“A Time for Tears” is a beautiful historical fiction middle-grade novel about three people whose lives change during WWII.

I enjoyed the author’s style of writing. She describes the scenes realistically and with a lot of detail, that you know she did a lot of research for the novel. Moreover, even though the author wrote the story for a younger audience, she does not ‘dumb’ down the information. It is a book that a reader of any age would enjoy reading. We learn about snipers and combats, coded messages and assignments, and how the troops prepared to fight the War. The author gives a concise yet comprehensive account of the events that transpired during World War II.

All three characters are distinctive and shine in the way. Out of all of them, I enjoyed Rachel’s storyline and how she took in little Marie and raised her for Benjamin and Esther. The scenes where she confronts the officials to get through were gripping. Similarly, I felt Andre had the most action in the tale as he went on a Normandy mission. Lastly, Daniel is terrific in keeping in touch with Ida and maggie while he embarks on his mission. The tale is heartwarming because the author interprets how even their characters’ families suffered because of the situation. The author also nicely weaves the storylines amongst the three characters. It was interesting to see how they connected throughout the book.

Overall, “A Time for Tears” is a beautiful historical novel to pick up if you want a glimpse of how life was like for people during World War II, with three strong protagonists.

So I have OCD. Because of this, my brain likes variety, constant stimulation, and trying new things. While I absolutely love reading, sometimes this means that books with entire page paragraphs can get monotonous. Therefore, this book was a breath of fresh air. I thoroughly enjoyed the short chapters and loved that some of the sections were broken up with drawings. You still get a thoroughly connected plot, but each storyline is distinct and easy to follow. There's a widely known phenomenon with multi-narrated books, in that there always seems to be a narrator that you like less than the others. I will say that i preferred Rachel's journey over the men, but the small sections ensured I never experienced burnout. I've always enjoyed WWII novels, and have read many, but Andre and Daniel's battlefield narratives were some the first I've ever read regarding actual combat. It was eye-opening, indeed.
The theme of this novel that pulled my heartstrings the most, however, was the overarching sense of love, camaraderie, and community. Reading this novel amidst the covid-19 pandemic made me realize how selfish society has become. A common current in most WWII stories is the unselfish desire to help others. Escaped prisoners of war were housed by concerned local citizens, food was shared with anyone who needed it, and so many strangers came together to help find long-lost loved ones once concentration camps were liberated. It's such a stark contrast to today, when people hoard toilet paper and ignore public health measures. Sure, the past had its fair share of problems, but my hope is that novels like these in the hands of the right people have the power to change lives.

Jerilynn Jones Henrickson takes her research on the French Resistance and turns it into a short historical fiction in A Time For Tears. There are parts of it that reads more like a documentary than fiction, but other sections are more conversational. She takes the stories of real people (Daniel Hagelman from Kansas, Rachel Ropfogel from Paris, Andre Jabot from Soissons, France) and tells how each journeyed into the world of war. It centers around the village of Le Chambon-sur-Ligon, which was noted for helping the Resistance fight and helping Jewish children escape concentration camps. There are definitely bad guys and good guys in the story.

It was a short read and gives insight into what these people endured during the Hitler regime. It is scheduled to be released December 1.