Things We Didn't Say by Amy Lynn Green

Headstrong and determined, linguistics student Johanna Berglund has very definite plans for her future . . . plans that do not include returning to her hometown and the secrets and heartaches she left behind. But when the only way to her intended future is through undertaking a translator position at a nearby camp for German POWs, she reluctantly accepts.

Johanna arrives to find the once-sleepy Minnesota town exploding with hostility. 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 close 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 prisoners and censors their letters home, she begins to see them in a more sympathetic light, but advocating for better treatment makes her enemies in the community. The longer Johanna wages her home-front battle, the more the lines between compassion and treason become blurred--and she must decide where her heart truly lies.

This was a fantastic novel! I love epistolary novels and historical novels and this was a great example. It was refreshing to see WWII from the home front side of things. I really enjoyed the characters as well. Johnanna was spunky and daring and Peter was so kind. I would like to be friends with both of them in real life. I liked the pacing also. The reader was given little pieces of information here and there that give hints about what is to come. I highly recommend this for historical fiction fans, especially if you like novel told through letters.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

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