"The world isn't black and white. No one does pure good or pure bad. It's all gray. Therefore, no one is better than anyone else." - Marc Stiegler
I don't usually quote someone other than the author when reviewing a book, but while reading The Lines Between Us by Amy Lynn Gray, I often thought about black and white (right and wrong) and countless shades of gray in life.
I was completely captivated by this historical novel, a WWII story like none other I've read. Set in 1945, it features Gordon Hopper, a conscientious objector whose family heritage and new-found Quaker faith prevent him from enlisting in the military. He and other like-minded individuals perform "work of national importance" by serving as smokejumpers in a heavily wooded area of Oregon. When his best friend Jack is seriously injured in a mysterious winter forest fire, Gordon has many questions.
Dorie Armitage, Jack's sister and proud member of the Women's Army Corps, doesn't respect conscientious objectors but is compelled to investigate Jack's accident. While visiting the area under false pretenses, she's forced to work with Gordon, but her need for the truth by any means necessary clashes with his principles to be honest in all things.
I was never sure where this novel would take me, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The author's extensive research was evident, and I appreciated learning historical facts about the US homefront. I won't say more to avoid spoiling the reading journey for others.
Thank you to Bethany House and NetGalley for a review copy of this outstanding novel. I plan to read Ms. Green's debut Things We Didn't Say as soon as possible.
I don't usually quote someone other than the author when reviewing a book, but while reading The Lines Between Us by Amy Lynn Gray, I often thought about black and white (right and wrong) and countless shades of gray in life.
I was completely captivated by this historical novel, a WWII story like none other I've read. Set in 1945, it features Gordon Hopper, a conscientious objector whose family heritage and new-found Quaker faith prevent him from enlisting in the military. He and other like-minded individuals perform "work of national importance" by serving as smokejumpers in a heavily wooded area of Oregon. When his best friend Jack is seriously injured in a mysterious winter forest fire, Gordon has many questions.
Dorie Armitage, Jack's sister and proud member of the Women's Army Corps, doesn't respect conscientious objectors but is compelled to investigate Jack's accident. While visiting the area under false pretenses, she's forced to work with Gordon, but her need for the truth by any means necessary clashes with his principles to be honest in all things.
I was never sure where this novel would take me, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The author's extensive research was evident, and I appreciated learning historical facts about the US homefront. I won't say more to avoid spoiling the reading journey for others.
Thank you to Bethany House and NetGalley for a review copy of this outstanding novel. I plan to read Ms. Green's debut Things We Didn't Say as soon as possible.
