The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee Book Review

About the Book:

Inspired by true stories, The Long March Home is a gripping coming-of-age tale of friendship, sacrifice, and the power of unrelenting hope.

Jimmy Propfield joined the army for two reasons: to get out of Mobile, Alabama, with his best friends Hank and Billy and to forget his high school sweetheart, Claire.

Life in the Philippines seems like paradise—until the morning of December 8, 1941, when news comes from Manila: Imperial Japan has bombed Pearl Harbor. Within hours, the teenage friends are plunged into war as enemy warplanes attack Luzon, beginning a battle for control of the Pacific theater that will culminate with a last stand on the Bataan Peninsula and end with the largest surrender of American troops in history.

What follows will become known as one of the worst atrocities in modern warfare: the Bataan Death March. With no hope of rescue, the three friends vow to make it back home together. But the ordeal is only the beginning of their nearly four-year fight to survive.

My Review:

This is a sweeping novel that covers several years, following the three young men and their experiences in WW II. The narrative is dual time and jumps from the time of the war experience to previous times when the boys share a friendship. The later story goes from the allure of being in a snappy military uniform to the reality of internment by the Japanese.

The authors portray well the friendship commitment between three young men. Unfortunately, there is no faith message in this novel. Although the main character telling the story is the son of a pastor, he pretty much carouses along with the other soldiers. There is no clear idea of trusting God during the time of need.

Potential readers need to know that this novel is very realistic and has descriptions of torture and violent acts during war that may be triggering or upsetting to some readers.

This is a good addition to the novels reminding us of the experiences American soldiers had in the hands of the Japanese.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

 

About the Authors:

Marcus Brotherton is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author or coauthor of more than 25 books that have been called "fascinating," "brilliantly arranged," "magical," and "refreshingly frank." Photo Credit: © Ben Bender Photography 

Tosca Lee is the New York Times bestselling author of 11 novels, including The Line Between, The Progeny, The Legend of Sheba, and Iscariot. Lee's work has been praised as "deeply human," "powerful," and "mind-bending historical fiction."

Revell, 400 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)