Diya Katyal 
When you need hope under the most trying circumstances
Full disclosure I don’t feel that anything I write can do justice to this book. I was completely blown away by it. Ordinarily, a book that deals with the pain and sufferings of World War II would not feature on the Pep Me Up section but though the book will make you laugh and cry in equal proportions the underlying message is one of hope. It’s written in letters and full of quirky characters and stories within the story. The biggest take away from this book is the power of literature to save and heal and bring people together. It debunks the common idea of literature being a lofty intellectual subject for conversations over canapés. It brings you pig herders with a love of Charles Lamb and ironmongers and everyday people who would never have time to read except for the extraordinary circumstances of war. It shows you how literature kept them sane during these unspeakably difficult times.
