How Huge The Night... my review - and giveaway

I have 2 copies of this book, so I am giving one away. Details at the end of the blog post.

Fifteen-year-old Julien Losier just wants to fit in. But after his family moves to a small village in central France in hopes of outrunning the Nazis, he is suddenly faced with bigger challenges than the taunting of local teens.



Nina Krenkel left her country to obey her father's dying command: Take your brother and leave Austria. Burn your papers. Tell no one you are Jews. Alone and on the run, she arrives in Tanieux, France, dangerously ill and in despair.


Thrown together by the chaos of war, Julien begins to feel the terrible weight of the looming conflict and Nina fights to survive. As France falls to the Nazis, Julien struggles with doing what is right, even if it is not enough-and wonders whether or not he really can save Nina from almost certain death.


Based on the true story of the town of Le Chambon-the only French town honored by Israel for rescuing Jews from the Holocaust-How Huge the Night is a compelling, coming-of-age drama that will keep teens turning the pages as it teaches them about a fascinating period of history and inspires them to think more deeply about their everyday choices.

My review:
First off, this has been labeled and marketed as teen fiction, but after reading it, I have to say any adult would enjoy this book too. The only teen part of the book is that most of the main characters are teenagers.

This book was written to portray World War II from the viewpoint of France, so I learned a few thins along the way, as I don't think I have read or studied the war from their viewpoint.

The book is very well written, is very interesting, and a very exciting read. I read it almost in one sitting, and enjoyed every minute of it. Not only is it riveting  and suspenseful historical fiction, the issue of loving your enemies and forgiveness are major themes in the book.

Plot, characters, historical facts - all done very well. This is a book worth reading for teenagers and adults.

About the authors:

Lydia Munn, daughter of missionary parents, grew up in Brazil. She received a BA in literature from Wheaton College, and an MA in Bible from Columbia Graduate School of Bible and Missions. With her husband, Jim, she has worked in church planting and Bible teaching since 1983, notably in St. Etienne, near the small town in the central mountains of France which forms the background of How Huge the Night. The Munns now live in Grenoble, France.

Heather Munn was born in Northern Ireland and grew up in southern France where her parents were missionaries like their parents before them. She has a BA in literature from Wheaton College and now lives in a Christian intentional community in rural Illinois, where she and her husband, Paul, host free spiritual retreats for the poor, especially those transitioning out of homelessness or addiction. When not writing or hosting, she works on the communal farm.

How Huge The Night is available from Kregel Publishing.
Thanks to Kregel for the review copy.



Giveaway:

Simply comment on the blog post to enter to win a copy. I will pic a winner using random.org  21 days from today on June 30.