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suzrobinson1 's review for:
The Oceans Between Us
by Gill Thompson
I received a copy of The Oceans Between Us by Gill Thompson from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
4/5 stars. The debut novel by Gill Thompson is a remarkable story based on true events that happened in England during World War II. It was a heartbreaking read knowing that this situation was faced by so many unknowing children and families. Being taken from their homes to orphanages after air raids in England and shipped off to Australia, not knowing if your family was alive or dead, must have been devastating. The children were promised a life full of sunshine, fresh fruit, and horseback riding. Only to find that the land they were supposed to be saving with their fresh genetics was not the promised land they had hoped for.
Right from the beginning, you felt for Molly, Jack, and Kathleen. I couldn’t imagine Molly’s pain when she finally remembers that she had a son. The guilt would have crushed me. I was sucked right into her story. Kathleen’s story grabbed me as well. Knowing the pains of longing for a child and not being able to have one touched home. I could understand her desire to have any child to call her own. (That did not prevent me from wanting to bash John over the head a few times though.) Jack’s story took on a whole other level of sorrow that made you want to hold and protect him.
The story was well written. It had great character development and the characters seemed to stay true to themselves. I did find that the last few chapters seemed rushed after all the build-up. The epilogue helped to answer some, but not all questions. Because of this, I dropped my rating down one star. Overall, it was a book that I would definitely recommend to others that enjoy historical fiction and a well-developed story.
Reviews have been placed on Netgalley, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
4/5 stars. The debut novel by Gill Thompson is a remarkable story based on true events that happened in England during World War II. It was a heartbreaking read knowing that this situation was faced by so many unknowing children and families. Being taken from their homes to orphanages after air raids in England and shipped off to Australia, not knowing if your family was alive or dead, must have been devastating. The children were promised a life full of sunshine, fresh fruit, and horseback riding. Only to find that the land they were supposed to be saving with their fresh genetics was not the promised land they had hoped for.
Right from the beginning, you felt for Molly, Jack, and Kathleen. I couldn’t imagine Molly’s pain when she finally remembers that she had a son. The guilt would have crushed me. I was sucked right into her story. Kathleen’s story grabbed me as well. Knowing the pains of longing for a child and not being able to have one touched home. I could understand her desire to have any child to call her own. (That did not prevent me from wanting to bash John over the head a few times though.) Jack’s story took on a whole other level of sorrow that made you want to hold and protect him.
The story was well written. It had great character development and the characters seemed to stay true to themselves. I did find that the last few chapters seemed rushed after all the build-up. The epilogue helped to answer some, but not all questions. Because of this, I dropped my rating down one star. Overall, it was a book that I would definitely recommend to others that enjoy historical fiction and a well-developed story.
Reviews have been placed on Netgalley, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.