I read six books during June. But honestly, I read all six of them in the last 14 days of the month in a hurried rush to the finish line. And Yael Van Der Wouden’s The Safekeep was my favorite (honorable mention to Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix and Hot Girls with Balls by Benedict Nguyen).
I picked up the book at Mr. B’s Emporium in Bath, UK while on a 15-day tour with a group of students. I walked in and let the lovely women behind the counter know I needed something – anything – queer, please. And they delivered. (SHOUT OUT to Mr. B’s Emporium in Bath. Seriously, if you’re ever in the area, please go visit them. They’re lovely.) But I didn’t have a chance to read the book until I got back to the States. Honestly, there was so much sightseeing, so much walking, and so much of me counting to 19 that I never had energy at the end of the day, so I lugged the book(s) I purchased from one shop to the next, never cracking the spine of any while abroad.
What a joy it was to have The Safekeep waiting for me upon my return. Don’t get me wrong, the story isn’t saccharine, but getting washed up in the drama that unfolds in the rural landscape of The Netherlands in 1946 was beautiful. And heartbreaking. And honest.
My favorite review of the novel lives here. You can read all about it.
What I loved the most about Yael Van Der Wouden’s historical novel was its quiet rage. Because that’s what I’ve been feeling lately. The kind of thing that occasionally nudges me to snap my jaws. Rage about the people snapping fireworks a full 10 days before the Fourth of July that cause me and my dog to jolt in the middle of the night. Rage about people even celebrating at all, as if our nation isn’t full of injustice everywhere. Rage that the blasting fireworks sound more like a war zone than a celebration. Rage that maybe I thought I had things figured out, but I don’t. Not at all. And all of this quiet rage just sits at the forefront.
Isobel’s story is full of this quiet rage, yet by the end of the novel, some of it has subsided. And maybe that’s the release I’m looking for, just a bit of subsiding. Or acceptance.
Regardless, you should get your hands on this book. And then tell me what you think.
shelly. walston. writes. 