Review: Letter from Home

Two girls grow up together in a small Oklahoma town during World War II. Many years later, one writes the other a letter, and as a result, they reunite back in that small town, after a lifetime away. This novel is the story of that summer of 1944, and of the resolution of that story today.

Yes, this is a mystery novel, but it is also a coming of age story and a portrait of a past era in which the world, even in small-town Oklahoma, was in upheaval. Men were leaving for the war, women were doing war work in the factories, or replacing men in civilian life. And girls were beginning to learn about their possibilities and their limitations, just as they do in every generation.

Gretchen, a teenager who loves writing, is encouraged by her teacher to ask for a summer job at the local paper, filling in for a young man who has been drafted. She loves the work, and discovers her calling as a writer while discovering the town she has taken for granted all her life. Reporting the news becomes particularly personal for Gretchen when her next-door neighbour, the mother of her friend Barb, is found dead, and Barb's father is suspected of the murder.

I enjoyed this book immensely. The puzzle part - the crime and its resolution - was clever and intriguing, but the strength of the book is in its evocation of period and place, which is so well-done that reader feels like she actually knew that hot dry town and all the townspeople. The characterization is very strong. Gretchen is particularly well- portrayed as both the rather naive small-town young girl, and as the elderly, well-travelled, experienced and sophisticated woman she becomes, as the point of view of the novel shifts. The other characters also have dimension and depth - Gretchen's beloved grandmother, her mother, the local police chief, even some of the townspeople who make brief appearances and express their opinions on the scandalous murder. I recommend this book highly.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Cheryl - RAM

Book Review: Letter from Home