What do you think?
Rate this book
Sunfire #18
Veronica
World War II threatens to destroy her home and her first chance for love. Her heart is filled with love for a man she may never see again.To 16-year-old Veronica Stewart, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1941 is a tropical paradise. Pretty and popular, her biggest worry is how to tell her longtime boyfriend, Mike, that she'd like to date other boys - especially Phillip, a handsome sailor stationed at the base.But December 7, 1941, the day the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor and America enters World War II, changes everything. Both Phillip and Mike are called to duty and both realize they are in love with Veronica. She is terrified for their safety but keeps busy working as a hospital volunteer. Veronica faces hardship and danger, but the work helps her grow into a woman and to realize which man she truly loves. Will he come back to Hawaii to claim Veronica's heart?
220 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
1 person is currently reading
227 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 7, 2008
I am currently engaged in a re-read of the Sunfire series, the ultimate goal being to let other re-readers and collectors know which ones are worth tracking down. I would say that this one is worth it.
Veronica Stewart has grown up on Hawaii, where her father has been stationed with the Navy. She's an ordinary 16 year old who is focusing on graduating high school and going on to UCLA. The most serious thing on her mind is that her steady date, Mike Kokohuilano, wants a show of commitment, but Veronica would rather be free to date other boys, such as Phillip Easterwood, the young Navy sailor she meets at a party. Both guys ask Veronica to go steady on December 6, 1941, and she pretty much thinks this makes her life hell.
Until the next morning, of course, when her life actually does go to hell. Jane Claypool Miner is usually quite good with descriptions and emotional reactions, and she outdoes herself this time. The Pearl Harbor attack is something most Americans have a passing familiarity with, but most of us are used to seeing it presented in the grand scale of generals and battleships and strategies and important men shouting into telephones. Here, we've got a scared kid who has no idea what's going on, and even less of an idea what to do. She has no idea of the scope of things, or if her house has been bombed, or if Phillip is still alive out there on the Arizona.
Veronica's fear, anger, and bravery all blend together and shift and assert themselves one by one. She alternately takes charge and crumbles emotionally. It's believable and human and well-written.
Miner handles the details of the era with her usual dexterity. The military history is well-researched but not overwhelming, the realities of wartime are appropriately terrifying and frustrating for the characters. The prejudice against people of Japanese descent is humanized very effectively by the character of Toshi Nakamura, Veronica's best friend. The racial blend of Hawaii in general is addressed as well, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that racial relations during the war were somewhat more cordial there than in other places. I mean, it's still crappy, but at least there weren't Japanese interment camps on Hawaii. (I tend to trust Miner's research.)
I also had never heard of the courageous Hawaiian swimmers who actually dove through the bombs and burning oil to rescue Navy sailors who jumped from their sinking ships. They later braved the still burning wreckage to retrieve bodies. I can't imagine being that brave. (The character of Mike is depicted as doing this in the story.)
Veronica herself is a well-drawn character. I did appreciate her attitude towards her romantic entanglements. More than anything, she seemed irritated and frustrated at the complication of having two men interested in her. Too many Sunfire heroines tell their steady that they don't want to be serious and then immediately run off to become serious with Option #2. Veronica isn't ready to be serious, and she tells both men so, and then sticks to her guns. Hooray!
Because this book focuses only on the beginning of WWII, there is not as much clear resolution to the story, which actually works very well. (This one doesn't "end with a kiss," since her guy's off at war.) Rather than a traditional narrative, this is an open-ended story, a snapshot of the short period during which Veronica grew up emotionally. She doesn't know what will happen to her, or her father and boyfriend out fighting, but despite the overwhelming sadness of this novel, it ends on a note of hope.
One tiny quibble: Phillip is gotten rid of a tiny tad *too* easily. There is also something about his miraculous escape from death that doesn't quite fadge. Phillip himself is so squirrely about it that I wonder if we're supposed to be picking up hints of something else. Cowardice in battle, perhaps? It's just a tad unclear.
A tinier quibble: the cover art is beautiful, except that Veronica is described as a brown-eyed strawberry blonde, not a blue-eyed platinum blonde. A minor gaffe, but every other cover matches the book's description. It bugged me because I usually love the cover art for this series.
Verdict: This is a very nicely drawn slice of life about one girl caught up in history. I actually found it to be a very emotional book. Definitely a must-buy for collectors.
Veronica Stewart has grown up on Hawaii, where her father has been stationed with the Navy. She's an ordinary 16 year old who is focusing on graduating high school and going on to UCLA. The most serious thing on her mind is that her steady date, Mike Kokohuilano, wants a show of commitment, but Veronica would rather be free to date other boys, such as Phillip Easterwood, the young Navy sailor she meets at a party. Both guys ask Veronica to go steady on December 6, 1941, and she pretty much thinks this makes her life hell.
Until the next morning, of course, when her life actually does go to hell. Jane Claypool Miner is usually quite good with descriptions and emotional reactions, and she outdoes herself this time. The Pearl Harbor attack is something most Americans have a passing familiarity with, but most of us are used to seeing it presented in the grand scale of generals and battleships and strategies and important men shouting into telephones. Here, we've got a scared kid who has no idea what's going on, and even less of an idea what to do. She has no idea of the scope of things, or if her house has been bombed, or if Phillip is still alive out there on the Arizona.
Veronica's fear, anger, and bravery all blend together and shift and assert themselves one by one. She alternately takes charge and crumbles emotionally. It's believable and human and well-written.
Miner handles the details of the era with her usual dexterity. The military history is well-researched but not overwhelming, the realities of wartime are appropriately terrifying and frustrating for the characters. The prejudice against people of Japanese descent is humanized very effectively by the character of Toshi Nakamura, Veronica's best friend. The racial blend of Hawaii in general is addressed as well, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that racial relations during the war were somewhat more cordial there than in other places. I mean, it's still crappy, but at least there weren't Japanese interment camps on Hawaii. (I tend to trust Miner's research.)
I also had never heard of the courageous Hawaiian swimmers who actually dove through the bombs and burning oil to rescue Navy sailors who jumped from their sinking ships. They later braved the still burning wreckage to retrieve bodies. I can't imagine being that brave. (The character of Mike is depicted as doing this in the story.)
Veronica herself is a well-drawn character. I did appreciate her attitude towards her romantic entanglements. More than anything, she seemed irritated and frustrated at the complication of having two men interested in her. Too many Sunfire heroines tell their steady that they don't want to be serious and then immediately run off to become serious with Option #2. Veronica isn't ready to be serious, and she tells both men so, and then sticks to her guns. Hooray!
Because this book focuses only on the beginning of WWII, there is not as much clear resolution to the story, which actually works very well. (This one doesn't "end with a kiss," since her guy's off at war.) Rather than a traditional narrative, this is an open-ended story, a snapshot of the short period during which Veronica grew up emotionally. She doesn't know what will happen to her, or her father and boyfriend out fighting, but despite the overwhelming sadness of this novel, it ends on a note of hope.
One tiny quibble: Phillip is gotten rid of a tiny tad *too* easily. There is also something about his miraculous escape from death that doesn't quite fadge. Phillip himself is so squirrely about it that I wonder if we're supposed to be picking up hints of something else. Cowardice in battle, perhaps? It's just a tad unclear.
A tinier quibble: the cover art is beautiful, except that Veronica is described as a brown-eyed strawberry blonde, not a blue-eyed platinum blonde. A minor gaffe, but every other cover matches the book's description. It bugged me because I usually love the cover art for this series.
Verdict: This is a very nicely drawn slice of life about one girl caught up in history. I actually found it to be a very emotional book. Definitely a must-buy for collectors.
September 22, 2024
I haven’t re-read a Sunfire in maybe 15 years — they were a staple of my childhood and something I loved as a girl who was interested in romance but also loved historical stories.
Veronica was one of the series books I always remembered. Pearl Harbor was such a memorable and tragic event and I don’t think I had ever read a story about the people who lived there during the attack, including the Japanese-Hawaiian residents. It informed me a lot about what happened at the time, and it was interesting to re-read it and realize that’s where I learned certain things.
What I loved about this Sunfire is that the romance was *such* a back burner plot. The majority of the story is about Veronica and how she learns to be brave — becoming an ally for the Japanese students at her school and a volunteer at the hospital in the aftermath of the attack. As in every Sunfire, there’s a love triangle, but this one really just peppered it in the beginning and very end. And the ending! Casual enough to know who she chooses but ambiguous enough not to know what truly happened. I’m definitely going to dive into my Sunfire stash after this and read some more.
Veronica was one of the series books I always remembered. Pearl Harbor was such a memorable and tragic event and I don’t think I had ever read a story about the people who lived there during the attack, including the Japanese-Hawaiian residents. It informed me a lot about what happened at the time, and it was interesting to re-read it and realize that’s where I learned certain things.
What I loved about this Sunfire is that the romance was *such* a back burner plot. The majority of the story is about Veronica and how she learns to be brave — becoming an ally for the Japanese students at her school and a volunteer at the hospital in the aftermath of the attack. As in every Sunfire, there’s a love triangle, but this one really just peppered it in the beginning and very end. And the ending! Casual enough to know who she chooses but ambiguous enough not to know what truly happened. I’m definitely going to dive into my Sunfire stash after this and read some more.
January 2, 2019
This particular Sunfire Romance novel is set during World War II. In Hawaii. Our heroine, Veronica, is sixteen. Her father is in the U.S. Navy. He's been stationed there all of her life, she was born and raised there. Veronica portrays the subtle-and-not-so-subtle prejudices of the day. Prejudices against those native Hawaiians; prejudices against the Japanese. Veronica Bennett, unlike her parents, has an open mind. Her best friend, Toshi Nakamura, is of Japanese descent. Her boyfriend, Mike Kokohuilano, is Hawaiian.
When the book opens, she is at a party. A party mostly consisting of those her parents' age. However, there just happens to be one boy there--a very cute boy at that--who is around her age. Two years older, in fact, a Navy man, Phillip Easterwood who's stationed on the U.S.S. Arizona. They meet in the late autumn of 1941.
Before Veronica knows it, she's being wooed by two men: Phillip, a so-called "romantic" man who likes to hear himself talk; and Mike, a guy who's more down-to-earth and all-around-nice-guy. Who will Veronica choose? Or will the Japanese bombers choose for her? Will Phillip survive to the end of the book?
This is from one of Phillip's speeches on their first date:
"The minute I saw you standing in the garden with all these flowers around you, I knew you were right for me. Your hair looked like gold against the blue sky, and then you smiled at me. Do you know how long it's been since someone really smiled at me? Sunny, will you be my girl?"
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
When the book opens, she is at a party. A party mostly consisting of those her parents' age. However, there just happens to be one boy there--a very cute boy at that--who is around her age. Two years older, in fact, a Navy man, Phillip Easterwood who's stationed on the U.S.S. Arizona. They meet in the late autumn of 1941.
Before Veronica knows it, she's being wooed by two men: Phillip, a so-called "romantic" man who likes to hear himself talk; and Mike, a guy who's more down-to-earth and all-around-nice-guy. Who will Veronica choose? Or will the Japanese bombers choose for her? Will Phillip survive to the end of the book?
This is from one of Phillip's speeches on their first date:
"The minute I saw you standing in the garden with all these flowers around you, I knew you were right for me. Your hair looked like gold against the blue sky, and then you smiled at me. Do you know how long it's been since someone really smiled at me? Sunny, will you be my girl?"
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
July 1, 2016
*Rereading my way through the Sunfire series, in publication order*
A solid entry in the Sunfire series, though I don't expect anything different from Jane Claypool Miner. Right from the first page I identified with Veronica as she eyes quiet corners of a party for the best spot to escape with a book. Girl after my own heart. Veronica is the daughter of a Navy captain stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in (you guessed it) late 1941. She's focused and practical, finishing high school and planning to go to college on the mainland. Though she quickly has two smitten suitors declaring their sudden love and begging for a promise from her, Veronica wisely reminds them that she's only sixteen and has way too much to do before she even wants to think about marriage. I might have put down the book to applaud her right then and there. You go, girl. Her boyfriend Mike is a longtime friend, an easygoing guy who shares her love of the island. Until handsome older man Philip, a young sailor, arrives on the scene and attempts to charm the bloomers off her. Veronica stays firm, happy to date both as long as neither harbors any expectations. Of course, halfway through the book, Pearl Harbor is attacked, drawing all of the characters into a tension not of their own making, giving them the chance to find new strength and resilience.
There were so many things I liked about this book, from the cover (one of the nicest and more accurate in the series) to the satisfying-yet-not-sappy ending. With a short form novel centered around an event like the attack on Pearl Harbor, the story can only go so far towards a HEA. The reader knows there are years of war still to go after "the end". But Veronica is smart and sturdy and the reader has faith that she'll continue on the path to a happy ending after the war. I also enjoyed the diversity of the cast. It made sense, given the setting, but the author could have easily chosen a more homogenous cast and glide past the growing racism after the attack. I'm glad she didn't, as it was a strong choice, both from a historical and a character standpoint.
A solid entry in the Sunfire series, though I don't expect anything different from Jane Claypool Miner. Right from the first page I identified with Veronica as she eyes quiet corners of a party for the best spot to escape with a book. Girl after my own heart. Veronica is the daughter of a Navy captain stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in (you guessed it) late 1941. She's focused and practical, finishing high school and planning to go to college on the mainland. Though she quickly has two smitten suitors declaring their sudden love and begging for a promise from her, Veronica wisely reminds them that she's only sixteen and has way too much to do before she even wants to think about marriage. I might have put down the book to applaud her right then and there. You go, girl. Her boyfriend Mike is a longtime friend, an easygoing guy who shares her love of the island. Until handsome older man Philip, a young sailor, arrives on the scene and attempts to charm the bloomers off her. Veronica stays firm, happy to date both as long as neither harbors any expectations. Of course, halfway through the book, Pearl Harbor is attacked, drawing all of the characters into a tension not of their own making, giving them the chance to find new strength and resilience.
There were so many things I liked about this book, from the cover (one of the nicest and more accurate in the series) to the satisfying-yet-not-sappy ending. With a short form novel centered around an event like the attack on Pearl Harbor, the story can only go so far towards a HEA. The reader knows there are years of war still to go after "the end". But Veronica is smart and sturdy and the reader has faith that she'll continue on the path to a happy ending after the war. I also enjoyed the diversity of the cast. It made sense, given the setting, but the author could have easily chosen a more homogenous cast and glide past the growing racism after the attack. I'm glad she didn't, as it was a strong choice, both from a historical and a character standpoint.
December 28, 2008
From looking at the cover, it looks like this one is set during WWII.
I can't remember if there was any consistency to which fellow the titular character chose. Usually she had to pick between the very good boy and the sort of bad boy (bad boy lite). I don't think any of these young women were interested in monstrous men, but usually there was one guy that her parents didn't like very much or was below her class level or something like that. I hope the author mixed it up so it was hard to guess which guy the main character would choose. What fun would it be if the reader knew from page one that the protagonist would end up with the boy next door?
I can't remember if there was any consistency to which fellow the titular character chose. Usually she had to pick between the very good boy and the sort of bad boy (bad boy lite). I don't think any of these young women were interested in monstrous men, but usually there was one guy that her parents didn't like very much or was below her class level or something like that. I hope the author mixed it up so it was hard to guess which guy the main character would choose. What fun would it be if the reader knew from page one that the protagonist would end up with the boy next door?
February 11, 2016
When I started this, I would have been willing to bet anyone a thousand dollars that I would hate it. And i did hate it until the attack on Pearl Harbor, then it was quite interesting. I have read many books of this time in history but most were only on the military side of it. I was stationed there at one time so it was interesting reading about the places I knew of and to read of the civilian side of things. The romance part of the book was stupid to me.
January 8, 2009
This one was one of my favorites in this series. Mostly because I love WWII, but I liked to story.. from what I remember.
March 29, 2009
Very simple story about a girl during the Pearl Harbor attack. The love triangle is very basic and you don't get too attached to the characters.
September 27, 2019
Loved it with all my teenage heart! Loved this whole series when I was a teen but this book was my favorite. Because I'm a WWII history buff.
July 13, 2013
This was one of my favorite of the Sunfire books; I read it at least three times.
December 9, 2015
Liked how this book was different than most of the others.
August 20, 2016
Uh-oh...Phillip just uttered the "I know you better than you know yourself" line. Ugh. I hate you already, Phillip.
Dude on the cover, I'm assuming it's meant to be Mike, looks like he 's about 30.
Dude on the cover, I'm assuming it's meant to be Mike, looks like he 's about 30.
October 12, 2017
Nostalgia book: This Book comes from the Sunfire series, one of my favorite series as a girl. So many times in theses books the girls are driven into action by the love of their boy. Veronica is not like that. She really grows and changes because of the service that she gives to the people she loves after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. There are two beaus of course but the do not drive the plot-line. It is good to read about this strong young woman.
February 12, 2025
This was an interesting addition to the Sunfire series. It felt like Veronica having to grow up quickly during wartime was more front and center with the romance in the background. In this one, Veronica must choose between Mike her long-time dating partner and Phillip a sailor who just transferred to Hawaii. The choice for me was easy Phillip was way too pushy, and Mike was always willing to wait for Veronica. It really seemed like the author did her research. Overall enjoyable.
July 26, 2018
WW II in Pearl Harbor.
July 3, 2017
I originally read this series back in the 80s, checking them out from my elementary school library. Having re-read them as an adult I think they stand the test of time and are still relevant as far as historical fiction is concerned.
October 16, 2022
I swear this book was partly the inspiration for the move “Pear Harbor“! I had a strange déjà-vu feeling watching the movie, and I realized it’s because it reminded me of this book!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews