This book was so good! I love how it is written in letter form and tells the story of a young woman accused of treason during WWII. The author did an excellent job with the different styles of letter writing!

I honestly don’t know how to review this book, it was just ok. Not a memorable storyline. The premise was very interesting but it just didn’t come through for me

Things We Didn’t Say by Amy Lynn Green is a remarkable debut novel. The first thing that drew me into this story is the formatting. I knew that this book was written in epistolary form and was prepared for that storytelling journey, but what I really loved and appreciated is that this story isn’t a typical epistolary narrative– when the reader opens the cover of this book and begins to dig into the pages of this story, the reader is moving through an evidence folder that tells the story of a woman on trial for treason via letters, notes, newspaper articles, and other personal documents. It’s like an epistolary novel squared. What a cool way to tell a story! And I was there for every minute. This book hooked me from page one and would not let me go. This highly engaging story kept me turning pages well past midnight several nights in a row. I really like how Amy Lynn Green writes. Her sentences are varied and beautiful and flow seamlessly. I so appreciate good writing! I loved how much depth of character Green is able to create through simple letters, notes, and news articles. What great storytelling! The characters are my favorite aspect to this story. Peter Ito is a fantastic hero. I love how he is never afraid to tell Johanna the truth even if it may rub her wrong at first. He is a straight-shooter and, boy, do we need more people like Peter around today. Johanna is an excellent character. She is complex. She is highly intelligent. She is very confident. She is really naïve. And she is willing to change once she realizes a negative about her character. There were moments I struggled with her. As an older lady, I wanted to shake her and say, “Stop being so self-focused. Look up and see the actual world around you, you’re being played!” I remember being 22 and I was basically the same as Johanna. I was young, healthy, college-smart, and confident in my plans for my future. Then life hit me and knocked me around some and I realized I was just a young, naïve, self-focused young lady and I had a lot of growing still to do. A lot of that growing included learning humility. Don’t get me wrong, Johanna is a wonderful, well-meaning young lady. She is kind. She is strong in her morality. She fights for what is right. But she is myopic and inexperienced, and this gets her in trouble. As far as her trouble goes, I was angry by the situation. I was angry at the biased news-telling. The sensationalism created on purpose by the newspaper man made me want to punch his character. But I was also angry at how easy it was for the people of Ironside to become so mean and ugly because of the sensationalism. It’s such a telling commentary on today’s Society. It very much feels like truth no longer matters because people WANT to be mean, angry, and contentious. They want to fight. They want to hurt. They want war. It makes me so sad. I definitely had a lot of feels with this excellent story!

I am sorry it took me so long to get to this wonderful story, but I am so glad I got there eventually. Things We Didn’t Say is a seriously good story that I highly, highly recommend. If you have not yet read this stellar story, then I recommend purchasing as copy and diving in ASAP!

I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the publisher, Bethany House, via NetGalley. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Interesting read. This was a new author for me and though it wasn’t a favorite it was well written and I’ll be looking out for more by this author.

A reluctant Johanna Berglund, a linguistics student, is asked to return to her hometown during WWII to be a translated at a POW camp. Johanna is a very strong, very opinionated woman who find herself being suspected of treason.

This is an interesting story that is told through letters and other correspondence. It was a unique way to tell a story that took some getting used to. There are many interesting characters some romance, some humor and plenty of conflict. The author also touches on the power of faith during war time.

My thanks to NetGalley, Bethany House Publishers and Amy Lynn Green for the ebook in exchange for an honest review. #ThingsWeDidntSay #NetGalley

I’m not quite sure what to make of this story.

The leading lady was often described as a cold fish, but her actions and words proved her to be more of a brash, sarcastic, sometimes immature woman who didn’t care one iota for the people she’d grown up around yet had an instant compassion and willingness to stand up for the German POWs before she’d even gotten to know them through translating and censoring their correspondence. Throughout the entire story, I was unsure of where this instant defense came from, why Johanna cared for these prisoners of war who had attacked her home country. I understand her desire to see the humanity beneath the patriotic pride, but shouldn’t she have extended the same courtesy to those showing American pride?

However, I loved seeing her passion for humanity come out in spades when certain circumstances spiraled out of control. It was especially beautiful to see that race and ethnicity played no role of bias in her life. Her friendship with Peter Ito was particularly exquisite.

I only wish she would have extended her passion to include those of her acquaintance who grew up right alongside her in Ironside Lake, Minnesota.

Her fluency in six languages and study of Japanese only really came into play with German translations. It would have been neat to see some of the other languages come into play as well, but I am not sure where that would have fit in. It was a neat aspect to her personality and skills, and I wish it could have been highlighted even more.

Let’s circle back to Peter Ito for a second, because he was, by far, my favorite character. He was commendable on nearly every front, and he was a great encourager, which was perhaps what drew me to him in the first place. His thread felt a little unresolved at the end, but I appreciated the hope I was left with on his behalf.

The epistolary format of the story was superb and my absolute favorite aspect of the entire book, even above the character of Peter Ito. It was spectacular to see not only letters but also telegrams, newspaper articles, and evidence for a court case included in the presentation. This is truly one of the most masterful epistolary formats I’ve seen so far. (That’s saying a lot, because I’ve been quite attached to that of Katherine Reay’s Dear Mr. Knightley for years.)

The plot was fantastic as well. I loved that we learn from the first letter that this story might not have a happy ending. That ramped up the tension throughout and provided wonderful suspense to this historical, women’s fiction story. All the twists and turns along the way, whether small or large, kept me riveted despite not fully connecting to the leading lady.

I was disappointed to find out that a date in real history was adjusted rather than that of the fictional storyline. This is a huge pet peeve of mine and always seems vastly unnecessary.

Another disappointment was the conflicting moral code found throughout the book.

• In one case, “cussing” was said to be “nothing that awful,” even though that completely contradicts Ephesians 4:29, which states in part that “no foul language is to come from your mouth” (HCSB). In conjunction with that, I didn’t appreciate Johanna’s blatant use of a few expletives and even joking about them in a particular scene.

• In a different instance, a prayer meeting was watered down by equating it to a “poetry reading.”

• Also, Greek mythology was glorified, even though Exodus 20:3 warns us, “Do not have other gods besides [Yahweh].” In fact, the faith most often associated with Johanna was that of Greek mythology rather than Christianity, although there seemed to be more concentrated focus on her faith in God in the final chapter or two.

• Another confusion of the moral compass was when a character said, “… along with this apricot-fig fruitcake (extra bourbon). There are some of us … who know you and won’t stand for gossip and deception.” On the one hand, this character stands against gossip and deception, which is a great stance to take, yet on the other, she dips into alcohol excessively during stressful times, even though the Bible warns several times about not slipping into drunkenness.

I’m not sure how it was missed during editing, but “psalms” (sic) was not capitalized in two instances when in reference to the book of the Bible.

“It’s odd, figuring out how to integrate a minority group that holds all the power and privilege.” I don’t appreciate the nod to the contemporary, BLM-driven “white privilege” rhetoric that is poison to our democracy, but I do appreciate that the author recognized that in some communities in America, Caucasian is the minority.

My favorite quote was: “Sometimes showing grace breaks us before it heals us. Forgiveness can feel like a betrayal of justice. We want others to deserve grace, or at least ask for it, even knowing full well that the greatest grace was extended to us ‘when we were enemies.’” Such a reminder to extend the grace of Jesus Christ to even our mortal enemies was beautifully displayed and perfectly timed. It was amazing to see how this unfolded in the remainder of the story as well.

I’m still not sure what I think of this book in total, but I loved the format and wept through the Postscript and ended up really enjoying quite a lot of it. I would have given the book four stars if it hadn’t been for that altered date, and five if the leading lady hadn’t carried a brash and sarcastic undertone with her throughout the entire story (as well as apathy toward her fellow Minnesotans).

Content: gambling, replacement expletives, alcohol, replacement profanity, tobacco, Catholicism mentioned, racial slurs (accurate to time period), expletives, Greek and Japanese mythology, romantic flings mentioned, profanity

Debut novel from Green is a smash hit! A novel that draws the reader into a time in American history in a way that is unexpected. Looking forward to my next read by Ms. Green.

Johanna Berglund is a linguistic student at The University of Minnesota, she returns to her hometown and moves back in with her parents and starts working as a translator at the new German POW camp at Ironside Lake.

The story is told by using letters and the epistolary writing style isn’t difficult to follow. Major J. E. Davies is in charge of the camp, he knows Johanna isn’t there by choice and her university scholarship was cancelled. The locals are not happy about a camp being built at Ironside Lake, it has twenty guards and they don’t approve of anyone from their community working there. The prisoners are considered low risk, most were captured in North Africa and are needed to help farmers harvest their crops.

Johanna’s job is to censor the prisoner’s letters home and ones they receive and Major Davies also wants her to teach English classes. Here she meets Captain Stefan Werner, she starts to see the prisoners as men (human beings) and not in a romantic way.

Johanna’s been writing to her friend Peter Ito, a language instructor for the military officers at Camp Savage and he’s of Japanese descent. Johanna is rather stubborn, she doesn’t care what people think about her and this makes her a target for gossip. When Johanna’s suspected of committing treason, her parents believe their intelligent and very naive daughter is innocent.

The story highlights the heartache of the American families who lost sons in the war and what they did to support the war effort. The POW’s missed their families, they were concerned about what was happening to them in Germany and I did feel sympathetic towards both sides.

I received a copy of Things We Didn’t Say by Amy Lynn Green from NetGalley and Bethany House Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Perfect for those who enjoyed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, I look forward to reading the author’s new book The Lines Between Us and four stars from me.

I had heard such great things about this book since it's release and now I understand why. Historical is not my go to genre at all so I was hesitant to give it a try, but I am so glad I did. I found the letters to be such an interesting way to read the story and I found the plot to be absolutely fascinating. I also loved Johanna's strong independent nature. Such a well-written story. I look forward to reading more by this author.

I was provided a copy of this story by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Things We Didn’t Say by Amy Lynn Green takes us to the Minnesota home front during World War II. The story is written entirely in letters, notes, and newspaper clippings. I haven’t read a story exactly like this before and was amazed at how the author drew the reader into the story. I struggled to put down the book because I felt such a connection to the characters, even though we only knew them through their written words. Incredible!

While this is not the typically fast paced story I usually read, I let the story slow me down and so that I could sink into the wrestling the characters faced. I also loved the message in this story. It’s the kind that makes you think. I’m still digesting it. I highly recommend this book for this fact alone.

If you’re looking for a unique perspective on World War II, then grab a copy of Things We Didn’t Say!

—
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Bethany House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC guidelines.

Written as a series of letters, Amy Lynn Green crafts an interesting story that has you rapidly turning the pages in a quest to find out what really happens. Enough information is shared in the letters and newspaper articles to get an idea of what is going on, but there is still enough left unsaid that has you reading between the lines and wondering what will happen in the end.

The book focuses on POW camps in the US with a side serving of Japanese internment camps. The letters are mostly between an American spitfire and a Japanese-American civilian who is teaching at a military school. Joanna, the American, is snarky and funny and has no idea about manners and etiquette. She says things like they are, which, as you can imagine, doesn't always endear her to the general public. Peter, the Japanese-American, tries to guide her correctly, but it also obvious he loves her despite her quirks.

"Sometimes showing grace breaks us before it heals us. Forgiveness can feel like a betrayal of justice. We want others to deserve grace, or at least ask for it, even knowing full well that the greatest grace was extended to us when we were enemies."

I really enjoyed this book and while I wouldn't want all my books to epistolary in format, this was a refreshing change from the normal style of writing.

I received this book from Bethany House via NetGalley and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

As a Minnesota native I was interested in reading this book. Johanna ends up becoming a translator at a German POW camp when her scholarship to study linguistics is taken away. She reluctantly returns to her hometown to server as a translator and letter writer for the prisoners at the camp. Because of her camp work and evolving thoughts on who the enemy really is she is eventually is accuse of treason. The story is presented in a series of letters between Joanna and Peter and touches on what life was like for those who were imprisoned in internment camps and what it was like to be the persons working in those camps. I enjoyed this story and look forward to more titles from this author. I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

Johanna Berglund, a student at the University of Minnesota loves studying languages and never wants to go back to her hometown. A world war 2 story about a POW camp in her home town. She is forced to return to her small town to be a translator at the camp. Her friend Peter is Japanese American and a language interpreter. A romance grows between them, which draws suspicions about her allegiance to the US. She meets a German in the camp and tries to help him. This causes much tension for her within her town. She was accused of treason. This story was told by reading letters written by the characters. I did not like this style of writing. It was very hard to read most of it, but got better at the end.
I was given an ARC from NetGalley and Bethany/House publisher. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley! This was a great story. I ,love anything WW2. This one is a little different take than many other WW2 stories. Highly recommended!

I found Things We Didn't Say by Amy Lynn Green to be a wonderful story. I am giving it a five plus stars. I look forward to more like this one from the author in the future.

I read the ARC of Things We Didn’t Say, by Amy Lynn Green, courtesy of St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have given it 4 stars here and on GoodReads.

I have closed my website entitled, The Grumpy Book Reviewer, due to increasing costs for web hosting, security certificate, etc., and am moving my reviews to HubPages. Unfortunately, HubPages will not allow anything published on their site to appear anywhere else. So, I have to leave the link to my review here. Anyone who wants to read my review can access it at: https://hubpages.com/literature/Things-We-Didnt-Say-by-Amy-L-Green

A WWII Christian historical fiction book that is about letters home written by POWs in the USA. The letters are censored by a headstrong student, Headstrong Johanna Berglund, who falls in love with German spokesman Stefan Werner

I will never write a review that does this book justice. Amy Lynn Green balances well witty banter, humour, but also serious and important subjects. this is a very timely book. One that will linger within me for a while.

I enjoyed getting a glimpse into the struggles and joy's, Johanna faced during the war. She was an interesting character and would have made a good friend. It was fun to watch her intereact with others and gave me a different perspective on the war. I like how Amy Lynn Green weaved the Lord's truth throughout this book. The reader can learn along with the characters these truth.

I listened to part this book as an audiobook. I thought the narraror did a good job. It was easy for me to understand and follow.

I recommend this book to my family and friends.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

What a treat this was! I loved that the chapters were written as letters - always a fun and unique way to tell a story and help the reader form an intimate bond with the characters. A really great historical fiction read!