I have to admit, I totally judged The Faithful Spy by its cover. How can you not get drawn in by John Hendrix's incredible illustrations? But the graphics in this book are only one element of its success. Through metaphorical drawings and short bursts of text, Hendrix tells the story of Dietrich Bonhoffer, a young German with a deeply rooted faith in God and an intense feeling of distress over the political and religious changes in his country brought about by the power of the Nazi Party.
The novel begins with Bonhoffer's life as a child and follows his compelling journey as he forms a break away church, becomes a fugitive, and a prisoner. Eventually, his struggle with his devotion to the teachings of the Bible and his concern for humanity comes to a head and he decides that Hitler must be stopped at all costs, even if that means an assassination.
There are many novels about Hitler's devastation on the world but Hendrix presents a different and perhaps more balanced viewpoint that considers the state of the German citizens after WWI and the actions Hitler took to rise to his infamous power. Many written accounts of this time in history do not account for the events leading up to Hitler's power or how some German citizens tried to take action which often has people asking, 'How could this happen? Why didn't the Germans try to stop him?'
This graphic novel is an outstanding compilation of powerful illustrations and text. This one gets my vote (and my 17 and 14 year old daughters' votes) hands down!
You know a book is going to hook you when the main character gruesomely cuts off her toes right out of the gates. I am not a huge fractured fairy tale fan but Donnelly hooked me a little bit with this one.
Told from the perspective of one of Cinderella's stepsisters, this novel (in a rather basic manner) explores the themes of true beauty, strength, and forgiveness. The story is a bit predictable and at times, keeping up with all of the characters becomes a bit much.
Overall, I give this one 3 ugly stepsister toes out of 5.
No comments:
Post a Comment