Three generations of women come together in this page-turning debut full of family secrets, heart-wrenching drama, and the promise of second chances. Corfu, 1942: To sixteen-year-old Sarah Batis, the Nazis are a distant danger–of far greater threat is the opposing needs of her heart and her people. Tradition demands that Sarah marry a Jewish man. Only Sarah has fallen in love with a fisherman … in love with a fisherman outside their community. And when the Nazis invade, Sarah must watch from afar as her family is taken away. . .
Corfu, 2004: Sarah’s daughter, Bea, has built a happy life with a steadfast husband and two independent daughters. Their summers on the Greek island with the Winn family appear idyllic, especially the love that blossoms between Bea’s daughter Joey and Leo Winn. But there is a secret threatening their beach paradise.
Florida, 2019:Joey is only days away from marrying the nice Jewish man her family adores. The arrival of Leo, Joey’s first love, sends her reeling. Even after fifteen years, the attraction between them burns bright–but Leo isn’t looking for a happy reunion. He’s there to reveal why he really broke up with her during their last summer together.
Weddings have a way of bringing out the best–and worst–in those you love the most. And as the revelations of her family flood to the surface, what Joey learns will either bring them closer together . . . or tear them apart forever.
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I enjoyed the three generation focus of this book. This is an emotional read that involves family secrets, love, forgiveness, broken hearts. The back-and-forth chapter focus was handled well. I enjoy learning about new places and aspects of WWII. And this book did that through the island of Corfu. I had no idea they had a camp for Jews. Life-altering decisions are made and you need to read to the last page to discover how things end.
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
Captivating, poignant, and nostalgic!
When We Were Young is a heart-wrenching, affecting tale that takes you on a journey into the lives of three main characters. Sarah, a young Jewish girl who can never quite forgive after her love for a fisherman saves her life but not her family during the Nazis invasion of Corfu; Bea, an uninhibited mother of two who loves spending summers with family friends while simultaneously hiding a secret that could possibly destroy them all; and Joey, a woman whose life becomes completely upheaved when the love of her life suddenly reappears a few days before her upcoming nuptials to another man.
The prose is emotive and smooth. The characters are confused, troubled, and heartbroken. And the plot using a past/present, back-and-forth style intertwines and unravels effortlessly into a touching tale of familial dynamics, drama, emotion, secrets, love, loss, duty, heartbreak, passion, tradition, and self-discovery.
Overall, When We Were Young is a sentimental, heartfelt, promising debut by Goldis that does a wonderful job of highlighting the complex ties that bind families together and reminds us that happy-ever-after endings rarely resemble those we read about in fairytales.
Every time I read another WWII novel, I learn something new I did not know. There is so much that happened and it seemed to be happening literally everywhere on the European continent. This was written with three different storylines that all connect. Present Joey getting prepared to marry a good Jewish man, as her family expects and her grandmother Sarah remember her first love during the war. The third storyline is Joey as a child growing up, remembering summers at Corfu and her first love.
Joey gets a message a few days before her wedding, someone from her past wants to meet up and talk to her. She is torn, is it a betrayal to meet this person and not say anything until after? But she needs to know what they have to say, considering how things were left years ago. She has always had questions about that dinner and what she did to cause him a change of heart.
Sarah has often wondered why she was saved, why she was not rounded up like the rest of her family and sent to a camp. She feels guilt over her decisions at that time, and often feels the pain of heartache in that maybe she could have done something. She could have tried harder, she could have pushed harder and maybe they’d still also be alive today. As most people do, Sarah has secrets from her past and often if asked she will not discuss in detail her life across the ocean during the war. She doesn’t like to think about that time.
Joey, her mother Bea and grandmother Sarah all have a past, and as the days before the wedding plays out each one takes a look at their past and truths come to light. The good, the bad and the ugly. But in all of this realization, weights have been lifted, truths have been finally brought to light and a lesson to follow ones heart is found to be the most honest truth there is.
This was a very good storyline. There were quite a few twists and connections that I did not see coming, but it kept you clouded in a mystery of wanting to know more. I also had no idea about the island that also had a camp for Jews. Another place I had no idea about. Thank you to Read Forever Pub for the free novel. Another to add to your WWII list.
What an incredible debut from this author. I look forward to what comes next from her. This is a historical novel that goes back to Corfu, Greece in 1942 to contemporary times in Florida. Three strong women who love each other, but also have secrets that have brought them to where they are, but could also alert the fabric of their relationships and lives forever. We travel through time to understand what brought them to where they are. I loved the relationship between Sarah and Joey. There is nothing sweeter and more loving that that of a grandparent. Lots of emotion, twists and turns along the way. A truly wonderful read.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Some books and their characters stay with you long after you finish them, and this is one of those books for me. I loved the depth to the characters in this book, and how their stories fit together across the years. I was intrigued by the storyline and all the twists and turns, needing to turn the pages to find out what was going to be revealed next. The tales of love and loss throughout the book, both broke my heart and gave me hope. This book made me feel so many things, it was such a beautiful story. I received an ARC from netgalley, and this is my honest review.