Acquired Book By: I received a complimentary copy of “The War Between Us” direct from the author Sarah Creviston Lee in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

When Lonnie met Alex Moon, he was the least likely person she expected to meet - in her generation, anyone who looked Oriental was suspicious due to the war at hand, thus, her impression of his cultural identity was slightly askewed. She didn't fully understand what Korean meant nor did she make the distinction from Japanese. Everything was topsy turvy back then; no one was taking the chance to get to know anyone else, whilst the world continued to fight and the war continued to rage. For these two, in a small Indiana towne, the reason they met was due to the outreach of her Uncle, a minister who felt everyone deserved a bit of compassion and respect.

Her home life was riddled with adversities - she was left in charge of the house and her siblings whilst her mother tried to pull in a living at the local glass factory; her father out of the picture and serving overseas. Alex for his part, was trying to escape his own family for his own reasons - they were each on a similar course, where parting with family felt more of a relief than something scary to undertake yet for Alex, the risks were higher due to how everyone misunderstood who he was and the motives of why he was here. For them, looking at Alex brought back the horrors of the war - it was an unjust and prejudicial view of the circumstances but what is what Lee is attempting to broach in her novel. Of how social misunderstandings can lead to bigger issues and how not understanding cultural divides is how society fails to move forward.

As Lonnie starts to talk to her siblings and her friends about Alex, she starts to see how the prejudiced thoughts of those round her are further afield than she could have imagined. Everyone is quick to judge Alex without the foundation of understanding who he is and even, to learn of his background. To everyone else, he is Japanese by default of misconstruing his cultural heritage and for that reason, he was outwardly hated. Not for any justification of reason but for the bias which was strongly voiced and felt due to the war itself. War had a strong effect on people - which is also shown as it made people who were non-violent, violent and as they acted on stronger feelings stemming from their concerns of the war itself, they retaliated against those they feared.

Lee opens the dialogue through an interesting meeting of her two characters - whilst letting the backdrop of the story, this small towne in Indiana fill in the gaps of understanding for how America was viewing other cultures during the war. In this, a discourse is set into play - where Lee examines the unforgiving tides of persecution and racist remarks against the innocent. And, yet, she also finds a way to re-examine the kindness and compassion of strangers who were not of the same mind as the others; those who sought to make their own opinions about the Orientals in the country and what made them uniquely different from one another.

Ms Lee brings us square and centre into Lonnie and Alex's lives - from the moment they met to how they fell in love - in the beginning, it is typical of what you would think you'd find during this war era, of the misconceptions of people's opinions on race and culture to the confines of the homefront with a country at war.

What made this a realistic story is how she infused the background of the story with the suspicious thoughts of the supporting cast who were the voices of the past who would have reflected their views in the same way. It is a look back into our living histories - of where prejudiced thoughts ran free due to the war, and where what you overheard from others made your ears cringe because they were speaking out of fear. The fear which was rampant was mostly due to the ignorance of what was happening overseas and of which countries were involved. This is the backbone of the novel - of showing those prejudices and those adverse opinions whilst how this social judgement worked against those who were innocently caught inside the current state of the country's mindset.

// This is a quotation of my full review originally shared via jorielovesastory.com

Six months ago the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and life changed for many people. Alex Moon, a California native with Korean Ancestry is encouraged by his father to join up immediately to fight the Japanese. But Alex has seen what the American people have done to the Japanese-American citizens and refuses his father's request. Because of this, Alex's father sends him on a train to his uncle in Washington, DC. Alex gets off on a train stop in the small town of River Bluff, Indiana only to be accosted and beaten up by locals who see the enemy in Alex's skin color. After being shipped to the police station, Reverend Hicks and his niece, Lonnie Hamilton come to check on Alex and offer him some kindness. Alex finds himself stuck in River Bluff and seeks out a friendship Lonnie. However, the rest of the town is determined to see Alex as one of the men that is fighting their sons overseas. Tensions mount in the small town as Alex and Lonnie's friendship grows into something more. Alex must face his identity as a Korean and American as well as his family's wishes for him.

The War Between Us is a wartime romance that will sweep you off your feet. This is a sweet and clean romance that develops into something much more as the prejudices of an entire town are brought to light. Alex and Lonnie's characters are what brought me into the story and kept me interested. On the surface, this is a simple love story. However, both Lonnie and Alex are complex characters with intriguing stories. From Alex I learned about the feelings and prejudices that Korean and Chinese Americans went through after the Pearl Harbor as well as the complexity of emotions he faced when dealing with people who despised him for what they believed him to be. I did enjoy learning about some Korean customs and food as Alex introduced his culture to Lonnie. Lonnie was also an amazing character who faced a different adversity of not living up to what others had planned for her. Lonnie's grows a lot during the story as her mind shifts and realizes that you can not choose who you love.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )

I had the privilege of reading an advanced copy of Mrs. Lee's book.

She really knows her history and weaves her knowledge of the WWII era beautifully into her writing. I enjoyed the smooth flow of her words, along with WWII lingo, and found myself drawn into Lonnie and Alex's world.

Lonnie is quite a character. She is curious about many things in life and has great ambitions. Along comes Alex, whose temperament I found endearing, in a predicament where he has to completely rely on the kindness of others. This is not easy for him! Lonnie just doesn't know what to make of this stranger in her simple town either.

I must say, I was blushing and gushing over the sweet moments in this novel. It was difficult to put the book down. And both the main characters have sides that will surprise you. A few moments had me gasping and worrying.

A clean read.

A must for curling up near the fire this winter. ( )