Charlotte Fletcher, a woman who witnesses firsthand the dreadful impact of three wars through the men in her life. Her brother fighting in WWII, her husband, a decorated WWII pilot who goes back into harm's way in Korea and her son heads to Vietnam. Charlotte's own journey of growing up in China and coming of age at Radcliffe, Harvard and Berkely opens connection with other visionaries that hold the power to shape our nation. A mother who tries desperately to save her son from war. This book delves into not just the wars, but what lead to them. Parts of the history were a bit dry and long, but it is important to know the why and how America ended up in these conflicts. Especially the Vietnam War.

In Charlotte’s War, Graham drops the reader into the middle of the twentieth century. Following Charlotte Fletcher from her young adulthood through adulthood, parenthood, and grandparenthood, Graham places her in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the contentious political situation in the early Cold War. Part II of the book focuses on Charlotte’s perspective and her son Jack’s perspective, following his life diverging away from his mother. Graham’s knowledge of the socio-political situation allows him to weave fictionalized perspectives for both Ho Chi Minh and Henry Kissinger into this book, and he does so in a humanizing and fascinating way. Providing an accessible and interesting insight into this complex period of human history, Graham personalizes the various events and individuals while also maintaining the readability of a historical fictional text. Graham’s prose and characterization are excellent, his characters occupying fascinating positions and situations; yet the dialogue at times feels stilted and generic. However, the dynamic events within the book (fictionalized and inspired by history) make up for the dry dialogue. Charlotte’s War provides an interesting, if slightly complex, introduction to twentieth century history from a fictionalized perspective following a single family from China to California to Boston and back to California.

I found this to be a really interesting historical novel told through a woman's perspective. I learnt a lot of facts about this and I liked the realism of the characters, especially Charlotte who lived through much brutality. I did feel like this was quite slow and sometimes it feel flat for me as I wanted a bit more than just historical facts; however I can tell this will be a big hit with historical fiction fans and those who love strong female leads.

This was a beautiful story and was jam packed with interesting historical facts. It was a little slow at places. I would recommend this more for a lover of history than your average reader. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early read.

Charlotte's War is for certain, one book that I will not soon forget. The historical aspect was on point, I appreciated that it was so well researched in that regard. The author did a fantastic job clearly explaining things from all sides of the characters, and I appreciated that it was a thorough job, not just one sided throughout. I was surprised to see that this book had not yet been rated, but also grateful that I had a chance to read it thanks to Netgalley.

Rather dry and kind of slow. The history was fascinating, though, and eye opening. I learned so much about the varying presidencies and famous personages that I did not know. The wars were brutal, more so than is taught from a people perspective. I wish the book would have read more like a novel than a history book at times. There was also so much of the history that was left out, like Kent State, that played a part in what was happening. It is a necessary view but a hard read.

I really felt for Charlotte in this book, she was a great lead and I thought she was a realistic person. The rest of the cast was what I was looking for and they worked well overall. The plot had what I needed and glad I was a able to enjoy the historical elements. I can't wait to read more from J. Lawrence Graham as this was really well written. I was invested in what was going on and thought it overall was great.

“Mai, you must immigrate to Hong Kong as soon as you can. That’s where your life will be happiest and most
successful, my lovely daughter. I hope soon we will have peace and I will be free to travel and come to visit you.”
“Father, you must eat more!” Mai said respectfully as they said goodbye.Ho chuckled. “If I must obey anyone, I must obey my daughter.”Sadly, she would never see him again in person or hear the gentle voice of a loving father, spoken only to her."

Interesting book about the wartime, from an American woman's perspective. This book has some interesting layers that give it an intriguing touch. Do give this book a read if you're interested about the topic!

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing this copy!