But if not hope, what do we have?

Mari's family lives in Norway at the time of the German invasion. An invasion of their culture and traditions. Replaced by fear and anxiety for loved ones. Mari was a 13 year old that loved the field in medicine. She learned quickly and was a help to her community. Mari's hope was to see her loved ones again and for the war to end. Her story is captivating and sad at times. She dealt with traitors in her community and ways to communicate with those that she loved. I totally enjoyed her story and a reminder of the hope we have in our families and our faith.

A special thank you to Crispin Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

Truly enjoyed reading Mari's Hope, the final book of Odin's Promise Trilogy by Sandy Brehl.

Mari's Hope is the third and final book in the Odin's Promise trilogy. Now I hadn't read the first two books but I was still able to follow along really easily and fill in the blanks of what had happened previously. Told in letters to her brother Bjorn and first person account of what's happening we get to see not only what Mari finds to be important, but what she's also doing in everyday life.

Mari is now a teenager and living in Nazi occupied Norway. She works with the doctor and helps treat patience while still going to school. She hates what the Nazi's have been doing to her country and her family is even part of the resistance. Meaning she is always on the look out for something to happen and loathes her other school friends who appear to be helping the Nazi's.

Mari is a character I loved not only is she full of life, but she also wants to help and finds so many different ways to and takes many risks along the way all while keeping the true purpose of why she's doing what she is in order to help keep those around her alive.

“Baby girl, you’ve become a beautiful young woman. We’ve been so busy surviving that I missed your childhood. You’ve missed it, too.”

This is sadly the reality for Mari and so many other young people during this time in history. Everyone grew up fast and worked to survive and to keep some of their heritage intact and hoped for the allies to save them.

Overall I really did love this story, it might have been a short one and the final one in the trilogy, but it felt like so much more. Between seeing Mari disobey the Nazi's in little ways and the nicknames everyone gave certain ones. To learning about medical history and finding out how doctors still managed to treat people with very little supplies and how they found ways to get more supplies by playing on the Nazi's fears. This is everything I love about historical fiction, and the fact that it was in Norway I loved even more. Not many books are set in Norway that I've read so learning the history and how the country was able to keep a force and a sort of government intact in secret while the Nazi's had taken over I found really interesting. Also seeing the everyday life of Norwegians I really enjoyed as well.
I think I might just decided to go back and read the first two books in this trilogy to see how it all began.

Mari’s Hope

by Sandy Brehl

Crispin Books



Children's Fiction , Middle Grade

Pub Date 01 Sep 2017

I am reviewing a copy of Mari’s Hope through Crispin Books and Netgalley:

In the final years of World War 2 in a small village in occupied Western Norway, Mari has become a valued helper to the village doctor. Mari not only helps the doctor but she has her hand in helping her family against the Resistance.

This book will take us on a journey back in time, to the later days of World War 2 where we meet Mari and her family, where we learn of a families struggles and triumphs during World War 2.

I give Mari’s Hope, five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

This is the first book of the series I’ve read. If the others were anything like it, this series is worth reading (with caution). It was very well plotted and written. You can feel the darkness and stress of the times, but it wouldn’t be too overwhelming for even younger children.
I really appreciated the attention to historical accuracy. Even the heroine felt wonderfully real. Her fears, joys, loves and hates all come across as so natural. She is the focus of the story, but she doesn’t outshine or outsmart the adults around her. Brehl did an excellent job in creating her.
I would have rated this much higher, but the curse word was completely inappropriate in a book for children. It was in German, but the translation was included at the end of the book.
I received this as a free ARC through NetGalley from Crispin Books. No positive review was required. These are my own honest opinions.

This was a great story but not something that could capture and sustain my attention.