Too Young for the Times
By George Trojan
North Charleston, SC : Createspace, 2017
Too Young for the Times, George Trojan’s memoir is an absorbing read. Written when Trojan turned 90, it recounts his adolescence in Lwow Poland during World War II. During the Russian occupation Trojan lost his father and watched while his brother and brother-in-law worked with the underground to free their country, eventually joining the underground network himself. Trojan shares his thoughts and feelings during this time with the reader. Concealing nothing, Trojan describes the scenes of deprivation and destruction that would forever imprint themselves on him. With Germany moving in to take Russia’s place things settled down temporarily, but when Trojan was 16 years old he was caught in a dragnet and conscripted into the Luftwaffe. It would be over a year before Trojan could escape and find freedom with the American Army. Drafted in Trojan’s unique parlance, he takes the reader through every leg of his journey, and into his confidence. Too Young for the Times would be a welcome addition to any Wyoming library.
Melanie Tibbetts, Adult Services Specialist
Natrona County Library
Whistle Creek and other Wyoming Tales
Written and illustrated by June Willson Read
Kernersville, NC : Alabster Book Publishing, c2016
Whistle Creek and other Wyoming Tales is a treasure. Clean prose, fresh tales and best of all, Read’s authentic voice make for a pleasant read. The perfect cadence of her dialogue, turns of phrase, and judicious use of slang lets my inner editor relax and enjoy. The illustrations are charming. Read’s characters narrate from different vantages and times. I liked “The Little People,” though the love story at the end is poignant. The “Blue Bordello” tale inspired me to check out Read’s The Life of Dell Burke, Lady of Lusk. Read’s childhood, spent along on her family’s ranch along the Niobrara River, granted her with the insights of a native daughter. She adheres to the cardinal rule of story-telling around here, “It’s a Wyoming story—don’t ruin it with the truth.” I want to sit around the campfire and swap tales with June Willson Read.
Virginia Livingston, Publicist
Park County Library