Next to Love by Ellen Feldman

Synopsis from BN.com:  A story of love, war, loss, and the scars they leave, Next to Love follows the lives of three young women and their men during the years of World War II and its aftermath, beginning with the men going off to war and ending a generation later, when their children are on the cusp of their own adulthood.


Set in a small town in Massachusetts, the novel follows three childhood friends, Babe, Millie, and Grace, whose lives are unmoored when their men are called to duty. And yet the changes that are thrust upon them move them in directions they never dreamed possible—while their husbands and boyfriends are enduring their own transformations. In the decades that follow, the three friends lose their innocence, struggle to raise their children, and find meaning and love in unexpected places. And as they change, so does America—from a country in which people know their place in the social hierarchy to a world in which feminism, the Civil Rights movement, and technological innovations present new possibilities—and uncertainties. And yet Babe, Millie, and Grace remain bonded by their past, even as their children grow up and away and a new society rises from the ashes of the war.


My Review:  I loved this book. The story takes us through the lives of three friends (since young children), Babe, Grace and Millie.  Given the story transports us back to WWII, the story takes us through the ladies struggles with their men off to war, the men's return (or lack of) and the struggles that continue for next 25+ years.  The story is so well written and does an excellent job of transporting you back to the WWII era.  It is filled with drama and emotion, you can't wait to turn the page to see what is going to happen. I loved the ending and that is all I will say, since I don't want to spoil for you all!

I highly recommend this book and give it a "must read!"  Look for it in bookstores July 26th or pre-order now!

I have to go order another of Ellen Feldman's book - The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank.  Doesn't that sound so good.  I love Anne Frank stories.

Check out Ellen's website by clicking here.

Thanks to the publisher, Spiegel & Grau for providing me a copy of the book.