The five stars represent my affinity for this book. It is a great
historical novel showing diligent research and patient, natural building
of a story in the framework of the beginning, middle, end and aftermath
of World War II. I am probably 10 years younger than Margie, the
heroine, but I was aware of the worry before the war, the many concerns
of families with those serving "overseas" during the war, the hardships
the rationing cost the civilian population at home, the Fireside chats,
the dimes saved in booklets for war bonds everyone bought, and the
endless long years it seemed to take for the war to end. I remember the
cover of Life magazine with the sailor kissing the nurse, the atomic
bombs on Japan, Truman taking over after Roosevelt died, and the
fighters coming home after the war. I remember the little flags with
service stars in almost every window. It really was a world at war and
it took unbelieveable effort to win it and deal with it later. When the
service men and women came home, there wasn't enough employment to go
around and the men took over in the factories as the women went home
(like it or not). The author added so much more to what I knew, and
described what a young woman and her family went through during these
long years.Margie was a very appealing character, and the author portrayed her growth as she was schooled as a nurse-anesthetist, joined the service, had several loves, saw the South Pacific and the invasion of the Japanese into the Philippines, and was brought into the worst of the war. She was badly needed with her skills, was part of a cadre of other nurses left on the island, and held in a Japanese war camp. The book is a page-turner in the very best sense of the words. Come take a very real walk in our history!