World War II has inspired so many novels that I often wonder if its story will ever end, as the conflict itself did almost eighty years ago. Thankfully, some authors occasionally bring a fresh perspective to the subject. That’s the case with Terrie Todd’s novel, Even if We Cry.
Todd has chosen CORB, the Children’s Overseas Protection Bureau, as the catalyst for her story. It concerns English parents who sent their children to other countries for safekeeping from German bombs. Nina Gabriel, 14, takes responsibility for her younger brother and sister as they sail the Atlantic to Canada. They arrive safely to discover that the Wrights, their host family, were expecting one child, not three. Nina must decide whether to let her siblings be separated from her or take matters into her own hands.
Nina emerges as a bright and responsible girl who makes friends easily and bravely adapts to the difficulties of wartime. She has to grow up more quickly than most children because her brother Geoffrey is a troublemaker, and her sister Hazel needs constant mothering. Worse, the Wrights’ daughter Carol is hostile to the newcomers and carries a burden of guilt over a family tragedy.
As one might expect with a teenage girl, romance is never far from Nina’s mind. She and Carol are both in love with David Cain, a farmhand whose own family becomes important to Nina and her siblings.
The author paints a detailed picture of conditions in the 1940s, combining narration with letters between the characters to keep the story moving forward. We learn much about the community’s citizens from Nina, who intervenes on behalf of a troubled classmate and works hard to earn her place in this new environment.
A thread of Christian faith runs through the novel, a virtue often absent in modern literature. Even if We Cry is a welcome reminder that when troubles overwhelm us, we can always depend on God for strength and guidance.
Featured by Chevron Ross
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Weapons of Remorse The Seven-Day Resurrection The Samaritan’s Patient
