comparisons between what is happening in the book to what is happening right now. Berger not only gives us a deeply personal story about the Holocaust, he expands it by showing how Hitler got his reign started and how it quickly engulfed the entire country, continent of Europe, and threatened to destroy the entire planet. 

Throughout the book, we are given updates about what is going on in a historical context throughout the book. Berger offers not only the historical dry facts, but the perspectives that many had at the time. For example, the publication of Mein Kampf concerned some with the Antisemitic rhetoric but many simply saw it as the ravings of a lunatic, a nobody, someone that no one can or should take seriously. They were wilfully ignorant of what Mein Kampf really was: Hitler's biases for his hatred, goals that he wanted the country to do, and most importantly a master plan of how he wanted the country to accomplish this. It was not the rantings of a madman, it was a cold methodical plan of a hateful person who studied the character of others, knew what buttons to press and what to say to influence them, and a willingness to use other people to carry out those desires. Dare I say it, it was the work of an evil genius that was only recognized as such in hindsight. 

I'm sure many might feel the same about Project 2025, and let's be honest with ourselves, Art of the Deal. Readers didn't take them seriously. They dismissed them. They thought the detractors were exaggerating or part of some conspiracy meant to make the preparers and fans look bad. They didn't want to admit that Art of the Deal point blank explains Trump's behaviors and justifications for his later behavior as a President, someone filled with avarice and heartlessness who only looks at gain for themselves, never apologizes or accepts blame, attacks the critics and accuses others of what he himself is doing, thinks that everything is for sale, and never takes no for an answer. 

These are traits that Trump still inhabits and is often surrounded by Elon Musk and others who also exhibit those traits. We saw and read for ourselves what Trump was really like and instead of seeing Trump as a potential dictator and autocrat, we simply just saw him as an example of 80’s excess. Someone who had power for a time but is now outdated. Others actually took him to be a savvy businessman and thought that his views were admirable. But we didn't see the long term implications that those characteristics that he extolled for business were later used in politics to shape, transform, and change the country to his liking.

Project 2025 was the blueprint for what Trump and his cronies, particularly The Heritage Foundation wanted to accomplish. Many of us read it, recognized it for the plan for dictatorship that it was, and warned people. We highlighted the passages that were particularly problematic and sent messages through social media. We endorsed Harris and other politicians, even Republican ones like Liz Cheney who spoke out against it. We helped people register to vote and made them recognize the importance of voting. We talked about it, warned about it, made videos about it, shared it, and voted against it. 

Unfortunately, we became Cassandra in Greek mythology, gifted with the power of prophecy but unable to make opposing forces listen to or believe us. Most people didn't want to believe it. They told themselves that checks and balances would prevent it. They told themselves that we survived Trump's first term (though not everyone did), so how bad could it be? Maybe some wanted it to happen to gain power for themselves by dehumanizing and criminalizing others. Instead of investigating for themselves, understanding our fears, and working towards keeping it from happening, they chose willful ignorance and the whole country is paying the price. If you don't believe me, then I challenge everyone reading this review to read Project 2025’s manifest for themselves and point by point match their goals and what has already been accomplished. You will see that not only is the Trump Administration following it, it is already looking to exceed the Heritage Foundation's initial expectations. Keep in mind, this is only February, the second full month of the current Administration.

There are other obvious parallels as well. The dehumanization and mass arrests of Jews during the Holocaust can be seen in the dehumanization and mass arrests of immigrants. DOGE’s closures of departments is similar to the Nazi Party reshaping the central German government to make their actions possible without accountability. That also can be parallel to the legislative and judicial branches having a Republican majority to make Executive Orders easier to enforce. Trump chose a Cabinet and advisors that are inexperienced sycophants with criminal and unethical reputations like Hitler chose his inner circle. There are comparisons between the Beer Hall Putsch and January 6 and their aftermaths in which the leaders became convicted felons but served little to no time and still became leaders. Even some parallels between the Reichstag Fire and the Gleiwitz Incident resonate alongside the assassination attempt on Trump. Unfortunately, history runs in cycles and we can either learn from it or make the same mistakes. 

Because of this parallel situation between the past and present, it is very easy for Readers to identify with and understand Inge’s plight. Sure, we may have had familial problems as she did, or other issues related to work or relationships. but they were our individual problems. Under the weight of the traumatic stress of living in a dictatorship, those issues are often cast aside for larger political concerns. 

It is easy to see the confusion, terror, and anxiety when everything around you from schools, to stores, to media, to arts and entertainment sources, to friends and family change to fit the new normal. You don't recognize the world anymore and feel like somehow you landed in some other world. There's a lot of denial and a lack of acceptance clinging to the hope that it will be over soon.

It's also perfectly understandable why it takes so long for Inge and her family to decide to emigrate and for Inge to become proactive in the fight against the Nazis. It's easy to stand on the outside thinking “If it's so bad why don't you just leave.” But then other factors have to be considered like cost, obtaining paperwork and passports, finding employment, living in a new country and getting used to its culture and language, keeping from being stranded in this new place, trying to make new friends, and reuniting with friends and family. They also have to weigh the possibility of whether it's better to remain and fight on the inside, trying to find and retain the values that they once held, even if it means facing prison, institutionalization, sent to a concentration camp, or death. 

Emigration and outright rebellion are not easy decisions to make and this book explores those options. Inge and her family are put through tremendous stress and trauma and some members don't make it. Some have a hard time adjusting to the changing world around them, even when they are safe in another country. They still stand out and have high levels of anxiety and PTSD. Also the older characters are often set in their ways and don't want to adapt. They can only hold onto old times and a nostalgic past while younger characters, like Inge, at least try to find a new path in their current home. In adapting, Inge finds the anger to strike out at those who hurt her family and former country and the courage to serve in the RAF and take a real blow towards those who perverted the world in which she lived.

In reading about the past, Readers can find parallels with the present, recognize the warning signs, learn how to live under such a system, and most importantly become inspired to find ways to fight and rebel against it. I found my way through reading and writing. Now it's time for you to find yours. 

New Book Alert: The Fairy Tale Code (Anne Anderson Book 1) by Cameron Jace; Intricate Murder Mystery/Treasure Hunt Adventure Brings The Truth Behind The Fairy Tale

 

New Book Alert: The Fairy Tale Code (Anne Anderson Book 1) by Cameron Jace; Intricate Murder Mystery/Scavenger Hunt Adventure Brings The Truth Behind The Fairy Tale

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: I have a soft spot for books and movies that involve treasure and scavenger hunts that provide answers towards history and legends' greatest mysteries. Stuff like The Da Vinci Code, National Treasure, The Indiana Jones movies, Avanti Centrae's Van Ops Series. Plus, I love History Channel documentary series like The Unxplained, History's Greatest Mysteries, and the various series on the Travel Channel hosted by Don Wildman. 

Whether you believe the claims in them, the quests are suspenseful and intricate especially with how the clues and codes are joined together. Questions are asked, theories imposed, and fascinating things even some potential answers are discovered. They make you look at things differently and see that often times there is more behind what we learn and read. At the very least, the claims are fun to speculate upon.

Adding to this subgenre is Cameron Jace's The Fairy Tale Code, the first in his Anne Anderson series. This one takes that type of high adventure and mystery into the world of fairy tales, particularly those gathered by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.

Folklorist Anne Anderson is called to appraise a copy of the presumed first edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales. Realizing that the book is a fake (and threatened not to reveal it), Anne is then called to solve a bigger mystery. DCI David Tale and his team investigate a woman's body hung on a cross in Lady Chapel Westminster Abbey. There are a few clues pointing to a potential connection to fairy tales as well as a coded message to locate Anne. 

No, Anne doesn't know why there is a message singling her out nor does she know who the woman is. However, the clues lead to a trail in Germany known as the Fairy Tale Road, the real life locations of the inspirations to many famous fairy tales. This clue sends David and Anne on the run to solve the clues and find out the mystery. 

In the meantime, they are being stalked by various strange characters: Tom Jon Gray, who operates on behalf of the British Royal Family, Jacqueline de Rais and Franz Xaver who are trying to preserve their family's names and legacies, Lt. Wolfe, an intense and violent cop from Germany, Bloody Mary Harper, David's sadistic former colleague who has a vicious streak, The Advocate, a mysterious creepy character who pulls everyone's strings, and (my personal favorite characters) The Ovitzs, a family of seven sisters, most of them little people, who either are trying to harm or help Anne and certainly have their own strange secrets and rituals.

I love how intricate the creation and execution of the quest is where each clue leads to a specific location and gives a little more about the history of the participants and their involvement in fairy tales. For example, a picture on a laptop of the WWII-era Ovitz Sisters, aka The Seven Dwarves, reveal that the Ovitz involvement in the fairy tale world goes very deep. Also, the location of the shot is Polle, the site of the real story behind Cinderella. It must have been quite an impressive feat for Jace to create the clues and codes that lead to each solution and each place along the Fairy Tale Road. 

The book also gives some interesting perspectives about the origins of fairy tales that make sense, that herald interesting possibilities. The majority of these stories featured women as protagonists and antagonists, so it would make sense for the stories to be told and gathered by women. This book proposes that a group called The Sisterhood (of which the Ovitzs are members) had and still have a close connection to the Grimm Brothers and the original tales. 

It is also no secret that the original stories are much darker and (pun not intended) grimmer than we are used to. They contained rape, incest, cannibalism, destructive black magic, and homicide in its various forms. They were horror stories that slowly evolved into moralistic stories with potentially dark elements but ultimately happy ever afters. The Fairy Tale Code provides interesting theories about the real meanings behind the stories, why they were so dark, and what compelled the gatherers like the Brothers Grimm and France's Charles Perrault to change and edit them.

Again, whether it is necessarily true in the real world or not, the theories posed in this book are impressive and offer unique perspectives.

Any good mystery adventure makes the main mystery a personal struggle for the characters and The Fairy Tale Code is no exception. Both Anne and David bear personal angst that they hope this mystery will bring solutions towards. Anne was very close to her older sister, Rachel, who introduced her to the world of fairy tales. (They even called each other "Snow White"-Rachel and "Rose Red-"Anne after one of theirs, and my, favorite story.) Unfortunately, something happened that led to an estrangement and Rachel is hard to get in touch with. Plus Anne describes her sister in vague terms implying that she might have a serious mental disorder.

David meanwhile still grieves for his mother who died in a gruesome way when he was still a child. He also speaks about a sister who is missing. A common thread in fairy tales is a sibling looking for another one. Anne and David hope that maybe the solution to this mystery will lead to the answers to their own quests.

 

My favorite characters, The Ovitz Sisters, also have their own struggles with family and its meaning, even as they are involved in this mystery. They are part of The Sisterhood and operate under the behest of a shadowy figure called The Queen who doesn't mind that her subordinates use violence. Many of the sisters follow The Queen's orders without question. Another sister  Lily, questions the orders and whether she is fit to be a sister in every sense of the word, both theirs and in The Sisterhood. She debates what sisterhood means if it conflicts with the personal individual thought.

With its adventurous suspenseful plot, fascinating characters, and strong themes of feminism, family, and the history behind the legend, The Fairy Tale Code isn't just a great book. It's one of my favorite books of 2022. 

New Book Alert: Emma's Tapestry by Isobel Blackthorn; Suspense and Mystery Writer Shows Gifts in Writing Historical Fiction Based On Her Own Family

 

New Book Alert: Emma's Tapestry by Isobel Blackthorn; Suspense and Mystery Writer Shows Gifts in Writing Historical Fiction Based On Her Own Family

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: We have seen Isobel Blackthorn write excellent mystery and suspense novels. With A Prison in the Sun and The Ghost of Villa Winter, she was able to capture unsolved murders and hate crimes in the beautiful vacation setting of the Canary Islands.

With The Cabin Sessions, Blackthorn captured the dark secrets and inner turmoil of a small group of people huddled inside a dismal bar/nightclub on Christmas Eve.

So how well does this Mistress of Dark Fiction write a book that is not dark or mysterious? How does she write something like, say, Historical Fiction? Well judging by her book, Emma's Tapestry, pretty well actually.

The book is about Emma Harms, who in the late 19-teens leaves her Mennonite German-American family behind to marry Ernest Taylor, a social climbing Englishman. The two move to Singapore and then Japan so Ernest can ascend in the Export business. Emma meanwhile tries to maintain a career as a nurse, give birth and raise two daughters, and try to salvage her faltering marriage.

This story of Emma's troubled marriage is also combined with her subsequent life as a single mother to her now adult daughters in 1940. She also works as a nurse for seniors, like Adela Schuster who when she was younger ran in literary circles and befriended Oscar Wilde during his arrest and disgrace for homosexuality.

Blackthorn writes a strong sense of character in this book. There is a darn good reason for that besides that she is an incredibly gifted author. Emma's Tapestry is based on a true story. It covers Blackthorn's own family history.

According to her Epilogue, Emma and Ernest were based on her great-grandparents. They had a very fractured marriage that ended with Ernest abandoning his family and the severe repercussions were felt by Blackthorn's grandmother even years later. This book is Blackthorn's way of coming to terms with her family's loss and how the end of Emma and Ernest's marriage affected them and their children.

Even though, it's a nonfiction family history, Blackthorn writes Emma's Tapestry like a novel. This approach is similar to how Alex Haley wrote Roots or John Berendt wrote Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. She uses narrative techniques like interior thoughts, point of view, and dialogue to fill in the blanks of a painful family history with her imagination and speculation over what may have happened.

Blackthorn's narrative approach makes Emma memorable as a fully formed character as well as a real person. The Reader feels sympathy when she feels out of place in Japan and Ernest is more interested in climbing the corporate ladder than he is in helping his wife through her loneliness. Things become incredibly tense when war and revolution puts Emma's family in danger. She has to deal with giving birth and raising her young girls and surviving a stressful time with an increasingly insensitive and philandering husband.

Things get worse when Emma and her daughters emigrate to the United States. Despite being American, Emma is vilified because of her German heritage. In her new home town of Brush, Colorado, she receives suspicious looks and barely hidden remarks about her family and accusations of being an enemy spy. A woman who befriends her just as quickly throws her under the bus when the KKK stop by.

This section shows how during war time, propaganda and fear of an enemy can turn people against each other. They instantly hate someone because of their appearance or their last name.

This painful reality has echoed even modern times when 9/11 caused Islamophobia. Many Americans have attacked Latin Americans during days of increased immigration at the Southern borders.

The after effects of Covid saw an increase in hate crimes towards Chinese people. Most recently Russians have been held under suspicion and attacked because of the cruelty of their Premiere Vladimir Putin.

Emma's Tapestry reveals an early example of hate crimes that develop when people are taught to hate and fear an enemy and by extension see anyone from that space as a potential enemy simply because they are from somewhere else.

In contrast to Emma's painful past, her time in 1940 is a much lighter time. While there is some suspense because of living in Britain during the Blitz, Emma seems to be in a much better position. She is still overcoming her abandonment from Ernest but is still trying to form a family with her girls. She is closer to her daughters and is looking forward to becoming a grandmother.

She also continues to pursue her faith. In the past, she had been a member of Mennonite and Lutheran churches. Later she discovers a new interest in Spiritualism. This belief allows her to communicate with the dead and gives her hope that there is an afterlife after losing members of her immediate family, while also making her more active and involved in the present material world.

Emma has a good career as a nurse and through that is able to become close to Adela. While Adela at first seems to be a bit of a daffy name dropper, she shows a lot of wisdom in her stories of the past leading Emma by example. Also Adela's loyalty to the derided and disgraced Oscar Wilde is touching especially when he is alone in Paris with few friends, family, and lovers by his side. With this loyalty and wisdom, Emma takes stock in her own life and reevaluates some of her choices.

Blackthorn's family clearly had a painful past but she was able to capture it with detail, understanding, empathy and above all love.

Weekly Reader: The Berlin Escape (An Aubrey Endeavors Spy Thriller Book 1) by Warren Court; Badass Female Lead In Thrilling pre-WWII Spy Thriller

 

Weekly Reader: The Berlin Escape (An Aubrey Endeavors Spy Thriller Book 1) by Warren Court; Badass Female Lead In Thrilling pre-WWII Spy Thriller

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers:. Warren Court's Aubrey Endeavors is sort of like what would happen if the unconfirmed historical rumors about Amelia Earhart actually being a spy for the United States were true. The first book in the series, The Berlin Escape involves a gutsy female pilot who after her aviator career becomes stalled, accepts a position to work as a spy in Nazi Germany right after Hitler assumed power and years before the United States got officially involved.

Even though Aubrey Endeavors is a fictional character, she would fit right in with the Female Spies of Kit Sergeant's book series. She has the same bravado, courage, feminism, and adventurous spirits that her real life counterparts did in similar situations. 

Aubrey is trying to make her mark as an aviator. This is the time of women like Earhart, Anne Morrow  Lindbergh, and Bessie Coleman so the sky's literally the limit for these brave and talented women. Aubrey is quite an accomplished pilot well known for the flying circuits and competitions including one in Poland in which she tried to sneak out a refugee trying to escape. It doesn't end well and before he dies, the man tells Aubrey to pass messages to people named "Lazarus" and Lydia." This assignment nearly cost her life and a flying competition which made short work of her Sopwith Camel severely injured Aubrey and nearly ended her flying days permanently.

That is until her "Uncle" Arthur (her father's war ally and best friend and whom Aubrey has a slight weird crush on) gives her a very tempting offer to work for the U.S. government. When another offer involving her advertising soap from the back of a truck falls through, Aubrey decides to take Arthur up on the offer of working as a spy. 

Before her assignment Aubrey has to go to Paris to get some espionage training from Hewlett Purnsley, an MI6 handler who is not happy to train this young greenhorn. Aubrey gets a crash course on memorizing details, sticking to her cover Identity, and escaping from perilous training.

Aubrey's assignment is to go to Germany as herself. (She is well known in Europe as an aviator so there is no need to assume a disguise. In fact her reputation might open doors.) Her cover story is that she is writing a series of articles on German planes for an American flight magazine so she has to take copious notes at the air shows. She also has to meet and accept information from a fellow spy, whom no one in Arthur's camp knows what they look like. While in Germany, she captures the attention of Count Helmut Von Villiez, a wealthy nobleman and wanders off the assignment path to see if she can locate Lazarus and Lydia.

The Berlin Escape is reminiscent of those old WWII spy movies or a James Bond installment rather than any real tale of spying and espionage, in comparison to say Sergeant's Female Spies books. While all are historical fiction, Sergeant's are more based on reality than Aubrey's adventures. Of course Sergeant's books are based on real people and Court's is complete fiction. Oh, both series are filled with suspense, moments where the characters are surrounded by enemies, and real consequences if they are caught (and some are). The protagonists are very strong willed, courageous, and dedicated to their missions. However the reality and the fantasy of espionage are very present within these books. 

Sergeant's protagonists have varying degrees of action. Some are caught in tense moments where they have to escape or strive to get to know their target um horizontally. But the majority of the actions consists of these women observing and paying attention to details. They have to attend balls, listen in on conversations, serve in other people's houses, keep their eyes out for battle plans, bite their tongues as soldiers board inside their homes, listen for gossip that could be important, and trade letters back and forth in secure locations. Sometimes being a spy largely consists of being aware of one's surroundings and taking copious notes rather than any thrilling chases and escapes with gun play.

The Aubrey Endeavors series has more of the romantic thrills. It is no less a good series than Sergeant's but definitely filled with the romance and excitement of espionage novels and films. Aubrey's early experiences give her an idea of what she is up against. Rescuing the refugee during the air show puts her in definite danger and fills her with guilt so that she is determined to make things right including taking time during her assignment to locate Lazarus and Lydia.

Even her training from Hewlett shows definite hints of what is to come. At one point he disappears leaving her to find a way to escape from a crowded French restaurant without making much of an impression and keeping a clear head as she does this. 

Of course the training and early assignments are nothing compared to what she is faced against. From the second that she arrives in Berlin, she is caught up in one suspenseful encounter after another. Some of it involves her status as a newbie to the spy game. 

There are moments where Aubrey is right in the middle of Nazi Central and has to find clever ways to follow her assignment and get out quickly. She misses her contact and has to re encounter them at a party attended by none other than Hermann Goering. 

She also makes mistakes as she trusts the wrong people and reveals more than she should. Likewise, her wrongful suspicions towards other characters causes her to withdraw valuable information and nearly puts her and the whole mission in jeopardy. 

There is even a point where she is imprisoned and severely beaten partly because of her errors in judgement. Much of her errors can be chalked up to her being new to the game. Still her stubbornness and perseverance comes through as she is able to face every challenge and treat it as a learning experience.

Thankfully, an escape calls for her to resort to her greatest love: aviation as she flies her way out of trouble.

The Berlin Escape is certainly a trial by fire crash course in espionage. If Aubrey survives this, she could be well on her way to becoming a legend in the spy game. 

New Book Alert: Saratoga (The Illustrated Colonials Book 3) by Tom Durwood; YA Series About Enlightened Young Royals Has A Satisfying Ending

 New Book Alert: Saratoga (The Illustrated Colonials Book 3) by Tom Durwood; YA Series About Enlightened Young Royals Ends On A High Note

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: So this is it.

We come to the last final volume in Tom Durwood's The Illustrated Colonials series. We reach the final adventures of Jaiyi Mei Ying, Prince Mahmoud, Sheyndil, Leo, Will O., And Gilbert du Motier and it ends on a high note. While the first book, The Pact is my personal favorite, Saratoga brings the characters forward allowing them to adapt and accept their roles in a new world. The teens are now ready to leave their youth, ascend into adulthood, and become the leaders that they were trained to become. 

The plot mostly focuses on Prince Mahmoud who apparently ties with Mei Ying as Durwood's favorite characters in the ensemble (since they receive the lion's share of attention in both this and Home Fronts). 

Mahmoud travels to the future United States to deliver documents of alliance and finance to Gilbert who is busy filling the role history and popular culture (such as a famous Tony Award winning Broadway hip hop musical) have bestowed upon him as "America's favorite fighting Frenchman," the Marquis De Lafayette.

 After enduring a very uncomfortable sea voyage Mahmoud encounters loyalist spy, Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne, a meeting that ends with him being kidnapped. Mahmoud manages to make his escape and is caught in the middle of the Battles of Beckman's Mill and Saratoga.

Meanwhile, Leo's military strategy and Will's business contacts end up becoming quite fruitful for them as people come directly to Will to work for him. Unfortunately, on his way to travel to Boston Harbor to join his buddies, Leo is threatened with a duel and subsequently betrayed. Sheyndil and Mei Ying take their lessons to the home front to battle local opposing forces with the same drive and dedication that their male counterparts possess.

It would be nice to see the Enlightenment Six reunite perhaps on American soil. One of the gifts that the first volume had was the ensemble cast. These were kids from different countries with diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, economic status, goals, and roles in society. Each one grew and adapted, becoming a close group of friends and better individuals. It would have been a nice payoff to see them reunite physically, perhaps in the United States during the American Revolution or back in Alsace-Lorraine after the war ended. Instead, they spend the book apart and only a few see each other again.

However, it also makes sense that Durwood would do this approach. It gives a chance for the characters to make individual contributions, using their various talents and contributions in their own way. Many of those contributions are made within their own countries but lead to the ultimate goal of uniting each other. They also are able to evolve into leaders on their own merits.

The one who benefited the most from this approach was certainly Mahmoud. I was not kidding when I speculated that he is probably Durwood's favorite character. He certainly has shown the most development in the three volumes.

In the first book, The Pact, he was a spoiled arrogant Prince certain of his own place as a royal and put everyone around him into little boxes of nobles, slaves, etc. Through his education, he learned different philosophies and looked at a larger world around him.

The second book , Home Fronts, featured Mahmoud verbally sparring with his family in Ottoman Turkey when he realizes that he has changed but they have not. His philosophies are spoken and theoretical. They are not yet practiced.

Saratoga is the completion of Mahmoud's journey. He is finally able to physically put what he learned into practice and become an accomplished freedom fighter. Throughout this book, he is able to use his strength and intelligence to outfight and outwit his enemies. He proves to be clever at escaping from captivity and active as he fights in battle. He has clearly changed a lot and it is wonderful watching him grow so much into a hero.

The other reason that it makes sense for the characters to have their stories come to an end on their own is to emphasize the international concerns of The Illustrated Colonials series as a whole. While part of the series is set in North America and the covers show an emphasis on the American Revolution, the series expands on that by taking on international concerns in France, China, Russia, The Netherlands, Germany, and Turkey later expanding into The United States and Africa. This is very important as it shows oppression and tyranny wears many faces and that there are many people who suffered under it. There were also people who fought against it and shared the same values of equality and loyalty. This isn't just an American struggle, it's a global struggle.

Of course, as with many final volumes, there is great loss. Some characters don't make it, leaving many tears from friends, family, and a few from the Reader. Some ascend and become well known in their own right. Years later, one character acknowledges the other's roles in the world that they helped to create. It is a very satisfactying ending as the character is addressing a college of young people, thereby recognizing the leadership that their friends took and passing the mantle to the next generation. 

Saratoga is a terrific ending to a wonderful YA series. Hopefully, young people will discover and read it, love the characters and setting, and maybe just learn a thing or two about friendship and equality along the way. 

New Book Alert: L’Agent Double: Spies and Martyrs in the Great War (Women Spies Book 3) by Kit Sergeant; Suspenseful Character Driven Historical Novel About Real-Life WWI Female Spies By Julie Sara Porter Bookworm Reviews

New Book Alert: L’Agent Double: Spies and Martyrs in the Great War (Women Spies Book 3) by Kit Sergeant; Suspenseful Character Driven Historical Novel About Real-Life WWI Female Spies

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Spies are some of the most interesting colorful figures in history, literature, and popular culture. They have to be on the inside of one place, giving information to another, . By definition, they have to be charismatic and charming, so they can be trusted with secrets. They always have to carry on a duplicitous nature that is capable of deceit and subterfuge, even more so when they are a double agent and work both sides. They also have to be resourceful, sharp, and always have to watch their backs because they could be caught and their lives could end at any time.

Kit Sergeant has written a series of novels about spies in different points in history. 355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring was about female spies in the Revolutionary War and Underground: Traitors and Spies During Lincoln's War covers the Civil War. Her latest, L’Agent Double tells an intense brilliant story about three real-life women thrust into the WWI spy game.

The three women are: Alouette Richer, a French aviator who is recruited after her husband's death, Marthe Cnockeart, a Belgian nurse who is also a courier against the occupying Germans, and Margaretha Zelle-MacLeod known by her famous stage name, Mata Hari, a Dutch dancer who uses her noted charms to seduce secrets out of her lovers.

These women are brilliantly characterized as individuals who have different stories about their recruitments, their spy processes, and their personalities. They are all three memorable protagonist who are caught up in tense situations and use everything at their disposal from wit, to charm, to loyal connections to find their way out. The stories don't intersect much except for a few scattered incidents abs hearing about the occasional news report. This approach gives the three women chances to stand out on their own as key players on the larger stage of World War I.

Mata Hari, called M’greet throughout the book, is certainly the most famous of the trio if not the most famous female spy of all time. In Sergeant's book, she is a vain cunning woman who is well aware of her um talents and attributes and uses them to get material possessions. She spies not out of any patriotism or loyalty to the countries but for the financial gain that she receives from her handlers.

 M’greet passes information from her various lovers to the governments using the code name, H-21. Since it's pointless to use a pseudonym because of her fame, she cleverly uses it as passage into the homes of various lovers. She is invited to swank parties where she observes plans and notes, or listens to gossip and conversations

and reports to superiors. Sometimes, she passes useless information to confuse them. 

However, Seargent doesn't write M’greet as a completely hard hearted woman or a stereotypical femme fatale. She is still hurting from a messy divorce and separation from her beloved daughter. Late in the book, she has a genuine romance with a younger soldier and considers renouncing her fame, notoriety, and lavish lifestyle for love. Unfortunately, the relationship ends and she is left alone once again. 

Alouette Richer is a different person from M’greet. She was happily married, while M’greet was miserably married and divorced. 

She was also brasher and feistier than the at times showy and materialistic M’greet. She becomes a spy, partly out of revenge for her husband's death but there are hints that she wants to live a life of excitement and significance. It is implied that she settled into a comfortable wealthy marriage to escape her former life as a courtesan.

 During her marriage, she flies airplanes something, rarely done by women in her day. She loves her husband, but wants to do something for herself. After his death, she actually writes a letter to the French government for her services in any way possible.

It is almost a series of errors and missteps in Alouette’s first spying assignment in Switzerland. She uses the cover story that she is looking for her fiance and drops the name of a former acquaintance without checking to see if he had married. She makes a friend with a German tourist but then learns, oops, that she is a spy and imprisons her. Luckily, Alouette's feistiness and impetuous nature which gets her in trouble also allows her to escape from her anatgonists. (Ironically, Gerda the spy, who almost captured Alouette, becomes M’greet’s spy trainer later.)

Alouette has better luck in Spain where she becomes more patient and self-assured than in her last assignment. Unlike M’greet who hopped from lover to lover, Alouette finds one specific German official to find information from, Baron Hans Von Krohn. She uses her former training as a courtesan to become Von Krohn's lover and to pass information using codes and invisible ink.

Alouette becomes an expert at concealing her real feelings. She whispers all the right romantic phrases while fully aware that she is in the home of an enemy. She plays the Spy Game so well that it's almost refreshing when she reveals her real emotions. While spying on Von Krohn, Alouette has a playful flirtation with Zozo, a fellow aviator and spy that develops into a potential real romance. When her assignment comes to an end, she calls out Von Krohn in a great moment of self-awareness. She also calls out her former handler when she learns that he was involved in betraying both her and M’greet.

Marthe Cnockeart doesn't have the seductive nature of M’greet or the forceful determination of Alouette, but she is no less dedicated to her work. She starts out as a nurse and a sweet naive girl with a family that loves but shelters her. When the German Army occupies her Belgian village, Marthe is filled with rage and despair and wants to do something. Her aunt provides her with a key to help the Belgians.

While she is treating patients, Marthe works as a courier. She listens to information from medical supervisors and wounded soldiers about upcoming battles and air raids and passes it along in notes to fellow spies. She is also monitored and advised by a secret group called “The Safety-Pin Men” (so-called because they were diagnal pins on their lapels) who tell her of important information that could affect her spying.

Of the three stories, Marthe's is probably the most emotional. She has to reconcile her spying with her medical career and the guilt she feels sending young men that she once healed to their deaths. She also has a sweet romance with a wounded soldier that does not end well.

There are plenty of suspenseful moments in this novel. Characters who the women trust prove to be traitors. Both M’greet and Alouette receive offers to become double agents further muddying their already tangled allegiances. One of Marthe's contacts is shot right in front of her and another is in a building when a bomb hits. All three women are at the point of near death, having their covers blown, and face possible arrest or execution several times. When M’greet is finally arrested and eventually executed, the shock waves of her fate are felt by Alouette and Marthe, causing both to question their loyalties and careers. 

Mata Hari 's maxim (said to be her final words) was “Life is an illusion,” meaning life is what you tell people and what you make them believe. All three women lived their lives in that way by carrying on subterfuge and revealing important information in war. They had to play specific roles in front of their enemies so others can go about their business. It was a tense and dangerous life, but never boring. It was always exciting and so is the book about them.

Kit Sergeant is writing a book about female spies in the Second World War. If it is anything like its predecessors it should be suspenseful, filled with strong leads, and completely unforgettable.