September 2025 – The Wandering Wordsmith

From the author of The Paper Girl of Paris comes Rebel Girls of Rome, a thrilling and heartfelt dual POV novel about Lilah, a girl looking to reconnect with her grandfather over his mysterious past during a trip to Rome, and Bruna, a queer Jewish woman who escapes the Nazis in Italy and joins the resistance during World War II.

NOW:

Grieving the loss of her mother, college student Lilah is hoping to reconnect with her ever-distant grandfather who refuses to talk about his past. When a fellow student in Italy brings a long-lost family heirloom to her attention, Lilah travels to Rome with her grandfather in the hopes of unlocking his history as a survivor of the Holocaust once and for all.

But as they get closer to the truth—and the possibility of healing through new connections—she begins to realize that some secrets may be too painful to unbury . . .

THEN:

It’s 1943, and nineteen-year-old Bruna and her family are doing their best to survive in Rome’s Jewish quarter under Nazi occupation. When the dreaded knock comes early one morning, and Bruna realizes her youngest brother, Raffa, is missing, her desperate search to find him separates her from the rest of her family irrevocably.

Overcome with guilt at escaping her family’s fate in the camps, Bruna joins the partisan efforts against the Nazis and Italian Fascists. When her missions bring her back to her childhood crush, Elsa, she must decide what it really means to live and love—and if fully embracing herself might be her greatest act of resistance of all. But just as she starts to find light in the darkness, an attack that ends in unspeakable tragedy leaves Bruna questioning her fortitude to survive more than ever before.

Part historical mystery, part sweeping romance, Jordyn Taylor brings Bruna and Lilah’s stories to brilliant life in this compelling, emotional read in the vein of The Paper Girl of Paris. With dual historical and contemporary POVs—where heartbreak, hope, and finding light in times of darkness are inevitably intertwined—this is perfect for readers of Ruta Sepetys and Monica Hesse.

It’s so important for books like this to exist. With so much being erased or forgotten about the Holocaust/World War II, there’s a need for both fiction and non-fiction books that remind us of not only the events that occurred, but the strength of so many different people who fought and struggled through that time. It’s also great to see books set during that time that aren’t necessarily set in Germany or Eastern Europe. The characters were well developed and well thought out in their connections and relationships, in a lot of ways it was easy to connect with them on different levels so they were very relatable. This book was exceedingly well written and paced, and I found myself really enjoying the dual POVs and the story they told.

Happy reading!

From critically acclaimed author Shveta Thakrar comes a beautifully imagined contemporary fantasy about two teens, one a believer of magic who yearns to belong, the other a skeptic searching for an escape, who find themselves embroiled in a twisty world of court intrigue when they venture into a forest ruled by yakshas, mysterious woodland spirits drawn from Hindu and Buddhist folklore.

Plant-loving Ridhi Kapadia and popular Nilesh Batra were friends once.

Now, seventeen and alone, Ridhi blends natural perfumes, wears flower crowns, and wanders her local woods, listening for the leafy whispers of her beloved trees. Pleading for the yakshas to admit her into their enchanted forest kingdom, where she knows she truly belongs.

After learning his parents’ perfect marriage is a sham and getting suspended from school, a heartsick Nilesh lands at Ridhi’s doorstep—the last thing either of them wants. So when a pretty yakshini offers him the distraction of magic, the same magic he mocked Ridhi for believing in, he jumps at it.

Furious, Ridhi strikes a bargain with a noblewoman named Sulochana. In return for helping restore her reputation, Sulochana will turn Ridhi into the yakshini she yearns to be—and teach her to divine the trees’ murmurs.

But when Nilesh ends up trapped in the yakshas’ realm, Ridhi realizes the leaves might be telling a disturbing story about the forest her heart is rooted in—one that, even if the two of them band together, threatens to shred the future like so many thorns.

First things first, the writing in this book is wonderful. I felt it was very atmospheric and immediately drew me in, that part I absolutely loved. The story itself did seem to move slowly, though that can be good in more flowery prose, it can also drag the story a bit. That being said, there was a lot to love about the characters, who felt like fully formed individuals. Though I don’t know a lot about Desi or Hindu culture, I still really enjoyed all of the cultural touches. I do feel there could be improvement to make the story pacing a bit better, but all in all an enjoyable read.

Happy reading!