Dream When You're Feeling Blue

by Elizabeth Berg

New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Berg takes us to Chicago at the time of World War II in this wonderful story about three sisters, their lively Irish family, and the men they love.
As the novel opens, Kitty and Louise Heaney say good-bye to their boyfriends Julian and Michael, who are going to fight overseas. On the domestic front, meat is rationed, children participate in metal drives, and Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller play songs that offer hope and lift spirits. And now the Heaney sisters sit at their kitchen table every evening to write letters–Louise to her fiancé, Kitty to the man she wishes fervently would propose, and Tish to an ever-changing group of men she meets at USO dances. In the letters the sisters send and receive are intimate glimpses of life both on the battlefront and at home. For Kitty, a confident, headstrong young woman, the departure of her boyfriend and the lessons she learns about love, resilience, and war will bring a surprise and a secret, and will lead her to a radical action for those she loves. The lifelong consequences of the choices the Heaney sisters make are at the heart of this superb novel about the power of love and the enduring strength of family.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, World War II, Romance, Book Club, Chick Lit, Audiobook

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Elizabeth Berg is an American novelist.
She was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and lived in Boston prior to her residence in Chicago. She studied English and Humanities at the University of Minnesota, but later ended up with a nursing degree. Her writing career started when she won an essay contest in Parents magazine. Since her debut novel in 1993, her novels have sold in large numbers and have received several awards and nominations, although some critics have tagged them as sentimental. She won the New England Book Awards in 1997.
The novels Durable Goods, Joy School, and True to Form form a trilogy about the 12-year-old Katie Nash, in part based on the author's own experience as a daughter in a military family. Her essay "The Pretend Knitter" appears in the anthology Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting, published by W. W. Norton & Company in November 2013.

Reviews

[Jana Anderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, it is a nice beach read, but here is my beef with this book.

1) In order to take the reader back to the 1940's WW2 era, they threw in every random fact about life on the home front into this book. (Not actual quote...) "I left my victory garden to go bake the sugarless cake I would be sending to Bud in France for his birthday. I had better bake this cake now so I don't miss Roosevelt's Fireside chat tonight, and I don't want to miss the USO dance tonight either! At the dance I am supposed to ask Rosie about working at the ammunition plant, which I have also been gathering scrap-metals for. I will have to use eyeliner to draw a line up the back of my legs tonight to make it look like I am wearing pantyhose, which of course I don't have because of government regulations for civilians..."

You know? How many facts can the author possibly work in to create authenticity? Apparently too many.

2) The ending is RETARDED.

How is this book a New York Times Bestseller?... A good cover and prime placement in the airport bookstore.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was SUCH a disappointment. I'd heard of the author, kept seeing the book around, and decided to give it a shot. It started out okay and got better as the story moved forward. Some of the period references got old (for example, instead of just mentioning rations, the author went on and on, describing the different ways this affected their lives), but I was willing to overlook that because I was drawn into the lives of the main characters. When I neared the end, I thought how much I was actually enjoying this book - and then the author went and wrote the absolute worst ending I have ever read in a book. Seriously. The ending absolutely ruined the book for me - it skipped forward in the future, robbing the reader of understanding WHY anything happened and HOW it happened, and it seemed like the author did not know how else to end it but wanted to surprise the readers. It completely ruined my opinion of the book. It just made me mad and did not make me ever want to read another thing by this author. I hate it when an ending is bad, but it's even worse when the ending is SO bad that it makes you forget all the good parts about the novel!

[Amy Formanski Duffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this one for our summer reading program. Of course it's fun to read about the city I live in during a different time period. This is Chicago in 1943 during the second world war, when so many young guys were being shipped overseas. Three Irish sisters, Kitty (the glamour girl), Louise (the sensible one), and Tish (the youngest and flirtiest), deal with life at home while their boyfriends go off to fight. Louise is in the most serious relationship. Her boyfriend proposes before he leaves. The other two sisters flirt with soldiers at the local USO dances. They write letters to their guys. They eat gross meals prepared with rationed food. They listen to FDR's speeches on the radio. Kitty takes a patriotic factory job, only to find that the men there sexually harass the women workers, and that she isn't given a seat on the streetcar because she's wearing unladylike pants!

Little details show how much Berg must have researched the time period. She says in her acknowledgments that she did a lot of her research here at the downtown library and even thanks some librarians that I know. She also really has a knack for writing about the intimate details of family life.

I didn't like the ending. It felt tossed in as an afterthought and ruined the flow of the rest of the book. She killed off the one character that I just she would off. I was annoyed that the one tragedy was so predictable. If you don't read the last 20 pages, it's a wonderful book. I can see how many people would find it overly sentimental and sappy, though.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Elizabeth Berg's books, and I didn't plan on reading it because I heard the ending sucked. My grandma liked it and told me I should give a try anyway. She grew up in the era Berg writes about in this book, and told me her mom and stepdad were so happy that she was old enough to qualify for coffee stamps because they couldn't get enough of it. It's hard to imagine having to ration anything, let alone coffee.


After reading it: The ending pissed me off way too much to enjoy it the way I would like. Despite the rest of the book, which gave a glimpse into the life of women who wait for men off at war during WW two, the end was abrupt and so STUPID.





SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT!........




Who really thinks it's for the best to shove the love of her life onto her sister so her sister can "be herself again" ? Basically freaking Kitty spends the rest of her life missing Hank and not having kids, and he apparently still loves her too, though he does eventually marry her stupid sister instead of sticking with her, though we don't know why....and freaking Louise just assumes everything is fine and that Kitty and Hank weren't that serious...I don't care how serious a relationship is, if my sister was dating someone, I wouldn't freaking marry him because that is wrong.

[Caroline · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've enjoyed many of other Elizabeth Berg's novels, which are well-written summer "quick reads" with satisfying endings, but thought that this one was a clunker. The story revolves around three Irish Catholic sisters in Chicago during World War II. Berg's novel shouts, "I did research on World War II -- at the expense of creating a flowing narrative or an interesting plot!" The ending is entirely unbelievable.

[Linda Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars...I round up. I really enjoy reading Elizabeth Berg novels because her characters are believable, the events accurate and settings memorable and because she is always able to keep the story flowing without the crude language & graphic sex that seem to be the norm in modern romance and historical fiction. This is a character study of how 3 sisters and their Irish-American family coped while their sons, husbands, and boyfriends were away during WWII. I found the book educational and appreciate the insight I gained reading about this period in my parents' generation. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author and it was exceptional.

[Chinara Ahmadova · Rating 2 out of 5]

Niyə axı? Bu sonluq niyə? Heç bir əsası olmayan, ən fantastik kitabların sonluğundan da fantastik, əsassız, göydəndüşmə və bitirəndən sonra divara tullama istəyi yaradan sonluq. Yazıçını şiddətlə qınayıram!

Kitti, Luiza və Tiş II Dünya müharibəsi vaxtı Çikaqoda ailəsi ilə yaşayan 3 bacıdır, sevdikləri oğlanlar müharibəyə gedib, onlar da Amerikada oturub yollarını gözləyir, rəqs axşamlarına gedib əsgərlərlə rəqs edir, onlara savaş zonasında ürəklərini açsın deyə məktublar yazır, öz bildikləri kimi müharibənin ağır yükünü daşıyırlar. Kitti Culianı sevdiyini düşünüb ona ərə getməyi xəyal edir, di gəl ki Hank həyatına girəndən sonda öz sevgisini sorğulayır, ölüm-qalım savaşı verən Culiana qarşı günahkar hiss edir. Bəs əslində sevgi birdən çox adama qarşı hiss edilə bilərmi?

Bricertonun Amerikasayağı müharibə buraxılışı kimi, daha yüngül və şirin: rəqslər, məktublar, həsrət, eşq həyəcanı. Bacılar arasındakı dinamika o qədər doğma idi ki. Di gəl ki, bu mənasız və yersiz sonluq bu yüngül müharibə kitabını məhv etdi, matım-qutum qurudu, əlim üzümdə qaldı. Və ən gülməlisi də odur ki, bütün bunlar kitabın son 4 səhifəsində baş verdi. Səni gözüm görməsin, xanım Berq.

[Book Concierge · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book on CD read by the author.
2.5 **

From the book jacket: Berg takes us to Chicago at the time of World War II in this story about three sisters, their lively Irish family, and the men they love. As the novel opens, Kitty and Louise Heaney say good-bye to their boyfriends Julian and Michael, who are going to fight overseas. On the domestic front … the Heaney sisters sit at their kitchen table every evening to write letters – Louise to her fiancé, Kitty to the man she wishes fervently would propose, and [youngest sister] Tish to an ever changing group of men she meets at USO dances. In the letters the sisters send and receive are intimate glimpses of life both on the battlefront and at home. … The lifelong consequences of the choices the sisters make are at the heart of this suprb novel about the power of love and the enduring strength of family.

My reactions
It started out okay, got very interesting in the middle and then completely lost credulity in the last two chapters. Lost a whole star there.

I have to say that what I most enjoyed about this novel was the look at everyday life on the domestic front during this very trying time in history. I especially liked the way Berg painted Kitty’s own awakening to her true ambitions and goals in life, and how she talked about the way that the roles of women in America were forever being changed by the requirements of war. I also really enjoyed the strong family dynamics in the Heaney family – mother Margaret, father Frank, and younger brothers all added layers of nuance to the central story of the three Heaney sisters.

Berg narrated the audio version herself. She does a credible job, but she should really let a professional voice artist read her books.

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book all throughout--except for the ending. I would have been happy for it to have ended without moving into the future events. Excellent story about living through World War II on the homefront.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you don’t read the last ten pages, this book is a solid enough beach read. If you read the last ten pages, then remove another star from above. What in the ever loving hell. WHY.

[Becka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Berg's latest offering of cozy, snuggled-up-with-cocoa reading is a flawed but still beautifully written story of an Irish-American family in Chicago homefront during World War II. The three enchanting Heaney sisters spend every night writing letters to soldiers – stoic Louise to her fiancé Michael, caring Kitty to the man that she hopes will propose, and flirty Tish to the many men she meets at USO dances. The central character is redheaded Kitty, who longs for the cocky Julian to marry her, but at the same time finds herself drawn to a bright and attentive soldier named Hank.

There are constant references thrown in to evoke Chicago in the early 1940s -- down to the girls' shopping bags emblazoned with the silver "MF" and green detailing, a character referring to an article in the Chicago Daily News, and a nonchalant mention of the gorilla named Bushman at the Lincoln Park Zoo. It's nearly to the point where the reader may feel like screaming, "YES! I know you did your research!"

The awkward conclusion is enough to be more than a casual annoyance. In such stories about wartime romance and sacrifice, especially during "The Good War," a reader usually craves, and expects, a certain kind of resolution and Berg does not deliver it. Dream When You're Feeling Blue is a nostalgic, sometimes compelling story until its disappointing and abrupt end.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Four discs into an 8-disc book, I'm bailing. I gave it a lot of play, because I really like the WWII home front setting, but...

This book was TERRIBLE. It had all the character depth and dialogue truth of Nancy Drew (whom I'm not criticizing, because she is a mid-century series character written for children by multiple people), except with an eccchy Greatest Generation gloss. Every character was a stereotype and every speech was some variation on "Gee whillikers" or "It's a bird! It's a plane!" Instead of providing the living skeleton which lets the narrative drape and move over it, the historical research poked through, page after page of jarring, unnatural Facts in Action jutting out of the prose (gee whillikers).

Note: I didn't even GET to the ending that so many readers are objecting to, not least because I realized, as an impetus to ejecting the disc, that I legitimately don't care which overseas love interest dies or what the aftermath is. Also, for the reader who liked it because it's like Little Women: yeah, that will happen when you just steal the paper-doll version of the characters and stick 'em in your book. To clarify: Kitty is Jo, Louise is Meg, and Tish is Amy. Think the analogy's bad because there's no Beth? Wrong. Tommy is Beth. Jesus Christ.

[Julie Ekkers · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never been over the moon for any Elizabeth Berg book I've read, but sometimes they hit me at the right time and they're the perfect light read. This was not one of those books, and I really wanted it to be. It's set in Chicago, on the home front, during WWII. if nothing else, I expected to like the details that emerge in the background of these types of stories--the music, the dances, the clothes, etc. But those details seemed canned. The story revolves around the three sisters in the Irish Heaney family, each of whom writes to various soldiers who are fighting overseas. The sister the reader gets to know the most is Kitty. But Kitty's character wasn't believable to me, particularly her actions as the novel is wrapping up. I suppose the reader is meant to think that in acting so selflessly, Kitty has matured. But her acts simply didn't ring true to me and while Kitty is indeed quite selfish at the start of the book, I found her selfishness then as over the top as her selflessness at the end.

[SamBFN · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes place in Chicago during WWII and tells the story of 3 sisters who correspond with friends and lovers who have gone to war. Lots of description of what it was like to live in the times and you do get transported into the era.

I actually listened to this book, and glad of it, as there was a lot of description and daydreams that I would have skimmed thru to get to the "meat" of the story if I had read it. At first with the flowery and long descriptions (read surprizingly well by the author) I thought "oh god, I'm not going to be able to stand listening to this", but I was slowly sucked into the story and started looking forward to being able to listen to it.

The ending was abrupt and I thought maybe I had skipped a chapter or two and had to go back and listen to it again to make sure I understood the ending. I didn't like the ending but it does make you think. (Similiar to Anita Shreve who never has a happy ending)

spoiler alert:
I wished she had gone more into how Kitty ending up giving Hank to Louise.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Given to me by a friend who was cleaning her bookshelf. She was disappointed with the end of this book. So was I. Up until the last 2 chapters, I really loved it, and loved the glimpse into WWI from the home perspective. Fabulous. However, the last two chapters brought me up short-- not in a "gosh-what-a-twist" kind of way, but in a "What the hell was Berg thinking" kind of way. Louise's actions in the 2nd to last chapter are totally out of character. And if the relationship that Kitty has with her fly-boy is all about honesty and learning to talk to each other, what the heck happened?

[Monica Tomasello · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read and liked many of Elizabeth Berg's books. Unfortunately this one bombed. I was enjoying this book for the light piece of WWII fluff that it is, up until the end. The book is cliche and predictable, but I liked the characters, especially Kitty, so I was enjoying it until the last 20 pages that contained probably the worst ending I've ever read. Nothing was really explained as she just skipped ahead in time. I can certainly infer, but it doesn't make sense at all. I hated it. Up to that point it was 3.5 start read. Now I feel like I'm being generous with 2 stars.

[Kaarin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this on CD read by the author. I wasn't a fan of her reading style. I also was bothered by her writing style.
I liked the basic premise of the story very much, and was occassionally surprised by the subtle yet believable growth a couple of her characters experienced--though most of the characters remained cardboard cut-outs for me. I especially enjoyed the character of the mother (whose name I'm forgetting).
But mostly I was annoyed by "research paper" feel in recounting the stories of life in the 1940's and on the WW2 front: show, don't tell, please. Also, the tendency to spend a lot of (too much?) time building up to major moments, and then drawing the curtain over the action was absolutely frustrating. I feel the treatment of the ending was a major cop-out and left me dissatisfied.
**SPOILER!!** For instance, the character shift in Kitty's 2nd boyfriend seemed very much out of the blue, especially considering his behavior during the war. How his affections shifted--and to whom--was not set up well, and it was also rather convenient, since Louise needed someone and apparently Kitty didn't. It was all very unrealistically tidy--and VERY abrupt. It just seemed as though the author's deadline creeped up on her and she had to finish the book in a big hurry. The ending alone dropped my ranking by a full star.
The story had great potential, but failed to live up to its promise, imho.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on CD. It was one of the most delightful books I have listened to. Elizabeth Berg narrated it, and she has the perfect voice for this story.

From the moment I began to listen, I was hooked. The story begins with two sisters seeing their boyfriends off to World War II. It made me think, I wonder how my parents felt when my dad left for the war. Although I have thought of him in the war before, I never thought of this aspect of it in quite the same way as the book made me think of it.

The main character in the book is Kitty, the oldest sister chronologically, but not quite as mature as her sister Louise. Through the book we see Kitty maturing and growing into the woman she is meant to be.

Much of the book takes place around the family's kitchen table where the girls gather each night to write letters to their boyfriends and other soldiers. We hear what the girls are writing, and what the young men write back. The sacrifices and the sadness and loneliness are conveyed beautifully.

I thought that the end fell into place a bit too neatly, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. Elizabeth Berg continues to be a favorite of mine, although my all time favorite of her books is still Range of Motion.

[SeaBae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, BECAUSE of the ending.

Let's face it. Choices for women were few and far between prior to World War II: get married or, gee, get married. Oh, maybe you could be the maiden aunt who taught first graders, or perhaps a nurse, but that's it.

World War II started the change. Women, like Kitty, were needed to work in the factories to keep the war effort moving, no matter how much the men resented them. For the first time, women were mass employed in fields generally reserved for males.

If you read the book as a piece of literary fiction, not as a romance, you'd see that the choice made perfect sense for Kitty. She liked working. She wanted to continue to work. Hank wanted a wife, the conventional life he had been brought up to expect. While the two loved each other, sometimes, in the real world, love just isn't enough when your spirit yearns to do more, to be more.

Yes, if this were a romance, the ending would suck. But it's not. It's a character study of how an Irish-American family coped during the war. Life isn't fair, and it doesn't always end with orange blossoms and tulle veils. Kitty ended up having a far bigger life than she would have if she had stayed with Frank: she became a fashion journalist, she traveled all over the world. Yes, she missed out on love and children of her own, but that's how life works. You make choices.

The ending would have been far worse if Kitty married Hank - because she would have given up her dreams. And "having it all" isn't all that possible today, much less sixty years ago! And Hank made his choice, too. He didn't have to marry Louise. But he knew she would be the perfect wife and mother, and as one character says, "If you loved one Heaney girl, you loved them all."

And of course Michael had to die - it's World War II! Again, this isn't a romance, and happy endings aren't guaranteed.

Elizabeth Berg doesn't write happy novels, but she always writes truthful novels.

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story takes place in Chicago, Illinois in 1943. It centers on an Irish Catholic family - 2 parents, 3 daughters, 3 sons - that lives in a three-bedroom, one-bathroom house. That there was only one bathroom for a household of eight people (think of it!) was important to Kitty, the oldest daughter and narrator of the story. It was the location for numerous "scenes" throughout the book.

This is most definitely a World War II story, but told from the homefront. At first I thought this was only a light and frivolous read, maybe even a Lake Woebegone story where all the women are good-looking, but about halfway I was dissuaded. Sure, there is plenty of lace slips, mascara, and sister talk. But every night they sit at the kitchen table and write letters to servicemen. And then we are privileged to read parts of the letters that come from the servicemen, together with their hopes and dreams and the suffering of war.

The author dedicates the book to her WWII veteran father, and thanks her uncles and aunts for their contributions to her understanding of the life and times. I thank them too.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elizabeth Berg é uma autora muito aclamada, pelo menos há uns anos, quando uma obra sua foi escolhida para o Clube de Leitura da Oprah.
E apesar de ter gostado desta leitura, não se pode dizer que seja uma obra prima, ou sequer que me tenha tocado.
É um romance simples de leitura muito fluída l, que nos conta a história da entrada dos EUA na 2GM, através da perspectiva de uma família de classe média com 6 filhos, 3 filhas mais velhas e 3 filhos mais novos.
Ficamos a conhecer o dia a dia das raparigas, que para além de terem começado a trabalhar em postos tradicionalmente masculinos, o que ainda não era bem visto, iam aos bailes entreter os soldados e escreviam cartas aos seus ente queridos que estavam a combater.
Para além de muito romance meloso, houve algumas curiosidades interessantes sobre o dia-a-dia de uma país em guerra, como os bens racionados, o apelo à sociedade para contribuir de várias formas para o esforço de guerra e a ansiedade que todos os dias acompanhava a entrega do correio, por nunca se. Saber quando poderia vir uma carta com mas noticias...
Agradável mas pouco memorável.

[Faydene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to dry my tears to come add this lovely book to my list. It is an engaging story of 3 Irish sisters in Chicago during World War II. Debbie, you will love this book.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
I really loved this book. I was looking for an audio book to listen to while taking my walks and when I saw a library loan with Elizabeth Berg as the author, I knew I would enjoy it. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the author also narrated the audio book.
The story takes place in the 1940’s in Chicago. The war is raging in Europe and the folks back home are rationing supplies and trying to contribute to the war effort. There are three young Women in this story who have a fellow who they love that is fighting overseas. The everyday effects of the war on the entire family, and the stress of waiting for the young men to return, was a highlight of this book. The Heaney family is Irish and the girl’s parents have a wonderful Irish brogue. Elizabeth Berg can imitate the brogue perfectly in her narration. Whenever she spoke in the voice of the girl’s parents I was taken back in time to my own childhood when my nana or great grandmother spoke. Dream When You’re Feeling Blue reminded me of stories my mother told of living through the war years and waiting for her four brothers to return home safe and sound. This was an emotional and moving story that I would recommend. If you enjoy audio books, this one will not disappoint.

[Yvonne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Until now, I was a fan of Elizabeth Berg. This book, however, was a tremendous let down. Another reviewer called the ending "retarded," and while that isn't the word that I would use. ...it was very disappointing. It didn't seem like what the characters would have done. No spoilers here, but I was left wishing I hadn't read the book in the first place. Did she get to the ending and run out of ideas? Or was she in a hurry to wrap things up? Not sure I'll pick up another book by this author again.

[JanB · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have received a higher rating if not for the very strange ending

[Sherry Sharpnack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd best review this before I completely forget about it.
"Dream..." is yet another historical fiction book set during WWII. Refreshingly, it is NOT framed as a present-day person interviewing an old woman about her past, but as a tale of the letter-writing Heaney sisters living in Chicago w/ their three younger brothers and parents in Chicago. The main character is Kitty, the oldest Heaney child. She's definitely not a deep thinker, as we keep being told that her main attraction to her beau is that he is good-looking, and that she does NOT enjoy reading (strikes 1 and 2, as far as I am concerned). Hmmm. Is their relationship going to survive when Julian enlists? How about middle-sister Louise's more-real relationship w/ her fiancé , Michael?
All three of the girls write letters every evening to boys at war in the Pacific and in Europe that they either knew from their neighborhood, or met at the USO dance hall where they all volunteer and/or go dancing w/ the soldiers. We learn a lot about what it was like for the enlisted men as the girls share these letters w/ each other. Kitty does her part for the war effort (besides writing cheerful letters) by leaving her insurance company job to work in a defense plant. I did enjoy reading about the "warts" of working in such a place, which was different from all the heroic "Rosie the Riveter" portraits we usually get of women making war equipment at the time.
There really isn't much memorable until the end of the book, when Kitty's Dad tells her that she is the only person who can get Louise out of her funk toward the end of the war. How Kitty does so is a neat wrapping-up of the tale, and the best example of the sacrifices made by women on the home front during that catastrophic war. 4 stars.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

My books clubs author read for the month of December is Elizabeth Berg so I selected this title and got it on loan from my library.

You see. I adore Big Band music and when I close my eyes I can imagine an orchestra playing many songs from this era... including the title of this read.

When you read throughout history, it seems in times of trouble, regretful longings go hand in hand and in the mix nostalgia forms or maybe it is the other way around.

In this beautiful read we have three sisters in the Irish Heaney family, whom nightly write to soldiers who are fighting overseas in WWII.

There's bobbins pins and flirting on streetcars. There's USO Centers and Bob Hope radio skits. And, then there's the heart-wrenching reminder of walls draped with the American flag.

Fast forward many years later to 2006. As this story closes, you have the lead character believing that some people don't give a dam about her generation, which was 'Long Ago and Far Away', so what better thing to do than 'Dream When You're Feeling Blue.'

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 2 out of 5]

A “Sentimental Journey” - WWII as experienced through the eyes of three girls who are breathtakingly beautiful, as is mentioned on every other page! OMG, this was a real soap (Duz) opera. Way overwritten - trying to get the old timey feel of the 40’s, the author listed every song of the era, used long forgotten brand names and adopted a trite vocabulary. It was too corny!

I continued reading just to see which boyfriend would be killed and who would marry who. Not worth the read. As I’ve said before. Ms Berg is a Young Adult author masquerading as a writer for a grown up audience. No more for me 👎

[Crystal Hamm · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending threw me. I liked the whole book and then the ending was interesting.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was kind of slow at the start, but once it got moving, I couldn't stay away! The setting is Chicago, during WWII, in the middle of a huge Irish family. All three of the girls in the Heaney family are beautiful, so naturally each of them is writing letters to several soldiers who have gone "over there." These letters, and the details we are able to glean from them about life on the front lines of the war, serve to compliment (or contrast) the things that are going on at the home front. The details about the war itself are deeply moving - posters plastering public spaces declaring that if you talk about what you know, you may as well kill a soldier; vivid descriptions of what death in war really looks like; hushed-up accounts of Japanese internment camps. These details got my attention. But what kept my attention was the personal journeys: the relationships forming and coming apart at the edges of the war, the unfolding of long-held secrets and emotions as the characters come to grips with mortality - the soldiers as well as those who stay home, the answer to the question of just how much you would give for someone you love, and how much you can or cannot expect love to give you.