Hatti Waltz comes to town to cheer for and say goodbye to local soldiers. It’s 1917, and Arno Kreger is one of the brave men heading for boot camp. She wishes she could forget him as easily as it seems he forgot her.
Arno wants to carry Hatti’s promise to write him. He wants to court her but her father doesn’t like him. He’s been warned away.
The war in Europe is against the Germans. Arno, an American with a German heritage, doesn’t have an easy time with fellow soldiers. His fists have landed him in trouble in the past, but that’s not the way to win Hatti’s heart.
This story highlights the conflict German-American soldiers faced on the home front and the power of letters to connect two hearts that long for one another.
The characters are believable with plenty of surprising twists that are true to the time. What intrigued me most was learning that the story is loosely set on the author’s grandparents.
A good book for lovers of American history and World War I.
-Sandra Merville Hart
Sandra Merville Hart 