Headstrong Johanna Berglund, a linguistics student at the University of Minnesota, has very definite plans for her future . . . plans that do not include returning to her hometown and the secrets and heartaches she left behind there. But the US Army wants her to work as a translator at a nearby camp for German POWs.
Johanna arrives to find the once-sleepy town exploding with hostility. Most … Most patriotic citizens want nothing to do with German soldiers laboring in their fields, and they’re not afraid to criticize those who work at the camp as well. When Johanna describes the trouble to her friend Peter Ito, a language instructor at a school for military intelligence officers, he encourages her to give the town that rejected her a second chance.
As Johanna interacts with the men of the camp and censors their letters home, she begins to see the prisoners in a more sympathetic light. But advocating for better treatment makes her enemies in the community, especially when charismatic German spokesman Stefan Werner begins to show interest in Johanna and her work. The longer Johanna wages her home-front battle, the more the lines between compassion and treason become blurred–and it’s no longer clear whom she can trust.
more
Dear Reader,
I am pleased to inform you that this book is well worth your time. Amy Green has provided us with a fresh, unique look at life on the American home front during WWII.
Johanna Berglund is a young linguistics student who is asked to work as a translator at a German POW camp. She makes it her mission to help smooth relations between the disgruntled citizens of her hometown and the German soldiers she works with at Camp Ironside. In the process, she gets accused of treason and must prove she isn’t the spy people believe her to be.
This book is written entirely as a collection of letters between Johanna, a newspaper editor, her roommate from school, the local pastor, and a Japanese American language instructor who she finds herself falling in love with. It’s original, witty, and altogether just an enjoyable read.
If you’re a fan of WWII fiction, then pick up a copy of this book. I think you’ll love it as much as I did.
Sincerely,
A Fellow Reader
It’s hard to believe this is Ms. Green’s debut novel. Wow. It’s plain to see that she put a lot of thought and research into this book. I had no idea that there were German POW camps in the US during WW II. It did take me a bit to get used to reading the epistolary style of this book, but I enjoyed it. It made me think about when I was younger and had pen pals. I actually miss the act of writing letters instead of texting.
Johanna was so strong, smart and witty. I loved watching her grow in her faith and I especially loved Peter. He was kind and encouraging and such a good friend to Johanna. I highly recommend this book.
**Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.**
I’ve just become an Amy Green fan. Have you ever watched someone finger weave? Or knit? Or stitch together an intricately-designed quilt? I can’t do any of those things, and I’m enthralled by watching those who can. But I do write, and I’ve been studying WWII POW camps on the home front, and maybe that’s why I am so in awe of Amy Green’s first novel (according to the author’s note).
Using a very atypical story format, she has written what seems like a giant quilt pattern of relationships and story layers and laid each piece perfectly into place, seaming together a story rich with history, intrigue, and emotion. And like a finger-weaver, she kept hold of numerous threads at once and managed to snug each one tightly into place. She also resisted the urge to give away too much too soon, and I found myself trying to read between the lines of “things we didn’t say” to ferret out hints. All this combined it gave me a powerful reading experience.
The story itself, written through letters by various characters, all pointing to a charge of treason against the sharp-edged yet endearing protagonist, is a format that had to have been extremely challenging to write, especially since much of the correspondence overlaps in time and through distance during the second World War. I applaud her skill, and most of all, her attention to historic detail. I look forward to seeing what she writes next.
Wow!
Not only has Amy Lynn Green written a very memorable debut, I will say that this is one of my favorite reads of the year. I have only read a couple of epistolary novels and I can already imagine what a great audiobook this will make(my favorite way to experience epistolary novels).
With a fresh voice to fiction, the author pens an eclectic cast of characters through the various letters that surround a POW camp and the young woman who was at first unwillingly serving as translator. Ms. Green gives the readers a heroine who is outwardly brusque and obstinate, but taps an unexpected inner strength as a crusader for justice.
The many letters in this novel hold a magnifying glass that reveals the individual flaws and prejudices that can taint a community and how one strong voice can speak for justice….and grace for all.
This book is for the keeper shelf and I hope to read many more books by this author in the future.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author/publisher and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.
I am not a huge fan of epistolary novels and was not aware that this was one when I requested it to review. However, that preference aside, I really did enjoy this story. I know that it is a challenge to tell a complete story through letters alone, yet I feel like it was really well done. There were a few parts where the story dragged, but then there were parts where I totally did not want to put it down.
It was fascinating to emerge into the world of POW camps and letter censoring of WWII. I enjoyed the various points of views featured through letters and newspaper clippings.
Being that it was all letters, the romance in this is what I consider very appropriate for all audiences. It was a romance of denial, for lack of better terms. Toward the end, I was just waiting for that one letter that absolutely had to come.
The Christian content was not a super strong point in the story, in my opinion. Johanna questioned God and His involvement in people’s lives, wondering why He was silent and while it did get semi-resolved in the end, it just was not quite as strong a thread. Also, because the denomination was Lutheran, there were a couple of more Calvinistic comments regarding the sovereignty of God.
Apart from that doctrinal difference I have with this book, it is one that I would hand to almost any teen, as it presents a fascinating side of World War II.
*I received this book from NetGalley and happily provided an honest review*
Amy Lynn Green has written a captivating debut novel! This unique WWII story is told entirely through letters, newspaper articles, and other correspondence. Even with the challenging format, the author captured each character’s distinct voice through their writing and wove together a fascinating look at some little-known aspects of the WWII era in America. We learn about life in a German POW camp through Johanna’s eyewitness accounts, and understand more about the struggles Japanese Americans faced through Peter’s perspective.
The epistolary format makes for rich characterization as we get inside the characters’ heads through their writing. I really enjoyed Johanna’s wit and determination, and Peter’s wisdom and encouraging spirit. Although we are reading about the action after the fact, there is still plenty of tension and anticipation to keep you turning pages!
This book is a peek into history wrapped up in a powerful, moving story that will linger with you after the last page. Fans of Sarah Sundin and Roseanna M. White will especially enjoy this novel. It will be going on my list of favorite books of 2020, and I will be eagerly awaiting whatever Amy Lynn Green writes next!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This book really surprised me… and in the best way possible.
I love letter-writing SO much! Pretty much any book involving letters interests me because… I LOVE them! That being said, as this one is told completely through letters… I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to like it. I wondered how I could truly get to know the characters and things like that… well, I shouldn’t have doubted.
This book was amazing! Yes, it took me a bit to get into it but it’s no fault of the book’s. I simply had to get into the story, learn who the characters were, get invested in it… and once I did, it was wonderful.
The characters are so full of life. Really. Jo and Peter were such great characters.
Jo was a character that really grew on me. She’s such a complex character. She’s full of fire and spunk but she’s also flawed and human. Her journey and character development throughout was inspiring to read, and some of the advice she got hit home.
Peter was incredible. Seriously. He has to be one of the best pen pal writers ever, even if he is fictional! His advice to Jo throughout the letters, how he’s a friend who doesn’t just tell you want to hear but tells you what you need to hear because he cares. He was an amazing friend and such a great hero!
The romance was not the focus of this novel and I was entirely okay with that. That being said, it was subtlety here. Oh, I felt it alright, and loved it.
I just love how they fall in love with each other as a person and it goes deeper than mere attraction to looks.
There were twists and turns that made it hard to put down but I also loved the spice-of-life element to it. It was so enjoyable and fun to read about little things going on in the characters lives!
I smiled and laughed and teared up!
This book was beautiful and had so many beautiful, thoughtful quotes as well! Also it ironically fit so well with this time in the world. It was encouraging and inspiring.
Truly a great debut novel. I can’t wait to see what Amy writes in the future! I’ll definitely be on the watch.
*Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC. All opinions are my own.
Things We Didn’t Say by debut author, Amy Lynn Green, is an epistolary novel that places in Minnesota during World War II. I adore World War II novels, so I gravitated toward this novel because of the time period. In college, I read a couple of novels written completely in novels. One of my favorite epistolary novels is the novel of Dracula by Bram Stroker. While that story is completely written from Jonathon Harker’s journal, it is pretty much the same idea, but in only one viewpoint, not in many different writers. While I know Green wanted the story to be told as a story, I think it missed the part on this. Because the story is completely in letter format, readers don’t really get to understand the character’s emotions and personalities except what they allow to shine all the pages of their personal writings or from the lenses of other characters. As the letters moved along, readers do encounter a passage of time through the letters and see what is occurring to the characters, but there has to be some conflict or it would not be a story. There were hints of something awful that was going to happen, but I wanted more. I wanted more emotions. I wanted more conflict. It didn’t seem that important to the characters either until something awful happen. I don’t think writing the story was best delivered in a letter format. It might have been better written as part journal, part story so that way the readers could experience what was happening. The story didn’t really capture my attention the way it should. Not that Green is not a fabulous writer. She had the viewpoint down. She had the descriptions down, but I felt like we were missing something in the story. Maybe that is the point hence the title Things We Didn’t Say. If that was the purpose, then I guess I caught on pretty quickly. Overall, Things We Didn’t Say by Amy Green should have been delivered as an actual novel. Being delivered in letter format is a disservice to the actual importance of the plot line.
I received a complimentary copy of Things We Didn’t Say by Amy Green from Bethany House Publishers, but the opinions stated is all my own.
Let me start this review by saying that this book written entirely in letters, newspaper articles, written interviews, and transcripts of conversations. The reader does not have any interaction with the characters except through what they write, if and when they write. Or, you may experience someone’s opinion of them if they wrote it down.
On some levels, the format made the Things We Didn’t Say difficult to read. It felt as if I was jumping from one person’s head to another and it was a bit hard to keep up with who was saying what. It was also a bit disorienting because the minute I got into the character’s voice I was in some other person’s head.
But then, I began to feel a real admiration for this new-to-me author. It takes a lot of skill to create a mishmash of literary pieces written in different voices from different viewpoints and have each voice remain distinct. I would still have enjoyed being in the middle of the action instead of being told about it after the fact in a letter it or newspaper article but I imagine this is how Charles Donohue Jr. felt ( no, I’m not going to tell you who that is. If you wanna know, go read the book).
After a while, some of the characters became real to me and I could identify their voice even without seeing the tags identifying the letter writer.
Things We Didn’t Say is a commentary on humanity–we can allow our fears to either drive us to take risks to better the world we live in or cause is to lash out in hate at each other. It’s a reminder that we can choose to treat even those we perceive as enemies as neighbors and see their humanity even when they have done inhumane things.
It’s a reminder that God is with us in the silence and He will make a way when there seems to be no way.
I received an advanced reader’s copy from the publishers through NetGalley; a positive review was not required.
This story is told through a series of letters and newspaper articles. No “live action” at all.
Johanna Berglund possesses no subtlety. She says what she thinks, no matter how ungracious. Not everyone appreciates her pearls of wisdom. When she’s manipulated into working as a German translator at a POW camp in Minnesota, she faces a lot of opposition from townsfolk who do not want the enemy close by. Her abrasive personality doesn’t help.
The sensationalist newspaperman wants scandal and profits, not truth. The camp commander’s wife wants to go back to New York, away from this backwoods hick town, and she gossips about Johanna. Jo exchanges letters with a man with a Japanese surname. When Jo’s accused of treason, who will believe in her?
The unique writing format leaves out a lot, but kept this reader enthralled. I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review program.
This book was utterly fantastic! I will start by saying that it is an epistolary novel (told in the form of letters, telegrams, and notes, etc.). Some people don’t like that style because it generally is difficult to tell a story well in that manner, but Ms. Green overcame that obstacle beautifully. The story was told well in that format, without taking the reader out of the method or making the letters sound un-letter-like. That this was set in the 1940s when letter writing was the best way to communicate long distance helped to set the stage smartly.
One thing I did not know before reading this book is that there were POW camps here in the US during WWII. This book brought in unique facets of the War and how it impacted the US in the POW camps, the language training schools (to train soldiers to speak Japanese), and the internment camps. In addition to being educational in that regard, and having an enjoyable story-line, I absolutely adored the characters. Johanna is no doubt the type of person my child would be if I had one. With my no-nonsense attitude and my husband’s wit and sarcasm, Johanna was the perfect combination of us and I found myself relating well to her on those grounds. I loved her spirit and her way of going about things and I loved how Peter grounded her and kept her focused on the right things. I adored Pastor Sorenson and his steady faithfulness, and Cornelia Knutson gets an award for best supporting character – I just adored her – and her collection of hats!
Because the letter writing happens over time and there’s a natural time of progression, the character growth happens fluidly and naturally. I loved to watch Johanna grow and blossom in her circumstances and struggles as she wrote to Peter, Olive, Annika, Pastor Sorenson, Cornelia, and even the POWs. The faith thread is solid in this one as Johanna struggles with the concept of unanswered prayers and those around her encourage her in her faith. This book took me through all of the emotions. I would be laughing one moment at something that Johanna or Peter said and then all of a sudden, I’ve been punched in the gut with a truism brought abut by that same anecdote. There were thoughts on race relations (Peter, as a Japanese American dealt with a good deal of racism, and the German POWs noted that the American treatment of Blacks wasn’t so different than their treatment of Jews), faith struggles, lost friendships, and regrets. The story-line was redemptive and moving, though, as these things were all worked through. This was one that definitely makes you think and is entertaining as well. That this is the author’s debut novel makes this even more impressive. Ms. Green is now on my “watch list” of authors and I plan to read whatever she releases next!
Special thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance e-copy of this book. I was not obligated to write a review and the thoughts contained herein are my own.
This is a fascinating book. The story is told by a series of letters written during WWII. Most of the tale concerns a POW farm labor camp in Minnesota and the translator who worked there. I also live in an area where POWs lived and worked. Post-war, many stayed to become American citizens because in the USA they could own land and be their own boss. The story is entirely believable and well-written I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.
Unique writing style:
It was a nice change having this book be in the format of only letters, telegrams and newspaper articles and I thought it gave us insight into a number of different characters and perspectives. I was surprised how captivating this writing style could be and I wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next.
I thought the author did a good job of highlighting the injustices experienced by prisoners of war interred in the USA during WWII. I grew very fond of Johanna, a linguistic student brought in to translate at a German POW camp and I liked seeing her personal growth and development. Her simple romance with Peter was also really sweet. This book had underlying themes of faith, trust and love woven throughout.
Overall I really enjoyed this debut novel and I look forward to reading upcoming books by this talented author.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
I really enjoyed this epistolary WWII novel about a WWII POW camp that was being built in Ironside Lake, MN, former home of Johanna Bergland, a student of linguistics at the University of Minnesota. Johanna had a full-ride scholarship to the college and was looking forward to graduating and moving to London to be a translator of books. The US Army wanted her to be the translator at Camp Ironside for the German POWs. Johanna was offered the job which she rejected a couple of times until her full-ride scholarship was mysteriously revoked. The pay was very good so she finally decides to leave college for a year and take the job. The town was very hostile about having a POW camp there and they are not very welcoming to Johanna. As Johanna begins working with the prisoners, she starts to see them in a more sympathetic light which causes her to wonder who she can trust and who she can’t.
Thank you NetGalley and Bethany House Publishers for the ARC of this fantastic page turner in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this book, the entire book is built on letters, becoming a lost art, and we get an indebth look at the life of Johanna Berglund. Johanna is a brilliant woman, and is fluent in languages, so she is persuaded to come home to her own town in MN and translate for the new internment facility being built there for German prisoners.
The time period is WWII and emotions and loss are high, patriotism, and now a camp is coming into their back yard.
Johanna’s life is laid open here, along with her friends, mainly Peter, and your concern for him will certainly go up!
A don’t miss book that gives a personal look into this period of time in our countries history!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Bethany House, and was not required to give a positive review.
I absolutely cannot say enough about “Things We Didn’t Say,” by Amy Lynn Green. Masterfully written and beautifully planned, the story details Johanna Berglund and her growth and struggles as a translator in a WWII POW camp for Germans in her hometown. The material was researched to the utmost and presented in the form of letters, which creates a distinct sense of realism and builds a personal connection between the reader and the characters. That this is a debut novel is completely mind blowing. I cannot wait to read what Amy Lynn Green offers next.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley and was not required to write a favorable review. All opinions are my own.
This was the first book I’d ever read that was written in the epistolary style. It was very different, but also very enlightening because the reader is allowed to get inside the characters’ heads.
I confess I knew next to nothing about the German POW camps in the United States during World War II. I knew they were there and that’s about it. My own uncle was a POW for thirteen months in Stalag 17 during the same war and was treated very horribly. Our own family never received any word from or about him until after his liberation. So it was good to know that the German prisoners in the United States were treated kindly and allowed to communicate with their families. This book has spurred me to research this situation for myself. I love to learn and Amy Lynn Green’s writing has mademe very much interested in learning more.
Well written and flowing nicely, this is a debut novel that you’ll want to add to your TBR pile. Recommended.
*My thanks to Bethany House Publishing for a copy of this book via Net Galley. The opinion is my own.