I loved this book. Jon moves to Jackson, Indiana after his family is killed to live with his maternal grandmother. He meets Mary at high school and both are very smart. Jon has problems because he is Jewish but this doesn't matter to Mary. He meets Ben while exploring the area and learns to fly. Because of an incident involving the school bully, he joins the Army Air Force to avoid jail. He is sent to England. Mary joins the Army to find Jon and with help of her commanding officer, she finds him. I found this part of the book hard to believe, but the rest of the book was believable and the war scenes were heart racing. Even though the back ground of much of this book is war, its still a book more for women. This would be a great book to read on vacation. ( )

I very much liked this book. There are many levels to this story. Mary - the mayor's daughter who doesn't agree with the way Jon is treated and is attracted to him - is one half of a sweet innocent love story that grows strong and wise beyond the couple's years and is sure to last a life time. The small town basketball coach, who allows and enables hostile treatment of Jon drew my ire. One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Jon is forced to take a stand against him, through conditions set up by the coach, and it backfires on the despicable man who ends up getting his just desserts. I don't want to give away too much of the story, but I assure you that it will make you cheer. The relationship between John and his grandmother most intrigued me as I learned the circumstances behind her seeming indifference to the boy, and watched him earn her approval and gain her love. The things he goes through on a daily basis wrench my heart. He has a spirit than can not be squelched through racism, discrimination, bullying, violence, or even war. It is sure to endear him to every reader, as it did me. There is so much going on in this book, especially behind the scenes, that will keep you entertained and interested until everything is revealed. I strongly recommend it.
I was given a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. ( )

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A young man is orphaned at the age of sixteen. He is sent to live with his estranged grandmother who doesn't want anything to do with him. With his life turned upside down, he finds himself ostracized in her new home all because his father was a Jew. Framed for a crime he didn't commit, he finds himself dropping bombs over Germany while his town back home deals with betrayal of their own and the love of his life fighting to get her life back.

This historical fiction novel is an excellent story that will have you cheering one minute, angry the next, and then fighting back the tears. The storyline was exceptionally well-written, pulling in a variety of characters there were themselves very deep. I loved the depths the author took them. I had tears in my eyes as I watched the relationship between Jon and his grandmother move all over the spectrum. Even the despicable ones were not flat. They had many facets though not enough to have you generating sympathy for them.

I found myself unable to put the book down after I got into it. I have to admit that I struggled in the beginning. Not for want of a great story or excellent writing. It was the subject matter. The hatred shown against the young boy for being Jewish angered me. I wanted to reach into the story and take care of a few characters.

With that note, there is quite a bit of hate acts in the book as well as an attempted rape and other violent scenes. You are taken from small-town Indiana to the skies over France where death could occur easily with the rip of a bullet. Though the book is not graphic, there is no doubt what is happening and it is not quite sugar-coated.

This is one book you'll think on long after you finish reading it and will recommend to others.

Note: This book was received as part of a virtual book tour with no expectations of a positive review. ( )