Book Recommendation - Things We Didn't Say

 

Amy Lynn Green is a "new to me" author, but she's one I'm definitely glad I took a chance on. Her debut novel, Things We Didn't Say, is nothing short of spectacular. It's written in epistolary form (letters, notes, telegrams), but she tells the story well within that format, so don't let that deter you! This book takes place during WWII. Main character Johanna is a bright language student, fluent in 5 languages, looking to go to Oxford after college to translate the classics. When her hometown contacts her to be a translator for the German POW camp that is setting up there, she turns them down. But circumstances don't go her way and she eventually takes the job. What happens in the months there change everything - for both Johanna and her small hometown. This was an excellent story with redemptive themes, a solid faith thread, and characters that you can't help cheering for. I laughed a great deal during the reading of this book and also shed more than a few tears. That's the sign of a great novel!


Here's what it's about:

Headstrong Johanna Berglund, a linguistics student at the University of Minnesota, has very definite plans for her future . . . plans that do not include returning to her hometown and the secrets and heartaches she left behind there. But the US Army wants her to work as a translator at a nearby camp for German POWs.

Johanna arrives to find the once-sleepy town exploding with hostility. Most patriotic citizens want nothing to do with German soldiers laboring in their fields, and they're not afraid to criticize those who work at the camp as well. When Johanna describes the trouble to her friend Peter Ito, a language instructor at a school for military intelligence officers, he encourages her to give the town that rejected her a second chance.

As Johanna interacts with the men of the camp and censors their letters home, she begins to see the prisoners in a more sympathetic light. But advocating for better treatment makes her enemies in the community, especially when charismatic German spokesman Stefan Werner begins to show interest in Johanna and her work. The longer Johanna wages her home-front battle, the more the lines between compassion and treason become blurred--and it's no longer clear whom she can trust.


This book releases on November 3, 2020. Check out these links for some additional information:

Amy Lynn Green's website: https://www.amygreenbooks.com/

Amy Lynn Green's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/amygreenbooks

My full 5-star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3210265418

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Recommendation - The Curse of Misty Wayfair

Image
My very first read of 2019 was this super-creepy dual timeline novel, The Curse of Misty Wayfair by Jaime Jo Wright. I discovered Ms. Wright at the beginning of 2018 when I found her debut novel, The House on Foster Hill, and LOVED it. Later in the year, she released The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond, which I also thoroughly enjoyed. Though this one spooked me the most (I had ghostly dreams a time or two while reading this one), I think this is the best one yet! This book goes back and forth between Thea in 1908 and Heidi in present day. Both are on a quest to find themselves and for both of them, their quest has brought them to the small town of Pleasant Valley, WI. There is a curse that supposedly haunts the woods, and both characters in their respective timelines are drawn into the curse and what it means for them. In their quests, both of them also come face to face with their Creator. Here's the back-cover blurb for those interested in learning more about the story line: ...
Read more

Book Recommendation - A Secret to Die For

Image
Lisa Harris's most recent novel was one of my most anticipated suspense novels this season. I was super excited to be selected as an influencer for this book. One of the aspects that had me intrigued was that the main character was a psychologist. For those that don't know, my undergrad degree is in Psychology, so I always find it fascinating to see things from their perspective. Ms. Harris did an excellent job of portraying her role.  Psychologist Grace Callahan has no idea that she has a secret--one worth killing for. But when she finds out one of her clients has been murdered, she quickly realizes that the computer security specialist wasn't simply suffering from paranoia. Detective Nate Quinn has just been cleared for active duty after a bombing killed eighteen people, including his partner, and left him dealing with PTSD. His first case back on the job involves the murder of Stephen Shaw, and his only lead turns out to be an old friend, Grace Callahan--and her life ...
Read more

Book Recommendation - A Perfect Weakness

Image
I recently had the pleasure of being a part of a launch team for a work of romantic historical fiction, which is a genre that is slowly growing on me (as long as the romance isn't super gushy). Jennifer Davids is a "new to me" author, so I was a bit hesitant. But I didn't need to be. The book was very well written and the characters were delightful. I was immediately drawn into the time of 1860s England, where we meet our heroine, Penelope Howard, at the grave of her uncle who had recently passed. He was the lord of Ashford hall in the village of Woodley. His heir is an American doctor who must be convinced to come to England and become a lord. Here we meet John Turner, who has given up medicine for a reason unknown to us at this time. He appreciates the opportunity to escape his troubles and find his way to England. He plans to settle the estate, hand the reigns to another, and hide away in England.  The story focuses on the lives of these 2 main characters, John and...
Read more