I absolutely loved We Were the Lucky Ones so I was thrilled to receive an ARC from Netgalley for One Good Thing. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and this book did not disappoint. Set in WWII Italy One Good Thing was an amazing story of true friendship, strength and survival. This book will sit with me for awhile and I look forward to any future books by Hunter.

4.5/5 stars

If I could give a book 6 stars there’d be no question about this one. I loved “We Were the Lucky Ones” and was so excited to get this book as an ARC on NetGalley! This book provides a great insight into Italy in WW2 and the tumultuous political turmoil the country went through during that time. I loved the story of Lili & Esti and friendship through war and just one avenue of what loving your people looks like. 1000% a must read and I’ll buy this one anyways!

Really good! I loved this authors other book that was turned into a hulu show so I was super interested in this story. It was heartbreaking but so good. It stuck with me for a while so that is how you know it’s a good one!

Somehow I was not expecting to be so swept away by One Good Thing. Hunter creates an amazing sense of place, transporting readers to World War II Italy. I felt the sting of each goodbye Lili and Theo make just a little bit more than the last. I needed to reach the end but feared where the characters were going to find. One Good Thing is a worthy follow up to We Were The Lucky Ones.

This book tells the story of another aspect of the holocaust that I wasn’t completely aware of-northern Italy near the end of the war. The story follows two best friends until one of the friends, Esti, disappears, while the other friend protects Esti’s baby. The story is a search for missing people, while at the same time, trying to hide from certain death for being Jewish. I liked that I learned something new from this book as it is easy to think that all of Europe suffered in the same way. Italy, however, has its own history and its story should be told and re-told.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.

One Good Thing
By: Georgia Hunter
Pub date: March 4, 2025
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books

Hunter’s debut novel We Were the Lucky Ones is one of my all-time favorites, so I was thrilled to get an ARC of this one.
Italy 1941
Lili and Esti met at the University of Ferrara and became as close as sisters. When Esti has a son Theo a war has broken out and Mussolini’s Racial Laws have made it unsafe for Jewish and their descendants. When Germany invades Italy, things heat up and they are now in occupied territory.
Lili flees to a villa to help orphans, then to Florence in a convent where they pose as nuns. After getting false papers and when Esti is wounded she asks Lili to get her son Theo to safety.
An emotional journey that sets Lili in the path of danger, while trying to get Theo to safety. The people she meets along the way and the struggles she will go through to save a little boy are dangerous, but worth every step. Love, loss and survival as their relationship is tested in many situations. Another wonderful novel by Hunter.