Winter Garden

Author: Kristin Hannah

Pages: 391

Rating: PG-13 (There is some language, some sex is discussed as well. Mostly, it's just a very mature subject matter, I would rate it high school and above.)

Summary:
Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family business; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, these two estranged sisters will find themselves together again, standing alongside their disapproving mother, Anya, who even now offers no comfort to her daughters. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise: Anya will tell her daughters a story; it is one she began years ago and never finished. This time she will tell it all the way to the end. The tale their mother tells them is unlike anything they’ve heard before—a captivating, mysterious love story that spans more than sixty years and moves from frozen, war-torn Leningrad to modern-day Alaska. Nina’s obsession to uncover the truth will send them all on an unexpected journey into their mother’s past, where they will discover a secret so shocking, it shakes the foundation of their family and changes who they believe they are.

My Thoughts: A good historical fiction novel always leads me to do my own research on the time period to learn more than I could from the book. This novel was no exception. I found myself on Google many times during and after my reading, looking up pictures, stories, facts, etc. This book is about Stalin - controlled Russia going into World War II, specifically the siege of Leningrad. I knew next to nothing about this subject before I started reading. Now, my curiosity has been awakened and I want to learn more!  I knew Stalin was bad, but I never really knew HOW bad. I had never read any accounts of what happened. Although this book is a work of fiction, it is historically accurate as far as the author could make it, and many (if not almost all) of Anya's experiences are things that happened to real people.

This book was truly moving, inspiring, all the other really good words you can use to describe a book. It was thought-provoking and it caused me to ponder and reflect on my life experiences and how they related to the lives of the characters. I almost always put this book down with a profound feeling of gratitude for the freedoms and luxuries I enjoy just because I live in the United States in the 21st Century.

This book is also about forgiveness, understanding, and being unafraid to love. It was just so so good. Highly recommend it.

Moloka'i

Author: Alan Brennert
Pages: 384
Rating: PG-13 (There is no foul language, but there is some sex. The descriptions, however, are very short and sweet, usually only lasting a few sentences.)

Summary:
This richly imagined novel, set in Hawai'i more than a century ago, is an extraordinary epic of a little-known time and place---and a deeply moving testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.
Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka'i. Here her life is supposed to end---but instead she discovers it is only just beginning.

My Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A good historical fiction novel is written in such a way that you forget the characters aren't actually real people, and this book certainly fit the bill.I just love that you can imagine that someone just like Rachel really did exist and a lot of those same things probably happened to someone. The book basically covers Rachel's entire life. I feel like I can't accurately describe it without giving too much away. All I guess I can say is that there really was a leprosy colony on the island of Moloka'i during the late 19th century and into the 20th. I was fascinated to learn about it and also a little of the history of Hawaii and their relationship with the US as well. I found Rachel's life to be an amazing reflection of the thought "Bloom where you're planted" and after I read the book I did a bit of research about Kalaupapa and found that the people there truly had a spirit of kindness and family. In their exile, they made a paradise. This book is definitely worth reading at least once in your life.

The Lake House

Author: Kate Morton
Pages: 492
Rating: PG (a few mild swear words, but that's really it.)

Summary:
Living on her family’s idyllic lakeside estate in Cornwall, England, Alice Edevane is a bright, inquisitive, and precociously talented sixteen-year-old who loves to write stories.

One midsummer’s eve, after a beautiful party drawing hundreds of guests to the estate has ended, the Edevanes discover that their youngest child, eleven-month-old Theo, has vanished without a trace. He is never found, and the family is torn apart, the house abandoned.

Decades later, Alice is living in London, having enjoyed a long successful career as a novelist. Miles away, Sadie Sparrow, a young detective in the London police force, is staying at her grandfather’s house in Cornwall. While out walking one day, she stumbles upon the old Edevane estate—now crumbling and covered with vines. Her curiosity is sparked, setting off a series of events that will bring her and Alice together and reveal shocking truths about a past long gone...yet more present than ever.


My Thoughts: Initially, I felt like the pace of this novel was too slow. It is, after all, quite long. I admit, I skimmed through to the end to find out whodunnit, and for some reason, that helped me have the patience to start back and the beginning and actually read. I was glad I did, because there was a lot more to the story than I had gleaned from my skim-through. One thing I liked about this novel is that even though it's mainly told from the perspective of Sadie and Alice, most of the other important characters, including Baby Theo, get a chance to voice their thoughts for a few pages. Also, the summary doesn't tell you, but Sadie is staying in Cornwall on a sort of unofficial leave of absence. She refused to let a police case go, even after it was formally closed. This case continues to gnaw at her, and is eventually solved along with the Edevane case, which is very satisfying.

I loved that this book kept me guessing. There are many times when it seems so clear what is happening, only to be proven wrong a few pages later. The whole event (the disappearance of the boy) is much, much more complicated than anyone originally assumed. Love, honor, keeping promises, war, a secret affair, etc. It's all part of it. I added the label of Historical Fiction to this post because World War I and the "shell shock" the soldiers experienced plays an important role in the storyline. And just so you know, Sadie does manage to uncover exactly what happened to Baby Theo, but I won't tell you what it was. That part was a surprise, even though I already knew who was responsible and why, from my look-ahead.  If you like a good mystery, you may want to pick this one up.

Moon Over Manifest

Author: Clare Vanderpool
Pages: 342
Rating: G

Summary:
Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was.
Having heard stories about Manifest, Abilene is disappointed to find that it’s just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos, including some old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler. These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on an honest-to-goodness spy hunt, even though they are warned to “Leave Well Enough Alone.”
Abilene throws all caution aside when she heads down the mysterious Path to Perdition to pay a debt to the reclusive Miss Sadie, a diviner who only tells stories from the past. It seems that Manifest’s history is full of colorful and shadowy characters—and long-held secrets. The more Abilene hears, the more determined she is to learn just what role her father played in that history. And as Manifest’s secrets are laid bare one by one, Abilene begins to weave her own story into the fabric of the town.

My Thoughts: This is a children's novel, suitable for elementary through middle school age students. I thought it was interesting, but the Rattler didn't play nearly enough of a role in the story, and ended up not being very important in the end anyway. Abilene seemed to be on a much bigger quest to learn about her father and the history of the town, which you get in snippets from Miss Sadie. What I did love is the historical fiction part of the book. The history of Manifest involves a lot of immigrants and World War One as well as lots of information about Prohibition and bootlegging. In the end, the book is really all about a 12 year old girl, trying to find a home for herself. I enjoyed it, but didn't feel it was super memorable.

I'll Give You The Sun

Author: Jandy Nelson
Pages: 371
Rating: PG-13 (probably 10-12 F-words in this book, but very little other swearing.)

Summary:
At first, Jude and her twin brother are NoahandJude; inseparable. Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude wears red-red lipstick, cliff-dives, and does all the talking for both of them.

Years later, they are barely speaking. Something has happened to change the twins in different yet equally devastating ways . . . but then Jude meets an intriguing, irresistible boy and a mysterious new mentor.

The early years are Noah’s to tell; the later years are Jude’s. But they each have only half the story, and if they can only find their way back to one another, they’ll have a chance to remake their world.

This radiant, award-winning novel from the acclaimed author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.

My Thoughts: I really love this author. She is just so so amazing with words! I don't even know how she thinks up the things she says, but they make complete sense, even if it's something I never in a million years would have thought to say. For example, towards the beginning, Noah talks about how walking around in the art museum makes him feel like his skin fits, how "it didn't once bunch up at my ankles or squeeze my head into a pin." What great imagery! What an artistic way to explain how he felt free to be himself! I just love the way she writes.

All that aside, I also loved the story. I have never actually read a book where one of the main characters was gay. It just isn't something that interested me/it kind of made me uncomfortable. But Nelson does an amazing job of writing Noah. Noah is gay, but he's kind of afraid of it, as I'm sure most kids in his position feel. He wishes he wasn't like this, he's afraid of what his family will think if they ever find out, but he can't stop what he feels. Seriously, just such a great novel to create understanding towards kids who are struggling with their sexual identity. 

Another thing I love is in the end, Noah and Jude both realize that they never really knew their parents as well as they thought they did. They made assumptions, made too much out of innocent comments. Noah believes for years that his dad dislikes him and that they have nothing in common. He has completely forgotten the things they used to enjoy doing together, the amazing things they DO share. It's eye opening, for sure.

This book was not predictable. I wasn't sure where it was all going to end up or what was going to happen, and there was a twist towards the end that totally surprised me. This book was definitely worth reading. I hope Nelson writes more books because she is really incredible!

The Kitchen House

Author: Kathleen Grissom
Pages: 365
Rating: PG-13 - there are no graphic descriptions, but a girl is raped, and a boy is sexually abused (this is just implied but it's pretty clear what is going on). There's also some violence.

Summary:
In this gripping novel, a dark secret threatens to expose the best and worst in everyone tied to the estate at a thriving plantation in Virginia in the decades before the Civil War.

Orphaned during her passage from Ireland, young, white Lavinia arrives on the steps of the kitchen house and is placed, as an indentured servant, under the care of Belle, the master’s illegitimate slave daughter. Lavinia learns to cook, clean, and serve food, while guided by the quiet strength and love of her new family.

In time, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, caring for the master’s opium-addicted wife and befriending his dangerous yet protective son. She attempts to straddle the worlds of the kitchen and big house, but her skin color will forever set her apart from Belle and the other slaves.

Through the unique eyes of Lavinia and Belle, Grissom’s debut novel unfolds in a heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful story of class, race, dignity, deep-buried secrets, and familial bonds.

My Thoughts: I had kind of a hard time with this book. Sometimes I got so frustrated with the plot I had to put the book down for a while. It's one of those books where it just seems like bad things keep happening and nothing ever really gets better! And it definitely doesn't have a neat and tidy ending where everything is suddenly happily ever after. One slave that Lavinia is very close to ends up being sold, and you never find out what happens to her. She's just gone.

I thought it was definitely an interesting book - to be written mainly from the perspective of a white girl, who as an indentured servant doesn't really fit into either the world of the slaves or the world of the white family she serves, is an interesting perspective. But I felt frustrated because so many things would have worked out better if the characters had just communicated! If the captain had told his family Belle's true identity as his daughter, if someone had explained to Lavinia the status quo of black vs white. Lavinia is kind of naive and of course, since she is thrown in with the negro slaves of the household, she comes to love them as her family. But she never really understands the way things work, and what the slaves can and can't legally do. She just doesn't get it, and that causes some problems. No one ever properly explains it to her. I also felt like there wasn't enough of a wrap-up at the end. There's this big climactic crazy scene where the poop totally hits the fan, and then like 3 pages later the book is over. I would have liked more of an explanation of what happened next. And there is a sequel, but it's not about the same main characters. It's the next generation.

But I do have to say that the book was humbling to read, because I think the author very realistically described the reality that black slaves had to deal with during this time period. They could be sold at any time, for any reason. For that matter, they could also be killed at any time, for any reason, with no repercussions. Families were not guaranteed to stay together. They had no real say in anything. It was a terrible way to live. But what impressed me the most was the intense faith in God that the slaves had. They are always talking about how things are the will of the Lord, how the Lord is taking care of us, etc. How many reasons they had to believe God didn't love them, had abandoned them, or maybe even didn't even exist! But they held on, maybe because they had to believe there was something better out there. It was the only thing that kept them going each day. Just amazing, really.

In all, I probably would recommend this book, but just be warned, it doesn't leave you feeling warm and fuzzy.

The Secret Keeper

Author: Kate Morton
Pages: 481
Rating:  PG-13

Summary:
During a picnic at her family’s farm in the English countryside, sixteen-year-old Laurel Nicolson witnesses a shocking crime, a crime that challenges everything she knows about her adored mother, Dorothy. Now, fifty years later, Laurel and her sisters are meeting at the farm to celebrate Dorothy’s ninetieth birthday. Realizing that this is her last chance to discover the truth about that long-ago day, Laurel searches for answers that can only be found in Dorothy’s past. Clue by clue, she traces a secret history of three strangers from vastly different worlds thrown together in war-torn London—Dorothy, Vivien, and Jimmy—whose lives are forever after entwined. A gripping story of deception and passion, The Secret Keeper will keep you enthralled to the last page.

My Thoughts: I enjoyed reading this book but it went a little bit too slow for me. I didn't enjoy how it kept going back and forth between Laurel's life in the present and Dorothy's life during WWII. I would have preferred just reading long stretches of Dorothy. And by the way, the crime is...Laurel watches her mother stab a man with a knife and kill him. The scary thing was, the man knows her name. I still really did enjoy this book, it was really interesting. And I do have to say, the ending was not what I expected. I got to a certain point and I thought, ok, ok, I know how this all pans out. But I was dead wrong. It will surprise you.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Author: David Wroblewski
Pages: 562
Rating: PG-13 - I think there was some language and also it's kind of violent in some places. It's very mature, that's for sure.

Summary:
Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose remarkable gift for companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally. Edgar seems poised to carry on his family's traditions, but when catastrophe strikes, he finds his once-peaceful home engulfed in turmoil.
Forced to flee into the vast wilderness lying beyond the Sawtelle farm, Edgar comes of age in the wild, fighting for his survival and that of the three yearling dogs who accompany him, until the day he is forced to choose between leaving forever or returning home to confront the mysteries he has left unsolved.
Filled with breathtaking scenes—the elemental north woods, the sweep of seasons, an iconic American barn, a fateful vision rendered in the falling rain—The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is a meditation on the limits of language and what lies beyond, a brilliantly inventive retelling of an ancient story, and an epic tale of devotion, betrayal, and courage in the American heartland.

My Thoughts: I really don't know what to say about this book. I think that Wroblewski is a good writer, because there was never a point where I was just plain bored and wanted to put the book down, but I didn't really GET it. First of all, the book is way too long. There are lots of places where the author feels the need to talk about some aspect of dog training or breeding for several pages, and it does nothing whatsoever to further the storyline. It's definitely interesting and different, but I'm not sure I'm happy that I spent so much of my time reading it. Also, the story is supposed to be a modern day retelling of Hamlet....so that gives you an idea of how the book ends. It's very unsatisfying.

13 Gifts

Author: Wendy Mass
Pages: 339
Rating: G

Summary: When Tara, a self-proclaimed shrinking violet, steals the school mascot, a goat, in order to make some friends with the popular crowd and gets caught, she gets herself in a heap of trouble. In addition, her parents decide that instead of taking her on their summer trip to Madagascar to study the courtship rituals of the Bamboo Lemur, she must go stay with her aunt, uncle, and bratty cousin Emily St. Claire in Willow Falls. Tara thinks it's a good time to start over; she'll be turning 13 after all, so she might as well make the best of it and perhaps even attempt to break out of her shell (in a non-criminal manner). What Tara doesn't know is that this charmed town has something big in store for her on her 13th birthday. It's not a typical birthday. But then again, nothing is Willow Falls is exactly typical!

My Thoughts: Eh. This is a book that's all well and good for a preteen. I'd say it's definitely interesting, with weird twists you don't expect, but I felt like some of it was overdramatic, and a lot of the stuff Tara does or has to deal with in the book just works out WAY too easily. There aren't really any true obstacles. Everything she comes up against seems like an issue for all of like 10 minutes and then the problems are solved in some quick and simple way that in real life would probably never happen.

Also, I was annoyed because there are a few mysteries in the book that don't really get solved because they have to do with other characters and apparently they have their own books, 11 Birthdays, and Finally. So that bothered me. You get to hear the end of Tara's story, but there are these two odd characters Leo and Amanda and something fishy is going on with them the entire book, yet it ends without you ever getting to find out what's going on with them.

Like I said, this is definitely a clean and wonderful book for the 10-14 age group, but I found a lot lacking in it from an adult perspective.

Hidden Places

Author: Lynn Austin
Pages: 429
Rating: PG

Summary: A deep yearning for home had led Eliza to Wyatt Orchards ten years ago. Now widowed with three young children, she faces mounting debts and the realization it is all up to her. But she has no idea how to run an orchard alone. When a stranger appears at her doorstep, Eliza guesses he is no different than the other out-of-luck characters searching for work during the Depression. But the familiarity with which Gabe tends to the farm raises unanswered questions. With a vulnerable heart, she is unwittingly drawn to his gentle ways. But Eliza also fears that Gabe hides a past and motives that could jeopardize all she has fought to attain for herself and her children....

My Thoughts: Lynn Austin is slowly becoming a favorite author. I loved this book just as much as I loved the other book by her that I've read, A Woman's Place.

The book opens with Eliza burying her father in law, the last male member of the family she married into. It's the middle of the Depression, and she soon finds out she is close to losing her farm. She desperately needs a miracle, which comes in the form of crazy Aunt Batty, and a wandering hobo named Gabe. The Wyatt family has many hidden difficulties and problems. Frank Wyatt, Eliza's father-in-law, was an abusive, greedy man, who never showed one speck of love or pride in his children or family members. That has caused quite a lot of pain and problems.

As the story goes on, it becomes necessary for Eliza to learn of the painful and shocking history of the Wyatt family. It's heartfelt and raw and very real. You also eventually get to hear Gabe's story, slowly, and it's pretty amazing. Eliza knows she never truly loved her first husband, Sam Wyatt, who died of tetanus. She only married him because she loved the idea of having a real home to live in. So when Gabe comes along, and Eliza feels herself falling in love with him, she is afraid that something bad will happen and she will not be allowed this happiness as punishment for all the lies she told Sam.

There is definitely a very Christian message to the book, basically saying that we should not think that the bad things that happen to us in life are punishments from God that we deserve. God is not cruel, he is loving and he wants us to find happiness and hope in life. Unlike other Christian books I've read, this one does not feel overly sweet or overbearing with the Gospel message in it. It doesn't seem forced, is what I'm trying to say. All the talk of God and his love for us just seems to fit naturally into the story, which was definitely nice.

The only beef I had with this book was I wasn't really impressed with Eliza's background story. Hers is the final "secrets of the past" story that comes out, such as what happened between her and her father, and where she really came from. Compared to Batty's story and Gabe's story, Eliza's just seems petty and ridiculous in comparison. But maybe that was the point. Sometimes we have legitimate reasons to be upset and think that life is out to get us, and other times we're just looking at it completely wrong and being childish and prideful about something that really is not that big of a deal.

I would recommend this book, it's definitely a "feel good" story, and I now plan to read even more books by this author.

By George, by Wesley Stace

Pages: 378

Rating: PG-13 (There is mention of sex, but not really graphically, however, towards the end, quite a few F-words get thrown in there, which was a disappointment.)

Summary: In the illustrious history of the theatrical Fishers, there are two Georges. One is a peculiar but endearing 11-year-old, raised in the seedy world of `70s boarding houses and backstages, now packed off to school for the first time; the other, a garrulous ventriloquist's dummy who belonged to George's grandfather, a favorite traveling act of the British troops in World War II. The two Georges know nothing of each other--until events conspire to unite them in a search to uncover the family's deepest secrets.

Weaving the boy's tale and the puppet's "memoirs," BY GEORGE unveils the fascinating Fisher family--its weak men, its dominant women, its disgruntled boys, and its shocking and dramatic secrets. At once bitingly funny and exquisitely tender, Stace's novel is the unforgettable journey of two young boys separated by years but driven by the same desires: to find a voice, and to be loved.

My Thoughts: Ok, honestly, I was not a huge fan of this book. For the most part, I think it was just too LONG. The story could have been told just as well in probably 150 pages less. There was a lot of pointless filler story in there about day to day life, that I felt just wasn't really necessary to further the story. It took me forever to finish this book because I kept getting frustrated with its lack of direction, so I'd put it down and read something else for a while. I found myself skimming quite a lot as I got towards the end.

There are two mysteries going on in the book and they are solved near the end. George finds out who his real father is (although, I figured it out before he did) and they find out what really happened to his grandpa Joe. Like I said already though, the lead up to finding all this out is just too boring. I felt like the book was also kind of depressing too, as though no one really got what they wanted at the end. It was all just very melancholy. Another problem I had with this book was I had this feeling of disconnect between me and the characters. It sometimes felt as if all the characters in the book were connected and knew what was going on, and they were throwing back and forth little bits of conversation and innuendos that made perfect sense to them, but I was completely out of the loop. I felt a little lost at times. I didn't feel a part of the story really. More of a confused observer.

Overall, I probably would not recommend this book, but if you still think it sounds interesting, go ahead and give it a try.

The Summer of the Bear, by Bella Pollen

Pages: 438

Rating: PG-13 (there's a little bit of sexual stuff, but it's very fleeting, and never graphic. There are a few swear words, I think the F-bomb was in there twice.)

Summary:
In 1980 Germany, under Cold War tension, a mole is suspected in the British Embassy. When the clever diplomat Nicky Fleming dies suddenly and suspiciously, it’s convenient to brand him the traitor. But was his death an accident, murder, or suicide? As the government digs into Nicky’s history, his wife, Letty, relocates with her three children to a remote Scottish island hoping to salvage their family. But the isolated shores of her childhood retreat only intensify their distance, and it is Letty’s brilliant and peculiar youngest child, Jamie, who alone holds on to the one thing he’s sure of: his father has promised to return and he was a man who never broke a promise.

Exploring the island, Jamie and his teenaged sisters discover that a domesticated brown bear has been marooned on shore, hiding somewhere among the seaside caves. Jamie feels that the bear may have a strange connection to his father, and as he seeks the truth, his father’s story surfaces in unexpected ways. Bella Pollen has an uncanny ability to capture the unnoticeable moments in which families grow quiet. A novel about the corrosive effects of secrets and the extraordinary imagination of youth, The Summer of the Bear is Pollen’s most ambitious and affecting book yet.

My Thoughts: I found this book difficult to put down. It was strangely compelling, like the whole thing is just a dream or something. I thought it would be more like a mystery novel, but it's really story of a grieving family trying to piece together how their father died, or in Jamie's case, why he is gone. To protect Jamie from the horror of death, no one officially tells him his father is dead. They say things like, "He's gone" and "He had an accident and he hurt everything." It's also a story of each individual in the family trying to deal with it and get past the fact that a key piece of their family is now gone. The story is told in small little chapters, and it rotates through the perspectives of each family member, sometimes reminiscing about events in the past, sometimes just telling how it is now.

I was a little confused about the bear because the story starts out with him and it wasn't obvious at first that the bear was narrating. It was a lot easier when I realized that the bear's chapters are marked by a little picture of a bear at the beginning of each of his narratives. That might be helpful. There also are elements of truth to the book. I don't think of this as a spoiler because I read it early on, and even though it's part of the epilogue, it helped me understand the story better. In 1980, there really was a tame grizzly bear lost on a Scottish Island for several weeks. Even though when he was finally found, he was extremely thin and weak with hunger, he had never harmed a single animal or human.

There are definitely twists and turns. I was completely in the dark about what really happened to their father until the very very end, and suddenly it all becomes clear. It's one of those books that just kind of touches you quietly and when you're done, you think, "Hey...that was a good book." I really enjoyed it.

One last warning... the book is written as if the readers are familiar with British terms and phrases, so just watch out cuz you might be slightly confused with some terms. I was. It helps to know that MoD stands for Ministry of Defense. They don't explain that right away.

I Gave My Heart to Know This, by Ellen Baker

Pages: 321

Rating: PG-13 (The F-bomb is dropped 5 or 6 times throughout the book. There is a little sex, but it only just vaguely hints at it, and never goes into any kind of detail.)

Summary: In January 1944, Grace Anderson, Lena Maki, and Lena’s mother, Violet, have joined the growing ranks of women working for the war effort. Though they find satisfaction in their jobs at a Wisconsin shipyard, it isn’t enough to distract them from the anxieties of wartime, or their fears for the men they love: Lena’s twin brother, Derrick, and Grace’s high school sweetheart, Alex. When shattering news arrives from the front, the lives of the three women are pitched into turmoil. As one is pushed to the brink of madness, the others are forced into choices they couldn’t have imagined—and their lives will never be the same. 

More than five decades later, Violet’s great-granddaughter, Julia, returns to the small farmhouse where Violet and Lena once lived. Listless from her own recent tragedy, Julia begins to uncover the dark secrets that shattered her family, eventually learning that redemption—and love—can be found in the most unexpected places.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. It was so hard to put down. I kept wanting to flip forward and find out what was going on. There were so many shocking discoveries and secrets that you have to wait almost the entire book to figure out. The book is more about individuals trying to overcome tragedy than it really is about World War II and the work women did. That's part of the story, but it's really just the background. I really felt for the characters, and found myself almost on the verge of tears because of all the sufferings and difficulties they had. It's definitely not a light read. It's intense and there's a lot of letting go and moving on that has to happen in the book. It's a story of regret and mistakes, and trying to do the right thing, and real life, how difficult it is, and trying to make it all right in the end.

Like I said in the rating, the F-bomb is dropped a few times, but only by Julia's brother, Danny, when he comes to visit. He is the only person who uses such language in the book, and he's not a very prominent character. Just be warned that when Danny comes into the picture, you're going to have to watch out for the language. 

Ellen Baker is a great writer. She really helped me to feel the emotions of the characters and I felt sympathetic for all of them, except for maybe Lena. I feel like there wasn't enough of Lena's story in there. All the other characters get to say their piece and redeem themselves, and you understand how they feel and how they got to where they are, but Lena is kind of left a mystery.