To listen to Amy’s full interview with Historical Bookworm follow the link for Episode 17.
Since the attack on Pearl Harbor, Gordon Hooper and his buddy Jack Armitage have done “work of national importance” in the West as conscientious objectors: volunteering as smokejumpers, and parachuting into and extinguishing raging wildfires. But the number of winter blazes they’re called to in early 1945 seems suspiciously high, and when an accident leaves Jack badly injured, Gordon realizes the facts don’t add up.
A member of the Women’s Army Corps, Dorie Armitage has long been ashamed of her brother’s pacifism, but she’s shocked by news of his accident. Determined to find out why he was harmed, she arrives at the national forest under the guise of conducting an army report . . . and finds herself forced to work with Gordon. He believes it’s wrong to lie; she’s willing to do whatever it takes for justice to be done. As they search for clues, Gordon and Dorie must wrestle with their convictions about war and peace and decide what to do with the troubling secrets they discover.
The Review
Amy Lynn Green’s sophomore novel brings to the forefront a little known World War II event that may be eye-opening for many as it was for this reader. Based on true events, as well as the conflict between conscientious objectors and their family and friends, The Lines Between Us is a smart and engaging story.
Green has a superb handle on writing in first person. Dorie Armitage and Gordon Hooper are nearly complete opposites, and their distinct voices shine and highlight these differences. Both are eager to solve the mystery of Jack’s accident, but find themselves forced to reevaluate their beliefs and what they are willing to sacrifice to find out the truth.
The honor and tact that Green uses in her writing as she portrays the differing viewpoints in the story is to be applauded. She acknowledges the depth of sacrifice by those home and abroad during the war, those that gave their life, but also those left “remembering the ones who wouldn’t come home – but loving them enough to keep on living anyway.” The way this heartfelt sentiment entwines with dangerous task of fighting wildfires is utterly poignant and can only be truly felt by reading the book for yourself.
If you enjoy historical fiction based on a different aspect of World War II with notes of mystery, moral questions, and superb characterization, add The Lines Between Us to your fall reading list.
Disclaimer: The publisher offered a complimentary copy of this book. The review was given freely, without payment. All views expressed are only the honest opinion of a member of the Historical Bookworm Review Team.
The Author
Amy Lynn Green is a lifelong lover of books, history, and library cards. She worked in publishing for six years before writing her first historical fiction novel, based on the WWII home front of Minnesota, the state where she lives, works, and survives long winters. Because of her day job in publicity, she has taught classes on marketing at writer’s conferences and regularly encourages established and aspiring authors in their publication journeys. In her novels (and her daily life), she loves exploring the intersection of faith and fiction and searches for answers to present-day questions by looking to the past.
If she had lived in the 1940s, you would have found her writing long letters to friends and family, daydreaming about creating an original radio drama, and drinking copious amounts of non-rationed tea. (Actually, these things are fairly accurate for her modern life as well.)
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