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American Family Portrait #6
The Allies
Theirs was a vision of peace. The world had outgrown war. Or so they thought.
Belgium lies in ruins. France is about to fall. England is ablaze from nightly bombings. Can America's late entry into the Great War make a difference? Can the world truly be made safe for democracy?
Like the rest of the nation, the lives of the Morgan family are uprooted by the whirlpool of strife on the European continent, none more violently than Emily Morgan and her daughter, Katy, who are aboard the luxury liner Lusitania when it is torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland. Eventually, both Katy and her younger brother, Johnny, long the family “black sheep,” become participants in the war itself, Katy as a nurse, Johnny as an aviator with a pursuit squadron.
Through a series of ill-fated events, rumor, and broken communications, the fate of the Morgans grows darker still when Katy and Johnny both find themselves caught behind German lines. Will Katy suffer the same martyr's death as the British nurse she so admired and tried to emulate? Can Johnny find the key to ending the war within himself and find that elusive personal peace—or will his competitiveness destroy not only him but his sister as well?
JACK CAVANAUGH's first book in this critically acclaimed series, The Puritans, was an ECPA Gold Medallion Award finalist. A full-time freelance writer and public speaker, Jack, his wife Marni, and their three children make their home in San Diego, California.
Belgium lies in ruins. France is about to fall. England is ablaze from nightly bombings. Can America's late entry into the Great War make a difference? Can the world truly be made safe for democracy?
Like the rest of the nation, the lives of the Morgan family are uprooted by the whirlpool of strife on the European continent, none more violently than Emily Morgan and her daughter, Katy, who are aboard the luxury liner Lusitania when it is torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland. Eventually, both Katy and her younger brother, Johnny, long the family “black sheep,” become participants in the war itself, Katy as a nurse, Johnny as an aviator with a pursuit squadron.
Through a series of ill-fated events, rumor, and broken communications, the fate of the Morgans grows darker still when Katy and Johnny both find themselves caught behind German lines. Will Katy suffer the same martyr's death as the British nurse she so admired and tried to emulate? Can Johnny find the key to ending the war within himself and find that elusive personal peace—or will his competitiveness destroy not only him but his sister as well?
JACK CAVANAUGH's first book in this critically acclaimed series, The Puritans, was an ECPA Gold Medallion Award finalist. A full-time freelance writer and public speaker, Jack, his wife Marni, and their three children make their home in San Diego, California.
500 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1997
19 people are currently reading
231 people want to read
About the author
Jack Cavanaugh
36 books154 followersJack Cavanaugh is an award-winning, full-time freelance author with twenty-five published novels to his credit. His nine-volume American Family Portrait series spans the history of a nation from 1630 to the present and is still in print nearly fifteen years following its release.
A student of the novel for more than a quarter of a century, Jack takes his craft seriously, continuing to study and teach at Christian writers conferences. He is the former pastor of three churches in San Diego County and draws upon his theological background for the spiritual elements of his plots and characters.
His novels have been translated into a dozen foreign languages, largely because of the universal scope of his topics. Jack has not only written about American history, but about South Africa, banned English Bibles, German Christians in the days of Hitler and Communism, revivals in America, and angelic warfare.
Jack’s current writing schedule includes motion picture screenplays and e-book serial fiction with Internet distribution. His novel Death Watch has been optioned to be made into a motion picture by Out Cold Entertainment, Inc.
Jack has three grown children and lives with his wife in Southern California.
AWARDS
• Silver Medallion Award (1995), Christian Booksellers Association
• Christy Award (2002, 2003), Excellence in Christian Fiction
• Silver Angel Award (2002), Excellence in Media
• Gold Medal, Best Historical (2001), ForeWord Magazine
• Best Historical Novel (1994), San Diego Literary Society
• Best Novel (1995, 1996, 2005), San Diego Christian Writers Guild
A student of the novel for more than a quarter of a century, Jack takes his craft seriously, continuing to study and teach at Christian writers conferences. He is the former pastor of three churches in San Diego County and draws upon his theological background for the spiritual elements of his plots and characters.
His novels have been translated into a dozen foreign languages, largely because of the universal scope of his topics. Jack has not only written about American history, but about South Africa, banned English Bibles, German Christians in the days of Hitler and Communism, revivals in America, and angelic warfare.
Jack’s current writing schedule includes motion picture screenplays and e-book serial fiction with Internet distribution. His novel Death Watch has been optioned to be made into a motion picture by Out Cold Entertainment, Inc.
Jack has three grown children and lives with his wife in Southern California.
AWARDS
• Silver Medallion Award (1995), Christian Booksellers Association
• Christy Award (2002, 2003), Excellence in Christian Fiction
• Silver Angel Award (2002), Excellence in Media
• Gold Medal, Best Historical (2001), ForeWord Magazine
• Best Historical Novel (1994), San Diego Literary Society
• Best Novel (1995, 1996, 2005), San Diego Christian Writers Guild
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 11, 2016
Summary From Goodreads:
Like the rest of the nation, the lives of the Morgan family are uprooted by the whirlpool of strife on the European continent, none more violently than Emily Morgan and her daughter, Katy, who are aboard the luxury liner Lusitania when it is torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland. Eventually, both Katy and her younger brother, Johnny, long the family “black sheep,” become participants in the war itself, Katy as a nurse, Johnny as an aviator with a pursuit squadron.
Through a series of ill-fated events, rumor, and broken communications, the fate of the Morgans grows darker still when Katy and Johnny both find themselves caught behind German lines. Will Katy suffer the same martyr's death as the British nurse she so admired and tried to emulate? Can Johnny find the key to ending the war within himself and find that elusive personal peace—or will his competitiveness destroy not only him but his sister as well?
Plot:
Hmmm...How do I say this nicely? This book was basically a bore. Despite the action, the long descriptions made me drift off into la la land.
I liked the multiple P.O.V's, but most of them were incredibly boring. I could not stand Johnny's chapters. I pretty much skimmed through the doing parts (3/4 of the book). However, I really liked Emily and Katy's chapters.
The setting was very well done. I love ALL the things I learned about WW1. Cavanaugh does a great job incorporating history into his stories.
Characters:
Emily-I found her chapters to be quite exciting, and I enjoyed seeing her again, after The Pioneers.
Katy-She was such a strong independent female character! I really didn't like that the author had to have her get married, or even have a love interest at all.
Jesse-He barely got any chapters. But when he did, I was bored out of my mind. 'nuff said
Johnny-I hated Johnny so much! Arrogant characters are the WORST. He was so rude had to get his way 24/7.
Overall & Recommendations:
Even thought I had a lot of complaints, it was still an okay read. Extremely boring, but okay overall. Plot was slow due to so many POVs, but I managed. This series is great if you love historical fiction books.
Like the rest of the nation, the lives of the Morgan family are uprooted by the whirlpool of strife on the European continent, none more violently than Emily Morgan and her daughter, Katy, who are aboard the luxury liner Lusitania when it is torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland. Eventually, both Katy and her younger brother, Johnny, long the family “black sheep,” become participants in the war itself, Katy as a nurse, Johnny as an aviator with a pursuit squadron.
Through a series of ill-fated events, rumor, and broken communications, the fate of the Morgans grows darker still when Katy and Johnny both find themselves caught behind German lines. Will Katy suffer the same martyr's death as the British nurse she so admired and tried to emulate? Can Johnny find the key to ending the war within himself and find that elusive personal peace—or will his competitiveness destroy not only him but his sister as well?
Plot:
Hmmm...How do I say this nicely? This book was basically a bore. Despite the action, the long descriptions made me drift off into la la land.
I liked the multiple P.O.V's, but most of them were incredibly boring. I could not stand Johnny's chapters. I pretty much skimmed through the doing parts (3/4 of the book). However, I really liked Emily and Katy's chapters.
The setting was very well done. I love ALL the things I learned about WW1. Cavanaugh does a great job incorporating history into his stories.
Characters:
Emily-I found her chapters to be quite exciting, and I enjoyed seeing her again, after The Pioneers.
Katy-She was such a strong independent female character! I really didn't like that the author had to have her get married, or even have a love interest at all.
Jesse-He barely got any chapters. But when he did, I was bored out of my mind. 'nuff said
Johnny-I hated Johnny so much! Arrogant characters are the WORST. He was so rude had to get his way 24/7.
Overall & Recommendations:
Even thought I had a lot of complaints, it was still an okay read. Extremely boring, but okay overall. Plot was slow due to so many POVs, but I managed. This series is great if you love historical fiction books.
October 6, 2018
As with the previous volumes in this series, it's just a good 'popcorn' read. Nothing that will impress your friends that you're reading it. Just good, wholesome enjoyable fiction in a historically accurate setting written from a refreshing Christian prospective and reflecting Christian principles explicitly in the story line. Time to order the next volume in the series!
July 8, 2018
Character shifts are too abrupt; certain plot points too weakly explained; characters are not as likable or as deeply spiritual as previous
Read
June 23, 2012One of my favorites so far. Ignore the cheesy cover pic; it doesn't give the credibility due to this novel. WWI is not given enough "page" time in the literary world, so this was a rare glimpse into that tragic, but fascinating war. Excellent read.
August 11, 2011
Excellent! Cavanaugh continues to keep me hooked. He does a great job of incorporating Christian Fiction and Historical Fiction.
January 13, 2014
I didn't get into this book like I have the others in the series.
August 25, 2014
I like this series of books.
March 6, 2014
Best series ever.
September 10, 2015
This series made me fall in love with American history!
November 28, 2021
Liked the descriptions of what was happening in history. Made me want to look up about the time period online.
August 24, 2007
It got me hooked early on and I thoroughly enjoyed the book!!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews