Things We Didn't Say

GIVEAWAY

GREEN, AMY LYNN

THINGS WE DIDN'T SAY

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.

My Review:

Highly anticipated. Unexpected. Riveting. Completely different. And so much more it's going to be hard to to justice to this book in a review.

First, you must be a fan of epistolary fiction -- or at least dive in with an open mind -- because the entire novel is made up of letters with the exception of a few newspaper articles. I've been a fan of this genre since reading Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster in fifth grade. But these books are few and far between and the only other one that stands out for me right now is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Loved both those books and the way their stories unfold through letters so if you are also a fan then Things We Didn't Say is a book I think you will enjoy.

In a way, this letter writing approach keeps a reader at arms length since our scope is limited to the letters. We don't have 'real time' scenes with characters interacting or are allowed into the inner thoughts of a protagonist like a traditionally written novel. But there's something deliciously tantalizing about reading a treasure trove of correspondence while fitting the pieces of disparate lives together in order to make a cohesive whole. I kinda felt like part detective and part genealogist.

And the pacing is impeccable. It took me just a few letters to get into the rhythm and then I was compulsively reading all the way. Johanna's on a journey of self-discovery. She isn't always lovable but she grows on you as her world and her choices open up and she comes to terms with some hard truths. And untruths. She's blunt and funny and so very real! One of my favourite quotes: "Real life is dreadfully tedious, the way it interrupts reading." :-)

And there are so many layers to this novel -- addressing all kinds of war issues that I never even thought about. I'm always amazed and appreciative when authors open new aspects of a historical topic I thought I was well-versed in! 

An engrossing inspirational historical fiction debut!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback OR an ebook copy -- winner's choice

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Things We Didn't Say, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday December 25 2020. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!