I had heard of the Bataan death march but knew nothing about. I've read quite a bit of WWII historical fiction but, other than 1 book, it has always been about the war with Germany. It was fascinating to learn about another aspect of that war. It is horrifying to think about what allied troops suffered through overseas. While I know this story is fiction and all of these things didn't all happen to the main characters, any one of the atrocities that did is awful and not something anyone should have to experience. This book has all the feels.

I received an advance e-copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This has to be one of the books that has been more difficult to read and for all the right reasons. The subject of this book being the Bataan Death March.

This book follows three friends: flashing back from their time growing up in Mobile, Alabama and through their time and experiences in the Philippines. The descriptions of the Death March were powerful. The emotions experienced by Jimmy, Hank, and Billy were something this book helped me experience.

I felt like a witness to the depravity of the POW camps and the March itself. I saw the way that these soldiers had to survive and felt for the ones that could no longer go on.

The ending will rip your heart out.

Softening the story are the flashbacks to Mobile, and to Clair. Jimmy's struggles with his father and the relationships he had with those back home added depth and humanity to the story. Jimmy's faith crisis in the backdrop of utter Hell was powerful and moving.

I found myself crying at the utter devastation that occurred in that war. These men that were forgotten after the early days of war until after the war was over. One line that gutted me was when a doctor was being told about what the character experienced and called him a liar. To me this just summed up the entire experience for this character.

I recommend this book to those who are students of history. I love the way a historical novel brings history off the page and places me in the center of everything giving me a different perspective and experience of something that I was not personally around to see and experience. This novel does this for me.

I received an early copy through the publisher and NetGalley and this is my honest review

I recommend having lots of tissues available when reading this story. I loved that this WWll story takes place in the South Pacific and I learned a lot of history that I had never known before. I loved Jimmy, Hank and Billy. I loved how this story was told. I received a copy of the book from the publisher for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

The Long Marh Home is raw, gritty and very realistic. The thing I appreciated is it's based on true events. Very well researched, I learned a lot and I have read many WWII books so that's saying something. Childhood friends from Mobile, Alabama have no idea what they will be facing once they enlist. The Philippines where they're sent is a world away from Mobile and a whole new culture and many different experiences. Vowing to stick together, always the teens enjoy themselves training waiting for the war to come. I had not heard of the Bataan Death March in the Philippines or how the Japanese immediately invade the country after bombing Pearl Harbor. The teens are not prepared for the realities of war, the death, the daily struggle for survival with little to eat, standing guard not knowing who's going to be sneaking up on you.
They are all determined to come back home alive to their loved ones who are desperately waiting for mail and any word of how they're doing.
Full of hope and determination The Long March Home is a very powerful read. Highly recommended!

Pub Date: 02 May 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Inspired by true stories, The Long March Home tells the story of three young men from Mobile, Alabama who voluntarily enlist and are sent to Manilla in 1941. They were childhood friends and there was nothing that could have prepared them for what followed.

Impeccably researched, the authors bring to life the horrors of the Pacific theater. Forced to endure the Bataan Death March and then the horrific conditions of the Japanese prison camps, the young men saw and experienced the unimagineable. Ultimately, this is a story of survival, the power of friendship and heroism during the worst of times.

Expertly told, the authors bring to readers a book that is well worth reading. It is gripping and riveting from start to finish. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee will leave will with a renewed appreciation for the young American men who went through the Bataan Death March in the Philippines. Not many people know about what happened to these young men and this story truly brings their stories to life. I know I certainly have a new appreciation for these young men as I didn’t know this part of history either.

In this story, based on true events, we have three best friends, Billy, Hank, and Jimmy. The story is told from Jimmy’s main POV. We see his life leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor and after as they suffer through the Bataan Death March, a 60-mile death march to prison camps where they are forced to work as prisoners in the worst conditions possible. We see flashbacks of Billy, Hank, and Jimmy with family and with Jimmy’s high school sweetheart, Claire. These scenes were nice, as it broke up the hard chapters. Our characters are so real and the story itself takes you on a heart-wrenching journey where you are hoping these men just make it home from all the hardship they have endured.

I was so moved by this story – completely and utterly compelled by it. I don’t read a lot of World War II Historical Fiction, but this is easily a top 10 book of the year for me as I just felt so enamored with our characters and their journeys. I cried. My heart was broken and restored. We have true brotherhood depicted in this book and I am so thankful to have read it. Thank you to those men who gave the ultimate sacrifice fighting for our country. If you love books surrounding World War II, strong friendships, and high emotional impact, this is for you. Thank you to Baker Publishing, Revell and NetGalley for providing a copy to honestly read and review.

Content warnings: This book has very graphic war battle scenes, prisoner torture, the horrors of war, etc. It does have some “war time drinking” and very minimal language.

I first have to say that The Long March Home is a must-read novel. It is so many things — a coming-of-age story, a tribute to those who sacrificed for their nation and world. a riveting account of an historical event — but it really goes much deeper than that. It explores the triumph of the human spirit, the love one has for a brother born not of blood, but of shared experiences, and search for purpose in the midst of hell. The book has two narratives, both in the voice of Jimmy Propfield. We get his growing up recollections in a past tense POV, and the present tense experiences of three childhood friends who are not quite men forced to endure extreme hardship and brutality. The structure of the novel is important and really works to get the whole of who the characters were and became. The chapters featuring their childhood also help relieve some of the intensity of the war scenes. Jimmy, Hank, and Billy grow up in Mobile, Alabama during the Depression. They impulsively enlist in the Army for varying reasons prior to America’s entrance into WWII. They land in paradise — boot camp in the Philippines. That is, until December 7, 1941. I was woefully ignorant of just what happened when the Japanese were successful in bombing Pearl Harbor. It was not the only serious Allied defeat that month. The Long March Home is an excellent historical account including fictional and historical figures. It reveals the horrors of war, the atrocities perpetrated by the Japanese, and the astonishing bravery of American soldiers and the people of the Philippines. The war is ever present in the book — it spans days leading up to the attack through the end of the war. Jimmy, Hank, and Billy are larger-than-life characters that are realistically drawn. Their struggles, doubts, fears are relatable to the modern reader. Their story gives insight into the character of those real men who lived through the nightmare of Japanese POW camps. As you can imagine, the will to live ebbs and flows. But strength was shared between the three men ensuring some bit of survival. Lives are changed irreparably, but not always for the worse. There is healing and hope.

The Long March Home was an emotional read for me. It drew me in immediately and never really let me go. I’m still thinking about it days after finishing. I believe it will stay with me forever. It gets a very rare Very Highly Recommended rating. I also strongly recommend you read this with your book club or reading buddy. I will be pressuring my husband to read it in the coming days. 😉

Very Highly Recommended.

Great for Book Clubs.

Audience: Adults (please note this book does not shy away from the brutality of war)

I hope the authors receive interest from producers to make this powerful story into either a movie or 8-part drama series. It's simply riveting and the authors bring this extraordinary story alive in its visual intensity which makes it simply breathtaking.

I didn't know about the Bataan Death March in the Philippines and how the Japanese invaded the country immediately after bombing Pearl Harbour. But now I feel sufficiently informed having read Jimmy, Hank and Billy's firsthand account of the sheer horror of the war. The three men, all still teens, enlist and are immediately sent to the Philippines where they train and wait for the war to reach them, having no appreciation of what they've signed up for. They're mates, great mates, and they are committed to staying together, surviving the unimaginable atrocities, and returning to Mobile Alabama which they call home.

The story for the most part has a dual timeline as Jimmy, whose eyes the story is told, takes us back to life before the war in Mobile as well as being in the trenches with them in the Philippines. Three boys who've known each other pretty much all of their lives as well as Billy's sister, Claire. Jimmy, Billy and Claire spend much of their early years together as best buddies while Hank, the eldest, comes and goes. He's Jimmy's hero and mate. We're given an insight into Jimmy's character, his struggles with his faith and his preacher dad who sounds like a 'fire and brimstone' man behind the pulpit as well as at home. His father wants him to follow in his footsteps as a preacher and is dumbfounded when Jimmy enlists.

I loved the friendship between Jimmy and Claire. It's rare and very special. And even though there's a lot of heartache between them, it's their friendship that Jimmy holds onto so tightly when he's in his worst moments as a POW.

This story isn't for everyone. It's at times very grim reading as the authors show us the brutality of war. I was often brought to tears by both the horror but also the incredible bravery of these 3 young men who loved each other dearly. But they're also young men who don't know how to communicate with each other the hurts that they have inflicted on one another from time to time through life. Until it's almost too late.

Jimmy's a complex character. The authors reveal a young man learning how to be an adult, how to express himself, to be confused with what he wants to do with his life, and how to be friends with the girl of his dreams. And then there's the bond he shares with Claire that undergirds the entire story. It's so rare to read of such a deep love that began when playing as kiddies in their respective backyards. It's beautiful and often heartbreaking for them both and we the reader.

Bravo Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee.

I was very fortunate to receive an early ebook copy as part of the Revell Readers Program via NetGalley. This has had no bearing on my review. I expect I will purchase my own copy so I can treasure it on my bookshelves.

A gripping story of three friends who face a war that brings them face to face with danger. I did like that we go from past to present and read how these four grew up together and how different their backgrounds were. Several times I felt like crying as one of them faced the loss of a parent. The emotional journey is deep in this story as the authors slowly open each character with a look at their family life and how they changed as they went off to war.

As we move forward to their time fighting against the enemy, we discover the pain of watching those they serve lose their lives. There were days when there was very little food to go around which made it difficult to keep their strength up. Can you imagine having to stand guard all night knowing that at any minute the enemy could take you out. I was surprised at how young most of them were. Parents back home were desperate for letters from their boys but the mail was sparse at times. I could hear the continuous bullets in the air and planes that were able to destroy areas in minutes.

I did find the book hard to read at times with graphic details of what they ate to survive. In dark times, they had to eat to keep up their strength but it was hard for me to get that picture out of my head. I have to say that war is not pretty and this book does a good job of showing readers the truth of how it could be during this war that claimed many lives. Survival was the most important thing in those moments when faced with the enemy staring right at you. The research done for this book is evident as details reflect what we have read in history books.

The book does bring attention to what many people suffered as they became prisoners of war. The three friends are determined that they will all come home alive. Their journey is filled with pain, determination and hope. The authors give us a story that is realistic and a theme of never giving up.

I received a copy of this book from Revell Reads. The review is my own opinion.

This is a sweeping novel that covers several years, following the three young men and their experiences in WW II. The narrative is dual time and jumps from the time of the war experience to previous times when the boys share a friendship. The later story goes from the allure of being in a snappy military uniform to the reality of internment by the Japanese.

The authors portray well the friendship commitment between three young men. Unfortunately, there is no faith message in this novel. Although the main character telling the story is the son of a pastor, he pretty much carouses along with the other soldiers. There is no clear idea of trusting God during the time of need.

Potential readers need to know that this novel is very realistic and has descriptions of torture and violent acts during war that may be triggering or upsetting to some readers.

This is a good addition to the novels reminding us of the experiences American soldiers had in the hands of the Japanese.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Of course, in a story with a WWII setting, you expect there to be dangers, fear, death, and other war atrocities. But because this is published by Revell, I didn’t expect The Long March Home to be as raw, gritty, and heartbreaking as it is.

Still, I found the stories of these three friends compelling. I love a dual time story but found myself more drawn to the boys during their high school years. Be sure to read the Author’s notes, for they provide insightful information.

I love when a story teaches me something new. I’ve read many stories with a WWII setting, but I believe this is the first centered in the Philippines. I also never heard of the Bataan Death March before.

Though there are wonderful themes of friendship and family, I wish spiritual faith played a more prominent role.

First Line: I admire the new cut of my khakis in the latrine mirror, flexing just enough to test the stretch of the shirt across my shoulder blades.
Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII
Author: Marcus Brotherton, Tosca Lee
Page Count: 400
Content: Trigger warning. Graphic violence, language.

#CoverLoverBookReview received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions are 100% mine.

I have waited what feels like AGES for a new Tosca Lee novel. As a World War II history buff, The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee was right up my alley. I have read I do not know how many stories about World War II at this point, but none of them can possibly compare to The Long March Home—and not only due to the subject matter. I’ve read about the Holocaust, Dunkirk, and espionage. I’ve read about concentration camps, but the Bataan Death March was new for me. I, of course, knew it happened, but I had never seen it depicted in historical fiction until The Long March Home.

Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee’s newest book is in one word: remarkable. This story stayed with me long after I finished the book. The Long March Home is DENSE. It is only “easy to read” in that everything flows from one page to the next. But this book hurts, as readers experience—if only through words—the pain and suffering the characters experienced. Jimmy, Hank, and Billy felt like my friends. Neighbors. They are not special. There is nothing unique about them, and THAT is what makes this book so relatable and so impactful. The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee is a journey one must read to understand.

“Understand” may not even be the right word. How can those of us—born generations afterward—truly wrap our minds around the pain and nightmares that occurred? As more World War II veterans pass, we’re losing the firsthand history so many people today NEED to hear. The Long March Home is one of those books that can alter lives because it makes readers consider things differently.

I cannot say I enjoyed The Long March Home, as recounts and explains situations NO ONE could ever enjoy. But I still loved it—every single word.

I have read numerous books on the atrocities committed in WWII. I looked forward to this one written on the Bataan Death March and the POW camps as it was written by Christian authors. I expected a story of hope in the midst of suffering. Sadly, those expectations were not fulfilled. The book revels in being as raw and gritty as a nonfiction book on the subject although it is fiction. The characters jump from one episode to another as if the authors took every possible story from the history books for their characters to experience. There is a brief mention of a crisis of faith during one episode of torture but nothing more. While the main character has a religious background, he does not have a faith of his own. The thing that will save him at the end of the book will not be faith in Jesus. Overall, while the novel tries to authentic, it comes across flat with no redeeming story arc. I received an advanced reader copy as part of the Revell Reads blogger team in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish! We follow three friends from a quiet rural American life in to the brutal war against Japan in the Philippines.
The characters are great and you form a connection with all of them, they experience the highs and the lows of hometown life to the complete and utter misery of war. A book with the main theme throughout being that of love. A great harrowing read.

Tosca Lee and Marcus Brotherton have released a powerful story in The Long March Home. Here, we enter the lives of three friends fighting for their lives and country against the flood of Japanese brutality on the Bataan Death March. With the power of friendship, the fight for survival, and the ever guiding hope for freedom, this book packs a punch. Running the whole gamut of emotions, Lee and Brotherton present a book that illuminates the suffering so many faced in fighting for our country’s liberty. This is a story we should never forget.

I received this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

RIVETING WWII NOVEL!

The Long March Home is a riveting WWII novel. It is presented in a way I appreciate – inspired by true stories. It is a novel you will never forget reading that tells the story of three boys on the brink of manhood and their friendship, sacrifice, and the power of unrelenting hope. Three young boys from Mobile, AL, signed up for different motives, and they all signed up together, vowing to stick together to the end. Upon their arrival in the Philippines, it seemed like paradise. December 8, 1941, changed everything as enemy warplanes attacked Luzon. This attack marked the beginning of the Battle of the Pacific Theatre. What these three endured over the next four years is challenging to read about, but documents have proven these stories accurate. They would become part of the horrific Bataan Death March. This is a riveting WWII novel of brotherhood, sacrifice, and the hope of surviving to return home to loved ones.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by Revell and NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own and without influence.

This is unlike any book I’ve read before. I’ve read historical fiction but this book takes it to a new undiscovered territory. One of understanding and curiosity. It was so well written that I couldn’t put it down.

The Long March Home is a heartfelt yet suspenseful and well written historical novel based upon factual events. I could not put it down even when it was hard to read. The journey/development of the characters was some of the best that I have read in a long time. Highly recommend!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the is a fabulous read. I have not read too many World War II novels that cover the Pacific side of the war. I was fascinated with the story. The historical details were so vivid, I felt like I was right there within the action. I loved Hank, Jimmy, and Bill‘s story.
I am giving The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific a very well deserved five plus stars. I believe fans and lovers of historical fiction, particularly those from the second world war, will definitely want to snatch this one up.
I received a hard cover copy of The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.

Three boys, Jimmy, Hank and Billy leave their homes in Mobile, Alabama, to serve in the army during World War 2. Jimmy, a preacher's kid, just wants to get away from pressures and his former girlfriend, Claire. Hank has his own agenda and Billy doesn't want to be left behind. They are stationed in the beautiful Pacific, and while there, the atrocity of Pearl Harbor takes place sending their world into chaos.
I knew this book would be a hard read. I received my advanced reader's copy from the authors and publisher through NetGalley. I've read many books, fact and fiction based on the war. This one is intense with heart wrenching aspects of the horrors of the death march of Bataan, prisoner of war camps and the absolutely heinous acts the enemy perpetrated upon the Philippine and Allied service members.
Is the storyline perfect? No. Does the PK present himself as a faithful young man for God? No. And that's all right in my opinion. I've known some faithful PK's and others who had struggles of faith. This review is my own unsolicited, personal opinion. In all honesty I expected this to be a Christian book. I do not consider it to be one and that's ok. War is ugly. The story has twists and shocking turns. In comparison to other WW2 fiction based on fact that I have read this is definitely representative of the reality these very human boys and men endured. It's horrible, heartbreaking and raw.
This is a very emotional story. I cried. It is nowhere near as graphic as it could be but it's shocking enough. Read it, learn from it. Boys who left home were wounded, tortured, many killed, and others came home, many haunted men. I give the book a 5 of 5.