384 pages Simon & Schuster Canada publisher Pub Date Apr 27 2021
ABOUT THE BOOK
Inspired by a little-known chapter of World War II history, a young Protestant girl and her Jewish neighbour are caught up in the terrible wave of hate sweeping the globe on the eve of war in this powerful love story that’s perfect for fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
If you’re reading this letter, that means I’m dead. I had obviously hoped to see you again, to explain in person, but fate had other plans.
1933
At eighteen years old, Molly Ryan dreams of becoming a journalist, but instead she spends her days working any job she can to help her family through the Depression crippling her city. The one bright spot in her life is watching baseball with her best friend, Hannah Dreyfus, and sneaking glances at Hannah’s handsome older brother, Max.
But as the summer unfolds, more and more of Hitler’s hateful ideas cross the sea and “Swastika Clubs” and “No Jews Allowed” signs spring up around Toronto, a city already simmering with mass unemployment, protests, and unrest. When tensions between the Irish and Jewish communities erupt in a riot one smouldering day in August, Molly and Max are caught in the middle, with devastating consequences for both their families.
1939
Six years later, the Depression has eased and Molly is a reporter at her local paper. But a new war is on the horizon, putting everyone she cares about most in peril. As letters trickle in from overseas, Molly is forced to confront what happened all those years ago, but is it too late to make things right?
From the desperate streets of Toronto to the embattled shores of Hong Kong, Letters Across the Sea is a poignant novel about the enduring power of love to cross dangerous divides even in the darkest of times—from the #1 bestselling author of The Forgotten Home Child.
MY THOUGHTS
Letters Across the Sea is an incredible historical fiction book based on actual events in history. We start off in 1933, Told from the point of view of Molly Ryan’s family and mainly Molly herself. Molly’s family is Protestant, but she has many friends and neighbors who are Jewish.
Times are carefree with her brother’s playing baseball and her best friend’s brother Max having caught her eye. This carefree time doesn’t last long and Molly longs to be a journalist but must take any low paying job she can get her hands on as the Depression settle in. Signs warning the Jews not to apply for a job there litter Toronto’s city streets.
Hitler’s hateful ideas have filtered in and unrest has run rampant with disastrous results for both Max and Molly’s family.
The ill-equipped and unprepared Canadian military was sent to Hong Kong without proper training or ammunition. Those who didn’t die were to become prisoners of war.
I have read many WWII books but none that have so completely covered this angle of it. Finely researched the sacrifices these men and women made are heartbreaking, but we see such resilience from them. I learned so much from this book.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Genevieve Graham is the Globe & Mail, Toronto Star, and USA Today bestselling author of several novels, including #1 INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLERS Letters Across the Sea and The Forgotten Home Child—which was #1 across Canada for 11 weeks in 2020, and became the #5 bestselling Canadian fiction novel of 2020.
Genevieve graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Music, worked in advertising, marketing, and fundraising, then became a stay-at-home mom. In 2007, Genevieve decided to try writing a book using everything she’d learned from years of reading, focusing on historical fiction. Upon moving to Nova Scotia, she was suddenly surrounded by Canadian history she knew nothing about. Alarmed by what she’d never learned, she has made it her mission to bring Canadian history to life, writing one book per year. Bluebird, publishing April 2022, will be her 7th novel. She lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
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