Author: Teresa Messineo
Published by: William Morrow on Jan. 17, 2017
Genres: Historical Fiction
Pages: 336
Format: eBook, ARC
Source: William Morrow, Edelweiss
Book Rating: 9/10
A powerful and evocative debut novel about two American military nurses during World War II that illuminates the unsung heroism of women who risked their lives in the fight—a riveting saga of friendship, valor, sacrifice, and survival combining the grit and selflessness of Band of Brothers with the emotional resonance of The Nightingale.
In war-torn France, Jo McMahon, an Italian-Irish girl from the tenements of Brooklyn, tends to six seriously wounded soldiers in a makeshift medical unit. Enemy bombs have destroyed her hospital convoy, and now Jo singlehandedly struggles to keep her patients and herself alive in a cramped and freezing tent close to German troops. There is a growing tenderness between her and one of her patients, a Scottish officer, but Jo’s heart is seared by the pain of all she has lost and seen. Nearing her breaking point, she fights to hold on to joyful memories of the past, to the times she shared with her best friend, Kay, whom she met in nursing school.
Half a world away in the Pacific, Kay is trapped in a squalid Japanese POW camp in Manila, one of thousands of Allied men, women, and children whose fates rest in the hands of a sadistic enemy. Far from the familiar safety of the small Pennsylvania coal town of her childhood, Kay clings to memories of her happy days posted in Hawaii, and the handsome flyer who swept her off her feet in the weeks before Pearl Harbor. Surrounded by cruelty and death, Kay battles to maintain her sanity and save lives as best she can . . . and live to see her beloved friend Jo once more.
When the conflict at last comes to an end, Jo and Kay discover that to achieve their own peace, they must find their place—and the hope of love—in a world that’s forever changed. With rich, superbly researched detail, Teresa Messineo’s thrilling novel brings to life the pain and uncertainty of war and the sustaining power of love and friendship, and illuminates the lives of the women who risked everything to save others during a horrifying time.
Review:
Incredibly moving, hauntingly realistic and exceptionally captivating!
This is an impactful story that is told from two different perspectives. Jo, an American nurse whose compassion and strength are tested near the front lines of the western front. And Kay, Jo’s friend and fellow nurse who must endure horrific conditions and extreme brutality after being taken as a POW by the Japanese in the Pacific.
This is story about war, strength, bravery, hope, loss, injustice, love, and survival.
The prose is poetic. The imagery is remarkably descriptive. The characters are young, dedicated, damaged and disheartened. And the plot uses alternating points-of-view, and a back-and-forth style to give depth and understanding to all the personalities, relationships, and situations within it.
Overall, I would have to say I found this story to be profound and heartbreaking and a real reminder of just how indomitable the human spirit can truly be.
This novel is due to be published on January 17, 2017.
Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following Amazon links.
Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Indigo, Kobo, Book Depository, B&N
Thank you to Edelweiss, especially William Morrow, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.