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THOSE WE CARRY

An authentic story of love and war vividly detailed.

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Saxberg’s historical novel explores love and redemption against the backdrop of the European Theater in WWII.

The leads are the Canadian Ardagh “Harp” Cadieu and the Dutch woman Jacoba “Koos” van den Berg. Ardagh is from Northern Ontario, on Lake Superior, and he has suffered two tragic events in his young life—events where people died—and he carries that burden. In fact, that’s the main reason he enlists in the Canadian army. He hopes to escape his little town and to somehow assuage his guilt and cleanse his soul. When we meet 15-year-old Koos, it’s early in the war. Her small Dutch town will soon be occupied by the Nazis, and she’s chafing under her parents’ protective concern for her. When the Germans come, she joins the resistance in a dangerous balancing act, even leading on a young Nazi lieutenant and falling half in love with him after having had a crush on a neighbor boy who joins the Dutch SS. Meanwhile, Ardagh is training—endlessly, it seems—in England. He does get smuggled aboard his brother Hank’s Lancaster bomber and gets a taste of war. Landing in Normandy in ’44, he and his company fight their way across northern Europe and eventually liberate the small town where Koos lives. And, of course, these two young people, so often disappointed and frustrated, fall deeply in love. Will they find happiness? Will Koos become a war bride, starting a new life with her husband in Canada? And will Ardagh finally exorcise his guilt and gain the confidence he desperately needs?

This is a historical novel but not quite like the usual ones where fictional characters live their lives in the shadow of real history—and the major figures of the times appear in cameo roles. In fact, there are no “major” figures here at all. Instead, Saxberg has based the story on the tales of WWII and the Lake Superior Regiment that he grew up hearing about, specifically through the stories of his three great uncles, Ardagh, Gerald, and Wilf. So, thanks to a complete annotated list of characters at the back of the book, we learn that Harp, Hank, and Koos (and others), were, in fact, real people who figured in Saxberg family stories. Some characters were purely fictional, and others were inspired by real people or were even composites. And Saxberg confesses to also manipulating and rearranging the personal stories. It’s a look into how such a book is put together and a very clever mishmash; and incidentally, it’s a wonderful tribute to real enlistees: farmers, fishers, tradespeople, laborers, who signed up when needed, some of whom gave their lives. As one character says, “Every death was etched in the background of each success.” Saxberg’s theme is that we should carry with us the memories of our loved ones and that those memories somehow keep them alive. Not a novel idea, but one worth being reminded of from time to time. There are also helpful maps of battle sites.

An authentic story of love and war vividly detailed.

Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2024

ISBN: 9781068915406

Page Count: 324

Publisher: Reimagined Press

Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2024

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THE WOMEN

A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.

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A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.

When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.

A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.

Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024

ISBN: 9781250178633

Page Count: 480

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023

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IT STARTS WITH US

Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.

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The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.

Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.

Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.

Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Atria

Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022

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