And another World War II book! BUT wait! This one has a very different twist. Yep, an elephant. Here is my book review The Elephant of Belfast by S. Kirk Walsh.

In the fall of 1940 young zookeeper Hettie Quin’s dream comes true as she is put in charge of a recently orphaned elephant new to the Belfast zoo. But the winds of war are blowing and a world war rages in Europe while another war simmers at home. Tensions are escalating between British Loyalist and those fighting for a free Ireland as Germany begins a blitz on Belfast.

Walsh uses a nearly forgotten real life event to create the story of Hettie and the Elephant known as Violet. War through the eyes of an animal and a young girl, both who have lost so much, will lose even more, and desperately need each other to survive.

I really enjoyed this book, both for the indelible bond between Hettie and Violet and the look at a region devastated by Hitler that rarely gets notice in novels. But mostly this book is about how animals and humans can save each other, in so many ways.

*****Five stars for The Elephant of Belfast by S. Kirk Walsh.

Read last week’s review of The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

My current read The Lions of Fifth Avenue.

See this weeks top performing Book Review Pin The Beekeeper of Aleppo here.

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