Tanya's References

Sarah Kim’s References

Diane’s References 

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Sara Masarik’s  References

During WWII, no one expected the Nazis to reside in the Norwegian village of Valcos. It was small, and its only industry was fishing. Yet they did. Maybe it was because Valcos–being on a deep fjord–had a large fishing fleet, or perhaps it was because they hoped to enlist the influential aid of Captain Engeland, who lived there. The captain was away when the Nazis came, but that did not stop them from taking up residence in his home. The captain’s son, Martin, was at school in a nearby village, leaving the captain’s wife, Fru Engeland, and daughter, Petra home to deal with the unwanted guests. With the help of other Norwegians, young and old, they did spy work and foiled the Nazis’ plans while deftly convincing their guests that they were very dull people.

This story is fictional, but it feels as if it were true. Living in the U.S., Alta Halverson Seymour published this book in 1944. Because of that, there is no resolution on how the war ends for the Engeland family. By the end of the book, the war is still raging. We know that the family is reunited and as safe as they can be doing the dangerous work that needs to be done. The fact that there is no resolution does not, in my opinion, lessen the book in any way. As a matter of fact, I think that it makes it more incredible.

Like Hilda Van Stokum in The Winged Watchman, and Wyatt Blassingame in Combat Nurses of World War II, in On the Edge of the Fjord, Alta Halverson Seymour shows us a different side of the Second World War. This is not the only book by Seymour that I have read. One of the first was The Tangled Skein. It is also about Norway and WWII but in a different way. It is about what happens after the war when a family is suspected of being Quislings, people who helped the Nazis during WWII.

One of the things I enjoy about Seymour’s books is that they are really about the whole family. On the Edge of the Fjord does have a “Main Character,” Petra. But really, it is just as much about some of the other members of the Engeland family as it is about her. For example, a large part of the book is told from the perspective of Petra’s older brother Martin.

On the Edge of the Fjord is a story of courage and fortitude, patience and so many other essential qualities. This book is fast-paced–without a slow part, unlike so many other books–and very funny. You watch the Nazis fall for so many of Petra and Fru Engeland’s deceptions. Like Petra intentionally flipping a fishing boat and acting like she can’t swim, even though she is an expert swimmer–having won the previous year’s swimming competition in Valcos.

This book was out of print, but many publishing companies, including Purple House Press and Bethlehem Books, have brought it back. Each printing is lovely and totally different.

I have found that WWII books tend to be some of my favorites. On the Edge of the Fjord by Alta Halverson Seymour is no exception. If you enjoy books about this time, I am sure you will find this book as incredible as I do. Though, frankly, I think that anyone would appreciate it.

It won’t work for me to say to myself that I’m not going to act like this anymore. I have to look my anger and frustration in the face and admit what causes them. I covet what I don’t have; perfection in this life, everything going smoothly all the time. My selfish, unrealistic expectations have to become something else. I believe they have to become gratitude and praise.

A few years ago, Audible asked me to be part of a test program for a children’s project they are working on. I was asked to preview and evaluate a new series of children’s stories that were episodic and designed in the style of radio-theatre. As I listened, I was absolutely disgusted. Drawing on the premise of a fairy tale, their program included a short story that sounded an awful lot like Jack and the Beanstalk, except that the main characters were three sisters. In this “new fairy tale,” the sisters escape a giant, save a king, and do all of the things that modernity has taught us girls should do. This program was trying to convince their young listeners that young girls are smarter than kings, craftier than giants, and rescuers of fellow women who are stuck in abusive relationships with ogres. There wasn’t a worthy boy or man in the story. Oh, and, the kids are always smarter and better than all of the adults, of course.

In Dandelion Fire, we have the antidote to this poison. In the first book of the Cupboards trilogy, Henry doesn’t know who he belongs to or where he fits. In this middle book, we spend far more time inside the worlds within the cupboards. We meet Henry’s family, we discover new evil, and we spend a lot of time laughing at bureaucratic faeries. 

Do you have what you need to fend off an attack from the enemy? The Lord equips those who ask him.

• To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

In our June 2023 episode of Our Reading Life, Tanya mentioned that she was reading Jennifer A. Nielsen’s Lines of Courage and loving it. I tried to find it, but it wasn’t easy to do for less than twenty dollars. It is a new enough book that it is only available in hardcover, and the paperback isn’t due to come out until February, 2024. I thought I would just wait on this one until I could get it for our library. But then a patron read it and wanted to talk about it. Motivated, I got the Audible version and enjoyed it so much that I ordered an expensive copy. Interestingly, Tanya and I loved the book, but some of our friends were less impressed with it. My patron enjoyed it, until the end. She felt like the end was just too unbelievable. I think that this one might make a good podcast book club because I thought the ending was interesting and plausible.

Join us as we chat with new author, Jon Tilton. 

The Abbott family are “summer people” at Ocean Park on the Washington Island Peninsula. Wealthy and accustomed to summering at the seashore, they employ a “girl” and generally keep themselves separate from the local population on the Peninsula. At home in Portland, Oregon, they have horses and carriages, important friends, fine silk dresses, a pet pony, and all the comforts a wealthy dry goods business can provide. Mama was raised in a wealthy family, and her only training in life was to become the wife of a wealthy businessman. When the floods of 1894 bankrupt Papa’s business, the Abbotts are unprepared for their new way of life. In Sarah and Me and the Lady From the Sea, Patricia Beatty has written a lovely story about a family learning how to take care of themselves and each other.