New Release! Under the Java Moon by Heather B. Moore ~ My Thoughts #UnderTheJavaMoon @heatherbmoore @ShadowMountn

Congratulations Heather

on the recent release of

Under the Java Moon!

Under the Java Moon by Heather B. Moore 

Historical Fiction, World War II, 384 pages
Published September 5, 2023 by Shadow Mountain

Based on a true story, this gripping WWII novel captures the resilience, hope, and courage of a Dutch family who is separated during the war when the Japanese occupy the Dutch East Indies.

Java Island, 1941

Six-year-old Rita Vischer cowers in her family’s dug-out bomb shelter, listening to the sirens and waiting for a bomb to fall. Her charmed life on Java—living with other Dutch families—had always been peaceful, but when Holland declares war on Japan and the Japanese army invades Indonesia, Rita’s family is forced to relocate to a POW camp, and Rita must help care for her little brother, Georgie.

Mary Vischer is three months pregnant when she enters the Tjident women’s camp with thousands of other women and children. Her husband, George, is somewhere on the Java Sea with the Dutch Navy, so she must care alone for her young children, Rita and Georgie, and her frail mother. The brutal conditions of the overcrowded camp make starvation, malaria, and dysentery a grim reality. Mary must do everything she can to keep her family alive.

George Vischer survives the bombing of his minesweeper but feels little hope floating on a small dinghy in the Java Sea. Reaching the northern tip of the Thousand Island would be a miracle. Focusing on the love of his life, Mary, and his two children, he battles against the sea and merciless sun. He’ll do whatever it takes to close the divide between him and his family, even if it means risking being captured by the Japanese.

Under the Java Moon highlights a little-known part of WWII history and the impact of war on Indonesia, its people, and the more than 100,000 Dutch men, women, and children who were funneled into prison camps and faced with the ultimate fight for survival.

My thoughts about Under the Java Moon ~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First line—"September 1945 Rita Vischer never thought she'd see her father again."

I always learn so much about a topic that I know very little about when I read one of Heather B. Moore's books. I come away feeling more enlightened about the world. 

I had no idea of the suffering that the Dutch people went through during the war. Sure, we all know about the Jewish people and the Holocaust but other groups were made to suffer during that time as well. Based on the true story of the Vischer family, Under the Java Moon follows the family as they are torn apart and made to endure the brutality of horrible people. 

I always love Ms. Moore's stories and I can add this one to the list. They are well researched and well written and truly show her readers bits of forgotten, or unknown, history. The tragedies that the Dutch endured were hard to read about but need to be shared. 

Historical fiction lovers are going to love Under the Java Moon. It's a wonderful story and a piece of history that needs to be remembered. 

I received a copy of Under the Java Moon from the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

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About the author

Heather B. Moore is a USA Today bestselling author of more than ninety publications. Heather writes primarily historical and #herstory fiction about the humanity and heroism of the everyday person. Publishing in a breadth of genres, Heather dives into the hearts and souls of her characters, meshing her love of research with her love of storytelling.

Her ancient era historicals and thrillers are written under pen name H.B. Moore. She writes historical women's fiction, romance and inspirational non-fiction under Heather B. Moore, and . . . speculative fiction under Jane Redd. This can all be confusing, so her kids just call her Mom. Heather attended Cairo American College in Egypt and the Anglican School of Jerusalem in Israel. Despite failing her high school AP English exam, Heather persevered and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University in something other than English.

Connect with Heather

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