Publishers Weekly
This sweeping debut novel, told through letters and alternating points of view, is ambitious and compelling. During the turmoil of WWII, three Chicago roommates discover that matters of the heart cannot be controlled or planned. Betty Cordell hopes to avoid her mother's mistakes by marrying well. Julia Renard rejects a prestigious fashion internship in order to be waiting for her fiancé when he comes home from the war. Liz Stephens begins to question her future as a professor and a politician's wife as she corresponds with a soldier who thinks she's Betty. Deft description and solid research take readers to the trenches in Europe, a field hospital in Dutch New Guinea, and the glittering lights of Chicago society. Though McMorris's flowery prose sometimes teeters on the edge of hokey, this novel will appeal to historical fiction fans hungry for a romance of the "Greatest Generation." (Mar.)
From the Publisher
Praise for LETTERS FROM HOME:
"Letters from Home is an insightful portrait of the communion between the soldiers who fought for our country and those they left behind. A gripping and memorable story, it is a timeless lesson in love and loss and the moments that shape our lives."
—Pamela Jenoff, author of The Kommandant's Girl
"Letters from Home is an absorbing debut, combining the emotional power of The Notebook with the stirring history and drama of Saving Private Ryan. An evocative and compelling storyteller, Kristina McMorris gives us a novel to savor and remember."
—Ben Sherwood, bestselling author of The Death & Life of Charlie St. Cloud
"Nothing magnifies the intense passion and anxiety of romance and love so much as being in a time of war. Kristina McMorris admirably captures not only these emotions but the atmosphere of World War II in this page turning and enchanting novel."
—Lois Battle, author of Bed and Breakfast
"Letters From Home is a romantic, charming debut that evokes the World War II time period in wonderful detail. The likable characters and their varied intrigues kept me happily devouring pages until the end."
—Ellen Baker, author of Keeping The House
"Letters from Home is a tender and heartfelt glimpse of a time long past. While wholly original, it's filled with characters as beloved as your own grandparents. Propelled by the epic sweep of world war, yet warmed by intimate human moments, this story will linger in the reader's memory long after the last page is turned."
—Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author
"Letters from Home is a heart-grabbing story of love and war in the era of big bands and among friends keen on small deceptions. Full of period detail and characters you root for, Kristina McMorris offers up a stellar debut novel readers will cherish."
—Pamela Morsi
