Amy Lynn Green is a brilliantly talented writer who, I am thrilled to say, has released her first novel from Bethany House Publishers – the very place where she has worked as a publicist for several years! Amy’s nonfiction articles have been featured in numerous publications that I’ve had the pleasure of reading over the years, and each one showcases her sparkling wit and thought-provoking wisdom. Now, this gift of writing has (at long last!) been transferred over into a beautiful novel that I almost missed, but I’m so glad I didn’t!

“Things We Didn’t Say” is an incredible story told in the most unique way – as an epistolary novel! Yes, the entire story is told ONLY through a series of letters; and yet the characters seem to walk off the pages and the story completely captivated my imagination from the first page. The year is 1944, and as intelligent and stubborn Johanna Berglund returns to her hometown (against her wishes) to act as a temporary translator for a new German Prisoner of War camp, she has no idea how life-changing this little detour will be. Tensions rise, opinions clash, and secrets escalate and explode. As the prisoners of the camp prove to be unlike anyone could have expected, Johanna discovers that the same might be said of the people she loves… and herself.

This novel alternated between causing me to laugh out loud, then a few pages later wipe away a tear. It was beautiful and rich, bringing history to life through first-person accounts from the characters, and I truly did not want it to end, even though I held my breath until the last page, completely beside myself to see how things were resolved!

So, Amy Green, if you read this review, will you PLEASE consider writing a sequel? I’m not really sure how that could work in the case of “Things We Didn’t Say”, but I need to hear what happens next for, well, I won’t say their names and give away any spoilers, but please consider it! And thank you for giving this incredible story to us, your readers. It is a treasured gift.

“Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.”