Tag: Nazis

Posted on

COVER REVEAL: The Broken Harp

The Broken Harp, set for release in time for Saint Patrick’s Day, is suspenseful adventure story with layers and tidbits of Irish culture and history woven throughout.

World War II has reached neutral Ireland where
loyalties are divided and secrets can be dangerous.
Twelve-year-old Brian McGrath’s world turns upside down
when his father is thrown into jail, accused of being
part of the Irish Republican Army. With their family shaken and
food growing scarce, Brian and his older brother Patrick are
struggling to hold things together.

Then they make a discovery that could change everything.
Lying on the shore nearby, a badly wounded RAF pilot asks them for help. He’s an
American who secretly left home to fight the Nazis. Helping him
could mean serious trouble with local who favor Germany in the war. But turning him
away feels even worse.

With no other adult they can trust, the brothers turn to Mary,
a quiet weaver shunned by the village. She is hiding secrets of her
own, including two Jewish children she has sworn to protect. As
danger closes in, Brian and Patrick must find the courage to do
what is right, even if it means risking everything they have left.

MILICO MATHERS is an award-winning author of Wandering
Swallow, A Young Girl’s Quest for Freedom. Having spent more than
twenty-five years teaching students from middle school to college,
she is also a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and,
by family decree, the baker of cookies.

LILY HILDEBRAND is a college student who sings, acts, draws, and is studying physical therapy.

Stay tuned! Amazon link coming soon!

Image Credit: cover image and logo below by Lily Hildebrand

Our new website milicomathersreads.com is accepting reviews for middle reader books–especially those written by middle school students. Message me at readgoodbooks@milicomathersreads.com or in the comments below.

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way, do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, and you credit the author.

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the entities I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Our new website milicomathersreads.com is accepting reviews for middle reader, YA, and literary books–especially those written by middle school and high school students. Message me at readgoodbooks@milicomathersreads.com or in the comments below.

Milicomathers reserves the right to edit or reject any submissions.

Posted on

The Secret Past of a Silent Performer

As a child, I watched The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday evenings.

I have a vague memory of a mime named Marcel Marceau performing on the program.

As a high-schooler, I knew a boy who owned a vinyl LP titled The Best of Marcel Marceau. It began with applause and proceeded in silence to the end of Side Two, culminating in a final round of applause.

Few people knew Marceau beyond his artistic genius. But as a youth, Marceau performed great feats of heroism.

Marceau was a Jew in France. He moved from Northern France to the south when the Nazis invaded. But eventually, the Nazis too arrived in Marceau’s new home.

Also arriving were Jewish orphans in search of safe homes. It was up to Marceau to accompany the children across France’s border to the safety of Switzerland.

I learned of this story through the movie Resistance, now out on DVD.

A good deal of the story is fictionalized. Marceau’s romantic interest is part of the moviemaker’s creativity. Another piece is the representation of the Nazis in the person of Klaus Barbie.

The depiction of Barbie, otherwise known as the Butcher of Lyon, garners the movie an R rating despite the lack of graphic violence.

The accurate explanation of Barbie’s torture tactics is enough to justify the rating.

Not every reviewer gives this movie a 10-star IMDb rating as I did. One especially disagrees with the latitude the filmmakers took with the story.

I’m not so sure Marceau would agree. He was an artist. And this movie is art.

Many today haven’t heard of him. Many also don’t know about Barbie. A quick trip to Wikipedia can illuminate both stories for those who need such clarity.

This film tells a tightly woven story with fabulous performances.

And we get to see a young man doing all he can to save others. A young man, at first concerned only for himself, who grew to fame and fortune and apparently didn’t feel the need to let everyone know what he had done.

That’s true heroism. And we would do well to know the story–even with a bit of fiction added in.

Photo Credit: 10 Interesting Marcel Marceau Facts

Nancy E. Head’s Restoring the Shattered is out in paperback! Get your copy here!

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way, do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, and you credit the author.

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the entities I have mentioned. Restoring the Shattered is published through Morgan James Publishing with whom I do share a material connection. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”