I share the same belief as the other reviewers that this isn't the best of Pam Jenoff, but nevertheless, I kept reading it to the end even though it seemed a bit overlong. All the missed chances with Charlie, some of them being Addie's fault, got to be tiring. All in all, it wasn't too bad, though. ( )

I went back and forth from liking this book a lot, to just liking it a little. Addie is sent to America by her Italian Jewish parents to escape fascist Italy. She goes to live with her aunt and uncle in Philadelphia, then spends the summers at the shore near Atlantic City, NJ. There she meets an Irish American family and becomes like a sister to the 4 boys and a daughter to the mother. However, tragedy strikes and everything changes. Addie runs off to London, but tries to find her way home again. It is a story of love, forgiveness, and finding your way. ( )

un romanzo ambientato in una precisa data storica deve essere verosimile. Qui si tralascia che nel 1941 in Italia c'erano da tre anni le leggi razziali contro gli ebrei e che eravamo in guerra da due anni contro l'Inghilterra! Si dimentica che quando gli USA entrarono in guerra, lo fecero anche contro l'Italia e che quindi gli italiani in USA vennero internati o comunque controllati.
Queste incongruenze storiche abbassano il voto, e di tanto ( )

The story begins with sixteen-year-old Italian Jewish immigrant Adelia (“Addie”) Montforte arriving in America in 1941, having been sent by her parents to take refuge from the Germans with her aunt and uncle in Philadelphia.

Addie is despondent, but perks up when the three of them go to the New Jersey seaside for the summer and she meets the Connally family next door. Irish-Catholic and full of life and fun, the parents and their four boys take Addie into their lives immediately. She loves them all, but in particular is attracted to Charlie, the oldest of the boys; he is her first crush. But when America enters WWII, Charlie is gung-ho to sign up and go abroad.

Before he takes off, however, tragedy strikes the Connally family, and they pack up and leave for parts unknown without a word to Addie. Addie herself flees - first to Washington, and then, after an unexpected encounter with her past, overseas to work in the London office of "The Washington Post." There, she steps into roles unusual for women, but suited to the woman of talent and moxie she has become. But she can’t forget Charlie, nor the calamity that tore them all apart.

In the end though, there is a realization by the characters that the old world didn’t exist anymore, with all of the bittersweet implications that epiphany produced. Still, there is an opportunity for redemption, and hope for a better future.

Discussion: Jenoff is a good writer who pulls you in right from the beginning, adding historical elements that impart interest and significance to the story. I didn’t like Addie a lot, however; I thought many of her actions were selfish, especially regarding her behavior toward her aunt and uncle. Even in the end, when she was supposed to be “wiser” about what mattered, she sort of blew off her aunt, who was in a time of great need. Nevertheless, it’s a good story, and one I continued to think about after I had read it. ( )

I really liked this one — a lot! — and yet it somehow left me disappointed. I can’t even say why I am disappointed, but somehow the story left me wanting for…..something.

This is a WWII era story, which is always a draw for me. One specific thing that attracted me to this book was a perceived Italy connection, but in truth, this connection is very minimal. Addie, the main character is indeed from Italy, but she comes over to America at the beginning of the story and there isn’t really much else said about Italy. A much more important part of the story is that she is a Jew during WWII; a dangerous time to be a Jew in Italy or any other part of Europe!

Addie is sent to the safety of America to live with her Aunt and Uncle, whom she has never met. There she meets and becomes part of an Irish-Catholic family and falls in love with the oldest son. When tragedy strikes the family, she runs off to Washington DC. While there she again runs into Charile, the oldest son, and then flees to London. I think one of my issues with the story was timing. Everything moved entirely too quickly. Though it felt like this took place over a span of years….at least a decade or two….the entire story took place in only 3-4 years! That seemed much too short a period to have moved past an event that was so life-changing!

Another issue I had was that I really didn’t like Addie very much. At the beginning of the book she seemed to be an independent, resourceful young woman. One example is that when her aunt and uncle failed to show up to claim her at the port where her ship docked, she managed to talk her way into the country anyway. But she quickly regressed to a girl lacking in confidence who lets the men in her life dictate how she should proceed with her life. I’m not sure, even at the end of the story, that she had gotten past that. And she made bad decision after bad decision always, in my opinion, choosing the wrong man and failing to recognize the signs that a man was interested. She also, while professing to be grateful to her aunt for taking her in, didn’t really demonstrate that she was grateful. More than once she chose to ‘follow a man’ when her aunt could have used her support and presence. Addie was really a pretty self-absorbed girl.

That said, I really did enjoy the story. Though I didn’t like Addie, or even Charlie, there were several characters I did like. If you enjoy WWII era stories, pick this one up!

This book review is included in a tour by TLC Book Tours. I was provided a copy for review purposes. ( )