This month in BookTrib, the Women Fiction Writers Association showcases novels featuring loss of home, displacement and refugees. Many people’s sense of identity is intimately tied to where they belong. When disaster and chaos strike and strong women have to leave their homes, they must find a way to thrive in new and unfamiliar places.
A Sea of Spectres by Nancy Taber
Raina is an accomplished detective working against smugglers and traffickers on PEI, and she’s eager for an imminent promotion. But there’s a catch: she has to go work on a Coast Guard ship for a week. And Raina, though Island born and raised, loathes the sea. When she gets too close to it, the phantom ship starts calling to her, and the lure of its deadly cold flames threatens to overwhelm her.
When she starts pulling the threads of a missing-person case, she discovers how Doiron women’s uncanny abilities have impacted her ancestral line: Madeleine’s powers tried to keep her family safe during the Expulsion of the Acadians in 1758; Celeste’s tempted her to take back what was rightfully hers in 1864. Generation after generation of women have had to reckon with what their abilities can and can’t do to protect their families. And now it’s Raina’s turn. Is she strong enough to carry her family’s legacy? Or will that legacy carry her — out into the burning sea of spectres?
Rock Bottom Rising by Kimberly Nixon
Ruby has no money, not a single friend, and a shocking 1925 felony conviction for larceny. Though she encounters betrayal, she embarks on a journey to re-enter her children’s lives that will test the core of her being as obstacles chip away at everything but her resilient spirit.
Betrayed by men, caught between survival, career opportunities, and providing for her children, Ruby’s enduring love and determination to rise above her mistakes resonates with anyone who has yearned for a second chance. Threads of life in Tennessee during the 1930s and 1940s — the Great Depression, WWII, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and Manhattan projects — add to her odyssey.
Set in rural Tennessee, one woman’s journey from despair to redemption unfolds as a single mother, showing Ruby’s grit in tumultuous times. Based on the true story of the author’s grandmother, this biographical historical fiction novel shows us the enduring power of a mother’s love, personal sacrifice, and difficult choices.
Daughters of the Occupation by Shelly Sanders
Jewish family who become victims of Soviet and Nazi occupations in Latvia. To save her children, Miriam Talan has to make a ‘Sophie’s Choice’ by abandoning them to the care of her Latvian housekeeper. After narrowly escaping execution, Miriam hides in the countryside for three years. At the end of the war, she reunites with her daughter, but has lost the rest of her family and her home.
Thirty-five years later, in Chicago, Miriam’s granddaughter, Sarah, tries desperately to ferret out Miriam’s secret to understand her maternal family history. Miriam does not want to revisit the past. But Sarah persists and eventually finds out enough to impel her to travel to Riga, then under Soviet control and at the height of the Cold War, to search for her uncle, Miriam’s lost son. But her quest for the truth may threaten her freedom, when she comes face to face with the KGB.
Told in alternating chapters between 1941 and 1976, this gripping novel delves into the trauma that survivors of genocide face down through the generations.
Summer Triangle by Elizabeth Webster
On the idyllic shores of Rehoboth Beach, three women burdened by pain and seeking refuge find solace and transformation in the unlikeliest of places.
Natalie, haunted by memories of her musician father, initially rejects Eliana’s invitation. But after her husband’s infidelity and a professional crisis, she reluctantly agrees. Eliana, eager to provide the perfect getaway, faces financial stress and family issues, turning her beach haven into a hiding place. Meanwhile, Allegra, an acclaimed model tired of tabloid headlines, seeks peace on the Delaware coast. Yet, her controlling ex-husband and an intrusive nanny threaten her tranquility.
Individually, their obstacles seem insurmountable, but together they discover the extraordinary power of female friendship.
Summer Triangle is a captivating testament to the resilience and growth found in the bonds between women. Against a breathtaking seaside backdrop, love, empowerment and healing emerge. Join these extraordinary women as they navigate their traumas, confront betrayals, and embrace the strength of their tribe on a journey that will leave you inspired and longing for transformative connection.
The Lost Daughters of Ukraine by Erin Litteken
Summer 1941. War rages in Europe. The Germans march towards Ukraine. Halya, Liliya and Vika are no strangers to sorrow. They lost family during the Holodomor, loved ones in Stalin’s purges, and war looms once more on the horizon.
Vika lives in fear for her children. She and her sister survived the terror famine by leaving their whole family behind. Now, years later, many believe the Germans will free them from the Soviets, but she’s not so sure. Should they stay in Volhynia or flee the approaching Eastern front?
Liliya has lost too much in her 17 years. As those around her join the resistance, Liliya wonders how she can fight for her friends, family and country. When the choice is made for her, can she find the will to survive and protect those still with her?
Twelve-year-old Halya is struggling to discover who she is. But as the war escalates, can her mother Katya’s tactics keep her safe from the Nazi soldiers rounding up slave laborers? How can a child survive the horrors of war on her own?
What Was Beautiful and Good by Jill Blocker
In the midst of chaos and destruction, a young singer fights to find her voice in a novel based on a true story, weaving together history, art, and a tale of resilience.
Emmy Hennings, a free-spirited artist, revels in the beauty and excitement of Europe’s most captivating cities. When the First World War shatters her world, Emmy’s life takes an unexpected turn. Unable to perform and separated from her friends drafted into the military, she finds herself imprisoned for trivial offenses and branded unpatriotic.
As despair threatens to consume her, Emmy’s fate takes a hopeful twist when a young man named Hugo Ball proposes an escape to Switzerland. In this sanctuary of peace, they discover a vibrant community, but surviving as a refugee comes with its own challenges.
Driven to find purpose amidst the chaos, this remarkable novel transports readers to a turbulent era where art becomes a beacon of hope, defying the darkness of war and igniting a global artistic revolution named “Dada” that will remind generations to come of the true meaning behind what is beautiful and good.
The Pelican Tide by Sharon J. Wishnow
It’s taken Chef Josie Babineaux six months to reconcile the debts left from her husband Brian’s gambling along with her broken heart. But now with a promising tourist season heating up and a travel magazine declaring her the spice queen of the bayou, she may be able to save her family’s historic Cajun restaurant. Repairing her relationship with her daughter, Minnow, while hiding the true reason she left her husband is a bigger issue.
Just as the first tourists arrive, an explosion on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico shatters their fragile plans. With her island community at the epicenter of the oil spill, everything is endangered, including the restaurant’s beloved mascot — a brown pelican dear to the family’s heart.
Josie realizes her family needs more than financial recovery. Only reconciling her past and revealing the truth can clean up the guilt and hurt pooling under the surface. And maybe, with enough honesty, this family can find renewal.
Releasing the Reins by Catherine Matthews
Bunny O’Kelly can’t go home, but can she survive the secrets hiding in the tundra?
In the dawning of summer, the rugged landscape of rural Alaska sets the stage for a tale of determination and dark secrets. Headstrong Bunny O’Kelly arrives on the sprawling expanses of Buck Miller’s horse ranch with the fiery ambition to make a name for herself. Against the backdrop of wild horses and unchecked wilderness, she embarks on a grueling journey to prove her worth, not just as a ranch hand, but as a woman in a world that doesn’t want her.
But when Bunny stumbles upon the shattered remnants of Katie Miller’s life, the ranch transforms into a web of lies. Katie’s fatal accident, long unexamined, whispers of hidden truths and cloaked motives. As Bunny delves deeper, she uncovers a sinister layer to the tragedy and finds herself caught in a dangerous game where her quest for justice could unravel the very fabric of her newfound haven… yet silence could enshrine a killer’s freedom.
English (US) · 