Looking for something to recommend to fans of The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie Society or Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand? I just finished the emotionally charged story of Cora Blake, a librarian in Maine, who travels to Europe as a Gold Star Mother on a government-sponsored trip to visit the grave of her son Sammy, killed overseas in WWI. Along the way Cora and the other mothers—all from very different walks of life—face a death, a scandal, and must deal with a secret revealed. I really felt like I got to know the characters and enjoyed the fact that this was based on an aspect of history that I didn’t know much about. Would be a great title for discussion groups.
“A heartfelt glimpse into a little-known episode in U.S. history…Smith’s historical fiction is captivating and enlightening.”—Deborah Donovan, Booklist (starred review)
“Captivating…Smith captures the mothers’ interactions in beautiful detail and delves into the government’s not-entirely-altruistic reasons for sponsoring the trip.” –Publishers Weekly
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