AGAINST THE WIND BY BODIE & BROCK THOENE

AGAINST THE WIND by BODIE & BROCK THOENE is the second book in their Zion Diaries series, but it can be read as a stand alone book.  I enjoyed it as it ties in with the Zion Covenant series and tells us more about Elisa and Murphy and their work during the second world war.  Elisa is involved in evacuating children, especially Jewish children, to America as Hitler is bombing England mercilessly and they are afraid that England will be invaded soon.  Some of the children that are on the same ship going to America are choirboys from the cathedral and the ones she is directly responsible for are girls whose parents are letting them go away to save them from the Nazi bombs.  Murphy can't go with her as he is a reporter and needs to stay in London to report the news to the world, hoping that America will step in before its too late.  They have sent their children ahead to the States with Murphy's parents and Elisa is looking forward to being with them again.  We see how the Nazis catch up with Elisa again when the ship she is on is torpedoed and we see her bravery and trust in God on a lifeboat on the Atlantic.  Instead of being overcome with fear she does her best to encourage those she is with.
Throughout the novel there are excerpts from her diary at the time she and Leah were in Austria playing their instruments at the Musikverrein, and how she meets and marries Murphy.  She also writes of her escape from Berlin and her father's capture by the Germans.  Murphy says of women that "they are like teabags, you never know how strong they are until they are in hot water!"  This is certainly true of Elisa.