The Flight Of Swallows
by Lily Graham
First Lines

THIS IS A MEME FOR ALL YOU ‘FIRST PAGE BROWSERS’

THE FLIGHT OF SWALLOWS by LILY GRAHAM

BOOK BEGINNINGS / FIRST LINES

CHAPTER ONE – NORTHERN SWEDEN, 1995

“The snow came early that year, settling around the forest like an old bear ready for its cave.

As Ingrid made her way through the silent wood, the sky above performed its northern waltz, a dance of light in shades of pink and green.

She whistled and Narfi came leapfrogging towards her, his large body sinking almost completely into the powdery snow dusting his black-and-bronze coat.

‘Stay away from that fox,’ she warned.

She hadn’t missed the Arctic creature in the distance, its fur almost indistinct from the wintry landscape, its eerie blue gaze pinned on them. ‘She’s looking after her kits and doesn’t know you just want to play.’

He whined, gambolling from her and as close to the fox as he dared again.

She shook her head, cheeks pink from the cold. Her eyelashes were spiked with ice. ‘You want another scar?’ she asked, pointing at his snout with a mittened hand, where he’d had a run-in with a wolf cub as a pup.

He paused, cocking his head, as if weighing her words before coming to a stop at her side.

‘Good choice.’ she said. Then sighed. ‘Besides, you’ve got a task ahead of you,’ she reminded him. ‘I’m going to need you to work your magic today.’

Narfi frowned, making a grumbling, reluctant noise. His liquid brown eyes darted hesitantly from her to the lonely red cabin with its faded, peeling paint edging the frozen lake. It was almost hidden by the tall, snow-capped birches.

The walk was already laborious, her thighs aching from lifting her feet into the waist-high snow, but it seemed even more arduous at the prospect of what lay ahead of them.

At the door, Ingrid paused, resting her head against the wood.

‘It could be one of his better days,’ she told the dog with more hope than conviction.

There was a huffing, impatient sound. Even Narfi didn’t seem convinced.”

So, you have taken a look, would you read the book?

Let me know what you think in the comments section below.

Just to give you an extra helping hand, let’s show you the book’s premise.

THE FLIGHT OF SWALLOWS by LILY GRAHAM

Hamburg, 1938. Fifteen-year-old twins Jurgen and Asta stroll home from school, unaware their world is about to implode.

A family friend stops them in the road, weeping. Their Jewish parents have been dragged into the streets by German soldiers and if the twins return to their house, they will be taken too.

Heartbroken at the loss of their parents, the twins know they have no choice but to flee. They must make the perilous journey across Germany and into Denmark to reach their only surviving relative, their aunt Trine, a woman they barely know.

After days hidden under blankets in a truck with other refugees, they reach the dark, snow-covered forest that divides Germany and Denmark. With safety almost in sight, the twins grow careless, unaware that they are being followed. And when they are found by the enemy, brother and sister end up facing a terrible dilemma.

They swore they would always protect each other, but what happens when that promise is tested?

You might also like to visit Gilion, over at ‘Rose City Reader‘, who is the moderator of this excellent meme and where you can share links to the book beginnings from her own reading schedule and that of many of our fellow bloggers. There are always plenty of new authors and titles to be discovered, and you never know where that next ‘must read’ will come from

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