“Tessa, I don’t know how to swing dance, and I wouldn’t be very good at it if I tried. But if you care, I’d like to do a different kind of dance with you.”Summer 1940. Fourteen-year-old Tessa Graham finds herself in a new, unfamiliar world. For her safety, she is sent from England to Chicago to live with the prominent Ardley family just before the London Blitz. Stifled by the ways of the rich, … ways of the rich, she is soon drawn to the city’s infamous South Side. A world filled with jitterbug dancing and intrigues of the powerful Irish community. But is this the escape she really wants?
On the University of Chicago campus, eighteen-year-old Anthony Ardley has to make a choice. His country stands at the brink of war. Conscription threatens to become reality. As sole heir to the Ardley fortune, should he stand with his beloved uncle, a staunch isolationist, or join his radical classmates clamoring for American intervention?
What will happen when Tessa and Anthony cross paths on the way to discovering themselves?
A coming of age tale that emerges into an epic love story, this book takes you back to Chicago in the pre-war era, when two young people must find their paths in a world that is fast falling out of control.
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Bit fluffy but good summer read…
I liked the historical aspects of the book- – setting, social scene, the place of women during that time. It took a while to come to a conclusion at the end of the book; but the conclusion doesn’t really happen until in the later books.
I did not like how it ended, thought it should have gone on. Need to get the next in the series I suppose.
First part of a series and is unfinished without completing the series. At times it was slow moving and I quickly skimmed through large sections in the middle.
So realistic. You can imagine yourself in this well written story. The twist and turns keep you wanting more. I have purchased the next 5 books in the series. Can’t wait to read more.
Exceptional. You need to read the entire series, so if you have the time to for it. For those that are WE 2 lovers, this has it all. Action, romance , scary and unpredictable. Tessa and Anthony are the main charaters, but the entire family gets involved. The stories concerning the war are both amusing and tearful.
Great writer. This is first in a series and all I want to do is read the rest of the books!
An interesting and engaging novel of a teen growing up in WW 11 Chicago. I enjoyed reading it.
Have to get the next one !!
I was disappointed that I will have to buy more books to get the whole story.
This was historical fiction with a different spin regarding WW II. I read all the books in the series and enjoyed them. I marvel at what “The Greatest Generation” endured.
I couldn’t keep all the people and names straight in the beginning of the book..some were dead, some alive, some named after dead people. I found it to be a very interesting story dealing with World War Ii through the eyes of young adults. However, be aware that there is a cliff hanger ending just as the romance between the two main characters starts to gel.
Great story, can’t wait to read the next in this series.
I read the first four Rose of Anzio books and loved them!