The Quarantine Princess Diaries

 The Quarantine Princess Diaries

By: Meg Cabot

Genre: Young Adult, Teen  

Summary:

As the world battles COVID, so does Genovia. Princess Mia has to not only guide her country through a pandemic (with opposition as close to under her own roof), but she also has to deal with her family at the same time. How does she do it? How does everyone handle it all? Thankfully, Mia kept a diary for us to find out. 

I have to be honest- this is my first Princess Diaries book. I know it's far into the established series, but I haven't read any of them. I've seen the movies, but haven't read the books. However, I couldn't resist this one. I was so curious to see how Princess Mia handles a pandemic and what it would look like in Genovia. So, I dove right in- having missed quite a book from previous books in the series. 

I'm glad I did. Overall, I have to say that I enjoyed the book. There was so much I didn't know- for example, Princess Mia is a married mother now! I worried jumping in so late in the series would l eave me confused, but it didn't. Meg Cabot writes a delightful story and in a way that anyone could follow along to. 

Cabot starts you off at the beginning of COVID, so there's no surprise when a family member to Mia has to spend 2 weeks in a separate room because of a possible exposure to the virus. As her country's leader, Mia looks for how to guide the citizens through this extraordinary time. She finds guidance in a book on The Great Influenza of 1918. That and wine. Lots of wine. 

While she takes the same protective measures against the virus the rest of the world does, Princess Mia has to deal with critics- as the rest of the world had to. She just may not have expected them to be from her own family. Grandma, for one, is not in support of the lockdowns as it puts a damper on her partying ways. 

As Mia's diary continues to document the battle against the virus, it also documents her Grandma's new friends and new fiancé. As well as Mia's Cousin Ivan's not so rational reaction to precautions to stop the spread. 

It was fun to revisit Genovia and see what everyone was up to. My favorite character had to be Grandma. Who knew she'd be such a partier?!  Her storyline kept you giggling from start to finish. It was weird to see Mia as an adult in her 30s. She's a wife now. She's a mom now. She really likes her wine now. It was fun to relive the pandemic though this lens. Much more fun than when I lived it in real time without a party animal Grandma to entertain me. I think longstanding readers of the series will enjoy this installment. It's a quick, lighthearted read. I just may have to start from the beginning of the series now. 

My Jesus

 

My Jesus

By: Anne Wilson

Genre: Memoirs/Christian Non-Fiction

Summary:

Anne shares with you the loving family she has- sharing fun memories they've all made over the years. But, she also shares with you the devastating heartbreak her family has had to recover from. And through it all, she shares how Jesus was the loving force that got them all through. True to His word, He made good from bad and here's how he did it all.

Like many of America, I've heard the song "My Jesus". I was late to that game, but once I found it I loved it. But I had no idea the story behind that song: how it came to be, the events leading to it, or how it's blessings all pointed to Jesus. I knew nothing about Anne prior to her book, but I was blessed to read her story- and be touched by it. 

Anne grew up in a loving. close Christian family. She was the youngest of the three children and was particularly close to her brother, Jacob. She pours out fun and loving memories with them- many involving her beloved brother. And Anne shares how everything changed in the very early hours one morning. She shares how her family was forever rocked with the death of Jacob. She walks you through getting the news and the gut wrenching life after it. How do you recover from such a loss? How do you move on? With Jesus.

As you read this heartbreaking book, you won't be able to dismiss the presence of Jesus. From the time Anne audibly heard His voice to all the times she relied on Him to get through the devastating days after. Anne really highlights the ways Jesus was there with her and got her through the funerals and other hard moments. You see how He answered prayers when all she could do was pray. You read the story how Jesus and Anne formed such a tight personal relationship. Anne tells you how Jesus became her Jesus and how He turned her heartbreak into one blessing after another. 

I cried during this book. I felt so much hope and inspiration during this book. I was amazed at the strength of Anne and her family- and their never wavering dedication to Jesus through their darkest times. I am a better person after having read her story. It was a touching reminder of how you can surrender your hardest, lowest times to Jesus and watch him do the unimaginable with them. I loved reading of the blessings that could only be explained as done by Jesus. 

Two Wars and A Wedding

 

Two Wars and A Wedding

By: Lauren Willig

Genre: Historical Fiction

Summary:

September 1896: An aspiring archaeologist, Smith College graduate Betsy Hayes travels to Athens, desperate to break into the male-dominated field of excavation. In the midst of the heat and dust of Greece she finds an unlikely ally in Charles, Baron de Robecourt, one of the few men who takes her academic passion seriously. But when a simmering conflict between Greece and Turkey erupts into open warfare, Betsy throws herself into the conflict as a nurse, not knowing that the decision will change her life forever—and cause a deep and painful rift with her oldest friend, Ava.

June 1898: Betsy has sworn off war nursing—but when she gets the word that her estranged friend Ava is headed to Cuba with Clara Barton and the Red Cross to patch up the wounded in the Spanish-American War, Betsy determines to stop her the only way she knows how: by joining in her place. Battling heat, disease, and her own demons, Betsy follows Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders straight to the heart of the fighting, where she is forced to confront her greatest fears to save both old friends and new…. bn.com

Lauren Willig introduces you to Betsy Hayes and the journey she goes on. What starts out as a desire to go an archaeological dig through her school leads her to enlisting with the Red Cross as a nurse. From there, she finds herself on the front lines of two wars. Betsy is faced with all the emotions, loss and anger that comes with war. The highs and lows that come with war. When fear becomes reality despite all your efforts to prevent it. Within the pages of this book you see a determined, feisty woman rise above the overwhelming and come out the other side a completely different woman. You will journey with Betsy all over the emotional map. I found myself heartbroken every time her heart broke, angry whenever she was delt a blow to her dreams, and cheering on her every victory- no matter how big or small- because there weren't enough of them. You read as a naïve woman is shaped by the biggest of losses. You watch a feisty girl become a driven woman who makes the world a better place for all who are among her.

 Betsey's dream in life is to go on a school dig. She sees no reason why a woman can't do such a thing, though the faculty involved see plenty of them. This leads her to achieve her dream in a different way: if she comes back from a war a "hero", the school will have no choice but to let her go. So, she enrolls in the Red Cross to learn how to be a front lines nurse. Not only does Betsy get to the front lines of a war, but she quickly realizes how in over her head and unprepared she is. But, Betsy is blessed with helpful coworkers. 

During her time in Greece and during that first war, Betsy falls in love with the most complicated of matches. Love overrules logic and she falls head first into a romance that will forever change her life. 

Betsy finds herself involved with the Cuba/Spanish war by accident. Her intentions were to prevent friend, Ava, from going. However, life had other plans and to the frontlines she goes. Once again, the realities of war await her. This time the fight isn't just involving gunfire. Often times the nurses are under supplied and overwhelmed with soldiers. Battling wartime injuries gets even harder once Typhoid and Yellow Fever come into play- taking out nurses and soldiers alike. But it's during this war that Betsy not only finds love, but the guts to be the fighter you know she is. You watch Betsy step up to the plate in an inspiring way. She fights for her soldiers with everything she has. She is determined to not let history repeat itself and you cheer her on every step of the way.

By the time you turn the last page and have read the end of Betsy's story, you are emotionally exhausted. But you are so proud of her. Like I said, as you read her story, you fight with her, cry with her, cheer her on and applaud her take no prisoners attitude when it's necessary. You are so proud of the woman she becomes. While you don't wish to live vicariously through her, as some historical fiction stories, you are inspired by the bold fighter you watched come to live before your very eyes.