Long title. Charming book. The authors, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (aunt and niece), tell the story of  writer who travels to Guernsey, an English Channel island, immediately after its German occupation in WWII ends.

While there to research for an article, she falls in love with some quirky lovable characters, and they, with her. The authors tell the story through the use of letters, all written by different characters. Some are amusing, some brutally honest, but all are entirely real in giving us glimpses into people and what makes them tick.

Juliet, the main character and writer, is a delight. She has intelligence and wit that draw the reader in and just will not let go. I’ve never been enthralled with the 40s, but after reading TGLAPPPS, I find that I would love to have lived in those simpler, yet modern, times–for a few days, at least.

Mary Ann Shaffer wrote the book’s first draft but then became ill and could not do the important rewrites. She asked her niece, fellow author Annie Barrows, to complete the work. Sadly, Shaffer did not live to see the final, published book–and its #1 status.

An insightful, quick read! Hope you enjoy.

I love to read, and I get recommendations of good reads from my family and friends. I like to share some of my favorites, as well. With that in mind, I would like to periodically push recommend a favorite book to you! It’s not a full-scale review…Just like friends discussing books at the kitchen table over a cup of coffee (or something with a kick!)–only not really.

If you’ve read my suggestion, what did you think? Feel free to comment. Here’s to great literature! So many books, so little time.

Read it. You'll be glad you did!

Historic fiction? Definitely my favorite. Scotland in the mid-1700s? Even better. But throw in some time travel? You’ve got to be kidding me!

Diana Gabaldon, however, does it and does it well. This is no quick read. The first, Outlander, is 620+ pages long, and that is one of the shorter books! I recently finished her most recent, An Echo in the Bone, number 7, coming in at 814 pages. Yet, she kept my attention through them all. Actually, more than kept my attention. An amazing side note:  She wrote this book as a “practice” novel.

Outlander is a love story, a history lesson, an action-adventure, and a Gaelic guide. It tells the story of Claire Beauchamp Randall and the unlikely meeting of her Jamie Fraser. The interesting twist is that Claire is a British nurse during WWII. Jamie is a Scottish redhead with a complex personality and past. They are thrust together–as they should be.

The times are gritty, the characters real, and the story captivating.

I am not doing any of this book or the characters justice. Just read it, and try not to get sucked in. I dare you.