Official Review: A Bridge To Somewhere by Greg Carson
Posted: 10 Dec 2019, 00:28
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "A Bridge To Somewhere" by Greg Carson.]
A Bridge to Somewhere by Greg Carson is a historical fiction book about World War II and the surrounding periods. It is the first book in the Promises series. The book follows the story of two boys born in Germany before World War I. Jurgen is a German whose family raised him as a Catholic. Markus is a Jew by descent, but his family raised him as far removed from this heritage as they could due to the discrimination against Jews that was brewing. The two boys meet when Jurgen steps up and helps Markus when he is getting beat up by some boys because of his heritage. The two make a blood brother pact soon after. The story follows the two as they grow up and life changes in Germany. How will their lives change with the two upcoming wars?
I enjoy reading historical fiction books set in the World War II era. I love reading books told from different perspectives. This book did not disappoint. It was the first time I’ve read a book that follows the German side of the war the way this book does. It talks about some of the struggles the families faced such as how to be a proud citizen while being against what was happening in the war. It also talks about rations, the drafts for both wars, and the economy and how these all affected the lives of the people.
The book is well-edited and well-written. I only noticed a couple of minor errors within the book, but nothing distracted me from the story. I commend the author on the care that went into perfecting the editing. The style of writing is also great. Even the parts that are not super exciting captivated my interest. I found myself wanting to read about the “boring” parts of the characters’ lives, which is the part of books I usually try to get through quickly.
The biggest downfall of the book is its organization. It jumps between years and characters quite often, and it isn’t always clear what period is being talked about. This could easily be fixed by adding a line with the setting at the beginning of chapters. The other issue with the organization is that it goes pretty deep into the backstories of each of the characters, as I mentioned above. While I enjoyed this to an extent, this part of the book is more prominent than the main storyline that takes place during the war. It also skips around a lot, which can be a little disconcerting. I enjoyed this background, but it could have been done more succinctly.
Another slight downfall is that it gets to be a bit preachy in the second half of the book. There is some talk of religion throughout the book, which is inevitable based on the story. However, some parts seem as if they are trying to convince the reader to also follow Catholic beliefs. Some people might like this aspect, but I did not.
I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. If I could give it 3.5 stars, I would. Unfortunately, I don’t feel comfortable giving it a perfect score when the organization could use work. With that said, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys World War-II era books. I would not recommend it for anyone who might be easily triggered by war scenes or talk of some of the acts that were committed against the Jews in Europe during World War II.
******
A Bridge To Somewhere
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
A Bridge to Somewhere by Greg Carson is a historical fiction book about World War II and the surrounding periods. It is the first book in the Promises series. The book follows the story of two boys born in Germany before World War I. Jurgen is a German whose family raised him as a Catholic. Markus is a Jew by descent, but his family raised him as far removed from this heritage as they could due to the discrimination against Jews that was brewing. The two boys meet when Jurgen steps up and helps Markus when he is getting beat up by some boys because of his heritage. The two make a blood brother pact soon after. The story follows the two as they grow up and life changes in Germany. How will their lives change with the two upcoming wars?
I enjoy reading historical fiction books set in the World War II era. I love reading books told from different perspectives. This book did not disappoint. It was the first time I’ve read a book that follows the German side of the war the way this book does. It talks about some of the struggles the families faced such as how to be a proud citizen while being against what was happening in the war. It also talks about rations, the drafts for both wars, and the economy and how these all affected the lives of the people.
The book is well-edited and well-written. I only noticed a couple of minor errors within the book, but nothing distracted me from the story. I commend the author on the care that went into perfecting the editing. The style of writing is also great. Even the parts that are not super exciting captivated my interest. I found myself wanting to read about the “boring” parts of the characters’ lives, which is the part of books I usually try to get through quickly.
The biggest downfall of the book is its organization. It jumps between years and characters quite often, and it isn’t always clear what period is being talked about. This could easily be fixed by adding a line with the setting at the beginning of chapters. The other issue with the organization is that it goes pretty deep into the backstories of each of the characters, as I mentioned above. While I enjoyed this to an extent, this part of the book is more prominent than the main storyline that takes place during the war. It also skips around a lot, which can be a little disconcerting. I enjoyed this background, but it could have been done more succinctly.
Another slight downfall is that it gets to be a bit preachy in the second half of the book. There is some talk of religion throughout the book, which is inevitable based on the story. However, some parts seem as if they are trying to convince the reader to also follow Catholic beliefs. Some people might like this aspect, but I did not.
I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. If I could give it 3.5 stars, I would. Unfortunately, I don’t feel comfortable giving it a perfect score when the organization could use work. With that said, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys World War-II era books. I would not recommend it for anyone who might be easily triggered by war scenes or talk of some of the acts that were committed against the Jews in Europe during World War II.
******
A Bridge To Somewhere
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon