I was given a free copy of this book through the Goodreads giveaway program. This does not in any way affect my opinion. I try to express only my most honest opinion in a spoiler-free way. Unfortunately, there is still always a risk of slight spoilers despite my best efforts. If you feel something in my review is a spoiler please let me know. Thank you.

It is 1949 and 10-year-old Glory Bea's daddy was lost to the war years ago, but she has never given up hope that he could still come home. With the Merci Train coming to her hometown right around Valentine's Day, she strongly believes that that will be the day her daddy returns home and surprises them all. But now an old friend of her fathers is in town and here to stay and spending FAR to much time with her mama and she doesn't' like that at all.

I really enjoyed this book. I'm obviously not the targeted audience, but it was an enjoyable book. It says on the back of the book that it is meant for children ages 8-12. I could see my 13-year-old niece enjoying this book. She likes books that take place around the WWII period. It was a quick read but there was a lot to love. After the first couple of chapters, I knew this book was going to turn out really happy or really sad. I do have to say though that this book does an excellent job of dealing with the emotional parts. It does make to light of it so that the child that reads it can understand the seriousness of it but at the same time doesn't dwell too long on the sad stuff, making it an appropriate book for the age range. My daughter is just coming into this age range and I will be keeping an eye on future works by this author. ( )

Readers are sure to want to grab up this one and fall in love with a young girl and her amazing outlook on life and dreams.

Glory Bea is ten-year-s old and lives in a small, farming town three years after World War II has ended. Unlike every other family in town, her father never returned home after the front in France, and instead, is marked as missing. Her family, including grandparents, have held on to hope, and when there's an announcement of a special train coming into town with gifts from France as well as a extra-special surprise, she's sure it's her father. But as her excitement and hope builds, other things start happening. Still, she knows she'll see a miracle.

This is a novel with tons of heart. Glory Bea is a wonderful character, full of passion and life. She's not overly outspoken but is, by no means, someone to be ignored. Her friends trust her and adults like her. She has a special interest in match-making...thanks to her grandmother, who holds a talent in this area...and that makes for a fun, sweet twist in the tale as she tries to match up to of her best friends. She's simply the kind of girl, who would be fun to be around, and a person hard not to cheer for and hope the best happens.

Although historically set, this story flows very naturally and presents the time and tale in a very interesting way. Every page brings something, making it hard to put the book down. Little details bring the time to life without feeling laid out or forced. The author has done a superb job at bringing the time frame, people and happenings across in a way readers will connect to.

I absolutely loved reading this and believe that its not a book only for younger readers. Actually, I wouldn't even recommend it to readers until the age of eleven or so. While ten, Glory Bea often comes across a little older (more like twelve or thirteen). Not only are many of her thoughts and interactions a bit mature for ten, but the interest between boys and girls and how they interact, go to dances together and such, would suggest a slightly older age group. But this doesn't hurt the story in any way. As said, I simply see it more for upper middle graders and tweens.

This is definitely a read to recommend! I was lucky enough to receive an ARC and enjoyed this even more than I thought I would (and I was already excited about it). ( )