Monday, May 16, 2011

Blog Tour - How Huge the Night by Heather and Lydia Munn (with Giveaway)


About How Huge the Night:

Fifteen-year-old Julien Losier just wants to fit in. But after his family moves to a small village in central France in hopes of outrunning the Nazis, he is suddenly faced with bigger challenges than the taunting of local teens. Nina Krenkel left her country to obey her father's dying command: Take your brother and leave Austria. Burn your papers. Tell no one you are Jews. Alone and on the run, she arrives in Tanieux, France, dangerously ill and in despair.

Thrown together by the chaos of war, Julien begins to feel the terrible weight of the looming conflict and Nina fights to survive. As France falls to the Nazis, Julien struggles with doing what is right, even if it is not enough-and wonders whether or not he really can save Nina from almost certain death.

Based on the true story of the town of Le Chambon-the only French town honored by Israel for rescuing Jews from the Holocaust-How Huge the Night is a compelling, coming-of-age drama that will keep teens turning the pages as it teaches them about a fascinating period of history and inspires them to think more deeply about their everyday choices.

Buy the book here


About the Munn's:


Heather Munn was born in Northern Ireland and grew up in southern France where her parents were missionaries like their parents before them. She has a BA in literature from Wheaton College and now lives in a Christian intentional community in rural Illinois, where she and her husband, Paul, host free spiritual retreats for the poor, especially those transitioning out of homelessness or addiction. When not writing or hosting, she works on the communal farm.



Lydia Munn, daughter of missionary parents, grew up in Brazil. She received a BA in literature from Wheaton College, and an MA in Bible from Columbia Graduate School of Bible and Missions. With her husband, Jim, she has worked in church planting and Bible teaching since 1983, notably in St. Etienne, near the small town in the central mountains of France which forms the background of How Huge the Night. The Munns now live in Grenoble, France.






My thoughts:
I really enjoyed this story! It involves two of my favorite themes - historical fiction and the young adult genre. I quickly became attached to fifteen year old Julien and felt for him as he tried to adapt to his new living situation. While at first he was mostly concerned with making friends and fitting in at school, he soon began to see the bigger picture as his family realized that the Nazis might actually invade his little village. When he decided to secretly help Nina and her brother, he knew that it was dangerous, but, he also knew it was the right thing to do. Julien grows up a lot through the course of this story. I also loved reading about the history of his French village.

The Giveaway:
Kregel Publications is sponsoring a $50 Amazon.com giveaway. To enter, all you have to do is send a tweet about How Huge the Night (use hashtag #litfuse) or share about it on Facebook.

If you tweet, your entry will be captured when you use the hashtage (#litfuse). If you share it on Facebook or your blog, you must let them know via email info@litfusegroup.com

You may use the following:

TWEET THIS:  How Huge the Night - compelling, coming-of-age drama that will keep teens and adults alike turning the pages! #litfuse http://ow.ly/4RBXc

FACEBOOK THIS: How Huge the Night by Heather & Lydia Munn is a compelling, coming-of-age drama that will keep teens and adults alike turning the pages late into the night! http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13181161



Disclaimer:
Litfuse provided a free copy of this book for my review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

2 comments:

Paula Parrish said...

Hello Kari,
Thanks for sharing the information about the book “How Huge the Night”. I love reading and I hope to be the winner of the $50 on Amazon.com. Thanks for sharing.
Smiles, Paula

Heather Munn said...

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing our book. I'm so glad you enjoyed it! If you are interested in more about the true story, you could check out www.howhugethenight.com.