We Must Be Brave - Frances Liardet

We Must Be Brave

By Frances Liardet

  • Release Date: 2019-02-26
  • Genre: Historical Fiction
4 Score: 4 (From 230 Ratings)

Description

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"A powerful story that proves how love itself requires courage." --Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing

Spanning World War II and the sweep of the twentieth century, We Must Be Brave explores the fierce love that we feel for our children and the power of that love to endure. Beyond distance, beyond time, beyond life itself.


A woman. A war. The child who changed everything.

December 1940. As German bombs fall on Southampton, England during World War II, the city's residents flee to the surrounding villages. In Upton village, amid the chaos, newly married Ellen Parr finds a girl asleep, unclaimed at the back of an empty bus. Little Pamela, it seems, is entirely alone.

Ellen has always believed she does not want children, but when she takes Pamela into her home, the child cracks open the past Ellen thought she had escaped and the future she and her husband Selwyn had dreamed for themselves. As the war rages on, love grows where it was least expected, surprising them all. But with the end of the fighting comes the realization that Pamela was never theirs to keep. Spanning the sweep of the twentieth century, We Must Be Brave explores the fierce love that we feel for our children and the power of that love to endure. Beyond distance, beyond time, beyond life itself.

Reviews

  • We Must Be Brave

    1
    By alliebforme
    I had to quit reading this book. Boring!! The author had so many characters I couldn’t keep it all straight. Maybe she was being paid by the number of words in the book—I think she went through the telephone book for all the characters she was introducing. There was even a part where I couldn’t tell if she was talking about a person or a croquet ball. Uhh!!! I was never so frustrated in reading a book. I think I made it to chapter five before I realized this was not going to get any better. I had to rate it at one star which is one star too many.
  • Started off good but then....

    3
    By Leslie B. Papel,Au.D.
    The story was engaging but the last third of the book just dragged on. I couldn’t wait for it to end. There was no real information about why Pamela never wanted to get back in touch with Ellen, the whole thing was disjointed and disappointing.
  • Heartbreak and Survival

    5
    By Primadonna2
    My heart broke when Pamela left for Ireland. So much time elapsed before Ellen and she saw each other again. The gifted author wrote with poignancy not often found in novels. For me, it was a bit confusing at times concerning some of the characters. There are many characters in the story that left me befuddled at times. During the last few chapters, things are explained. I marvel at the resiliency of adults and children that lived during WWII. They were so deprived of most essential things, yet they found ways to adapt. In many ways, I think that their lives were fuller and more purposeful than our lives today. Would recommend this novel to readers that love reading about lives during the war.
  • Wonderful Book

    5
    By Mom to Eddie
    One of the best stories I’ve read in a long time.
  • So beautifully written!

    5
    By zzzzzzzz's
    So sad. So lovely. So powerful.
  • Wonderful book

    5
    By cantsingjustlisten
    I've read thousands of books over my 73 years. This is the 1st book I've left a review for. It is a beautiful book. I've read several books, probably more like hundreds, about families who lived through World War II. This book really impressed me, especially the years leading up to the war for Ellen. Thank you so much for writing this book. It IS a wonderful book & I would certainly recommend it to anyone & everyone.
  • We Must Be Bravery

    5
    By PushpushStable
    Brilliant storytelling. Wonderfully descriptive scenes. Destined to bring joy and tears.
  • We must be brave

    4
    By Janet6000
    Started out really good but bogged down in the middle.
  • Great read!

    5
    By Spot it addict
    Not the kind of story I usually read however I was pleasantly surprised by this story! I couldn’t put it down! Great read!!
  • Beautifully written...

    3
    By TwoPoodles
    ...but a bit repetitious in many parts. Very sad. The most dramatic part - the letter writing. I was hoping for a happier outcome, but hey, that’s life!

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