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Come in from the Cold
In 1969, at the height of the Vietnam War, Jeff and Maud build a relationship as they cope with the loss of loved ones--Maud's radical sister has disappeared "underground," while Jeff's brother has been called to duty in Southeast Asia.
219 pages, Hardcover
First published October 24, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 19, 2011
I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of writing in the book. Maud's POV was especially well done. The book starts with Maud at a beach party in 1969. It's a lot like parties today- it's really about the drinking and sex. Both of the main characters are a bit strait-laced for the times, so neither of them is into heavy drugs, drinking, or sex, although they don't abstain, either. Maud finds out pretty quickly that her sister is dead in an explosion that she set off in a campus building to protest the war. Maud spirals into grief and devastation, and I thought her actions were realistic, if scary to read from a parental point of view.
New, we meet Jeff, whose older brother goes off to Vietnam- you can probably guess what happens next.
The author writes in the third person with Maud, whose POV is the majority of the book, and first person with Jeff. I found this rather jarring, and haven't been able to make sense of why the first person was chosen for Jeff, who doesn't get as much room in the book as Maud.
The writing was evocative and did a good job of putting me in the Vietnam-era time period. You really got a sense of the positions of the people who were protesting the war and those who thought protesters were unpatriotic. Maud seemed a very pragmatic person, while Jeff came across as more idealistic.
Several themes were hammered home quite forcefully for such a short book. We got the uselessness of talk and politics vs. the efficacy of local, specific action. The sense of hopelessness of working against the establishment. The feel of aimless drifting and loss of social convention.
I didn't care much for the end of the book. I felt that Maud gave up her agency for Jeff, and I didn't think Jeff's final choice for the pair of them was going to work in the long run. But maybe in that time period, that was the best choice that they could make. Did they drop out, or do something effective?
New, we meet Jeff, whose older brother goes off to Vietnam- you can probably guess what happens next.
The author writes in the third person with Maud, whose POV is the majority of the book, and first person with Jeff. I found this rather jarring, and haven't been able to make sense of why the first person was chosen for Jeff, who doesn't get as much room in the book as Maud.
The writing was evocative and did a good job of putting me in the Vietnam-era time period. You really got a sense of the positions of the people who were protesting the war and those who thought protesters were unpatriotic. Maud seemed a very pragmatic person, while Jeff came across as more idealistic.
Several themes were hammered home quite forcefully for such a short book. We got the uselessness of talk and politics vs. the efficacy of local, specific action. The sense of hopelessness of working against the establishment. The feel of aimless drifting and loss of social convention.
I didn't care much for the end of the book. I felt that Maud gave up her agency for Jeff, and I didn't think Jeff's final choice for the pair of them was going to work in the long run. But maybe in that time period, that was the best choice that they could make. Did they drop out, or do something effective?
January 22, 2010
I'm not into war books. This one takes place during Vietnam in 1969. I suppose it's a good love story. The kids are sort-of Hippie-ish, not stereotypically, though. I liked Part II best. Jeff is a little more interesting of a person when the story is from his POV. Maud's POV makes Jeff less interesting and I wonder why she bothers. I also might have enjoyed the beginning more if Maud wasn't named Maud. I couldn't get past her name. When she was addressed by another character, I got distracted and stopped reading long enough to wish she had a different name.
Overall, I have to say that the author writes well and with the exception of parts I and III, I enjoyed it. Hearing how two seventeen-year-olds deal with the loss of a loved one due to war is more interesting than it sounds. I was impressed at how the author was able to write about anti-war demonstrations and keep me awake. For such sparse action, it held my interest enough to want to know if these two make it through their anti-war efforts.
Overall, I have to say that the author writes well and with the exception of parts I and III, I enjoyed it. Hearing how two seventeen-year-olds deal with the loss of a loved one due to war is more interesting than it sounds. I was impressed at how the author was able to write about anti-war demonstrations and keep me awake. For such sparse action, it held my interest enough to want to know if these two make it through their anti-war efforts.
April 25, 2016
Here we have two teenagers in 1969, brought together first by accident and then by mutual understanding. Each has lost a sibling in a war-related death: Jeff's brother was a soldier who died in battle, and Maud's sister killed herself in protest of the war.
What's so interesting about that connection, to me, is that while it simmers, it's never really brought to a full boil. That is: we see the characters learn of those deaths, and we see them fall apart to a certain extent—but it's not a story about grief. They're resilient characters and ones who knew, to some extent, that their siblings were already lost to them.
I read some of Qualey's other books when I was younger, though not this one; now it reminds me a little of The Road Home, though perhaps that's too obvious a connection. But I love the quietness of this, the way Jeff and Maud can have so much going on internally without it exploding messily onto the page.
What's so interesting about that connection, to me, is that while it simmers, it's never really brought to a full boil. That is: we see the characters learn of those deaths, and we see them fall apart to a certain extent—but it's not a story about grief. They're resilient characters and ones who knew, to some extent, that their siblings were already lost to them.
I read some of Qualey's other books when I was younger, though not this one; now it reminds me a little of The Road Home, though perhaps that's too obvious a connection. But I love the quietness of this, the way Jeff and Maud can have so much going on internally without it exploding messily onto the page.
October 13, 2010
I am not really into War books at all so I didn’t really enjoy reading this book. If you do like Vietnam books or are looking for a love story than I would recommend that you read this book. I would recommend it to teenage boys and girls. It took me at least 50 to 75 pages to get into the book and actually understand and enjoy it. The book takes place in 1969 and is a love story. Two people who have lost someone in the Vietnam War come together and shows that they can get threw anything and aren’t going to give up. I think the author wrote this book to show that after losing someone you can make it threw it if you have someone by your side like these two teenagers did. It also informs you about the Vietnam War. If you are looking for a good Vietnam War book or just a nice love story I would recommend this book to you.
February 1, 2014
If I had read this earlier, it would maybe be my most favorite book ever. But I didn't, most likely because of the tragic lack of Burtons in my earlier life. I really liked this book, better late than never. The characters were so complex, so believable. I loved the parents, too, because they were three dimensional. I didn't like the mom's cameo at the very end, though- that seemed jarring to me and may be the reason I didn't give this five stars. I think this book managed to both capture the feeling of the time it is set in as well as the lives of Maud and Jeff. Probably my favorite part was when Maud said, "I'd like to see a bikini do this!" as she portaged her canoe. Well worth looking up.
April 2, 2013
Easy and quick read. I was able to invest in the characters and was proud of the two teens for standing up for what they believed in at atone when that was not the norm. The ending was a little weird, almost seemed like the author didn't know how to end the book, so they decided to just finish the story in a weird but finite way. Good topic for conversations. Would recommend for a rainy day.
January 19, 2010
interesting, not very well written but it gives you the 'what the hell' version of The Vitamin war i guess.
May 3, 2022
Set in Minnesota in 1969, the first part of the book is told from Maud's point of view, a 17-year-old whose sister has been "underground" protesting the Vietnam war and recently blown herself up in a college laboratory. The second part of the book is told from Jeff's point of view, whose brother is killed in Vietnam. In his conservative town, Jeff protests the war in a non-violent manner. Maud and Jeff meet through one of these protests one year following their respective sibling's deaths and immediately find a connection. This fast-paced novel follows their relationship through the drugs and alcohol, the Kent State killings, and the country's apathy as they search for answers and find love. The surprise ending is completely appropriate for the time. This mature story is recommended for grades 8 and up and for teens interested in stories set during the Vietnam War. Qualey's book Everybody's Daughter continues the story started here.
December 2, 2019
I tried to do a book project on this and I thought the protagonist was a guy but it was actually a girl so had to fix some things.
May 3, 2025
enjoyed a lot
March 28, 2011
"Come in from the Cold" (the choice of title is sketchy at best), a 1994 publication, is this month's choice for one of the book clubs that I belong to. It surprised me in many ways. First of all, it scares me sometimes how the seemingly random way in which I choose the books I read, and in what order, always seems to yield very timely connections to the things going on in my life or the other books I have recently read. I just finished a week of booktalks in which one of the themes I discussed was photography as found in the literature in our collection. I showed some iconic photos and asked students to try to identify the photo. One of the photos I chose was the one taken at Kent State on March 4th, 1970. If you are of my generation, you will immediately recognize it. A college age young woman is kneeling beside the body of a young man who is face down on the pavement. She looks around her pleadingly. Her face says, "How did this happen? Please help me!" The day after anti-Vietnam War protesters had bombed a building on campus, the National Guard randomly opened fire on protesters and students, killing four. I talked about the fact that I had chosen this photo because of the recent spate of peaceful protests (well, at least they began that way) throughout the world where the common men and women have risen up to challenge their condition. Then over the weekend I pick up Qualey's book, which is set in 1970 and deals with the Vietnam era and peaceful protest - and specifically talks about Kent State. How weird is that? Now I have another book to talk about tomorrow!
Secondly, Marsha Qualey was surprisingly edgy for 1994. Even for 2011. This really surprised me. Though drinking, drugs, smoking, sex, and free love were definitely a part of the era, she does more than merely mention them. Not that there aren't edgier things out there, however. The original cover is horribly dated - the paperback cover could sell books though.
The book is set in Minnesota, beginning in 1969. The story is narrated first by Maud Dougherty whose sister is a war protester, and then by Jeff Ramsey whose brother is about to leave for a tour of duty in Vietnam. Both of the initial narrations are overly long - 44 pages for Maud and nearly 60 for Jeff. As I read the first section, I thought the story was going to be a mystery involving Maud's sister, Lucy. Qualey sets this whole thing up and then totally abandons it for the rest of the book. When the second section begins with a new narrator, it is jolting and confusing. Eventually, the reader realizes that the lives of the two narrators will somehow become entwined. The ending, in which the two characters run away, in a sense, from the real world is ultimately dissatisfying. Though Jeff denies to his mother that they are running away, they are. Many emotional issues and plot lines are left unresolved.
Qualey does a good job of accurately representing the era and its predominant issues: the reasons we were in the Vietnam war, power and money, peaceful protest, the draft, loss and grief, draft dodging, communes, hippies, drugs, free love...it's all there. In this sense, especially to those who lived during the era, it gives the reader a lot to think about. And with current issues like peaceful protest, the war(s)in the Middle East, etc. there is something here for the current generation as well.
A fast, easy read. Just O.K.
Secondly, Marsha Qualey was surprisingly edgy for 1994. Even for 2011. This really surprised me. Though drinking, drugs, smoking, sex, and free love were definitely a part of the era, she does more than merely mention them. Not that there aren't edgier things out there, however. The original cover is horribly dated - the paperback cover could sell books though.
The book is set in Minnesota, beginning in 1969. The story is narrated first by Maud Dougherty whose sister is a war protester, and then by Jeff Ramsey whose brother is about to leave for a tour of duty in Vietnam. Both of the initial narrations are overly long - 44 pages for Maud and nearly 60 for Jeff. As I read the first section, I thought the story was going to be a mystery involving Maud's sister, Lucy. Qualey sets this whole thing up and then totally abandons it for the rest of the book. When the second section begins with a new narrator, it is jolting and confusing. Eventually, the reader realizes that the lives of the two narrators will somehow become entwined. The ending, in which the two characters run away, in a sense, from the real world is ultimately dissatisfying. Though Jeff denies to his mother that they are running away, they are. Many emotional issues and plot lines are left unresolved.
Qualey does a good job of accurately representing the era and its predominant issues: the reasons we were in the Vietnam war, power and money, peaceful protest, the draft, loss and grief, draft dodging, communes, hippies, drugs, free love...it's all there. In this sense, especially to those who lived during the era, it gives the reader a lot to think about. And with current issues like peaceful protest, the war(s)in the Middle East, etc. there is something here for the current generation as well.
A fast, easy read. Just O.K.
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November 11, 2010The book come in from the cold is about a daughter. The first part of the book centers the attention on a girl named Maud, who in the summer of 1969 leans that her sister Lucy, who is an anti-war activist and fugitive, has killed herself while bombing a physics lab at the UofM. Thought meanwhile in another part of the state a narrator Jeff learns about his hometown and sets up a peaceful anti-war protest. In one of the few forced moments in this deeply felt novel Jeff’s older brother a marine on his second tour of duty is killed in Vietnam the very same week Maud’s sister died. But less than a year later Maud and Jeff meet and almost immediately establish meaningful connection, their relationship wasn’t just a ordinary relationship I don’t think it was more of a “love at first sight” sort of relationship. And there was this organization that they had joined right away in their relationship called “a focal point of Everybody’s Daughter” but through this story it is told with a deep love relationship that 1 boy and 1 girl were going through at the same time.
August 26, 2008
Reviewed by The Compulsive Reader for TeensReadToo.com
Maud and Jeff are two teenagers, thrown together by protesting the Vietnam war. They feel a special connection over both having lost a sibling because of the war -- Maud's sister, Lucy, in an explosion of a science lab at the University of Minnesota, and Jeff's brother in Vietnam.
These events cause them to forge a bond and lead them to a commune where they try to come to terms with their losses and the war around them.
Strong, a little controversial, and wholly authentic, COME IN FROM THE COLD candidly captures life in America circa 1969 -- all of the tension, apprehension, hope, and love.
Ms. Qualey has crafted a read that is not only inspiring but also historically educational. It's so entertaining, though, you won't even realize it. The novel accurately mirrors all of the passion, urgency, and even violence of the times.
Maud and Jeff are two teenagers, thrown together by protesting the Vietnam war. They feel a special connection over both having lost a sibling because of the war -- Maud's sister, Lucy, in an explosion of a science lab at the University of Minnesota, and Jeff's brother in Vietnam.
These events cause them to forge a bond and lead them to a commune where they try to come to terms with their losses and the war around them.
Strong, a little controversial, and wholly authentic, COME IN FROM THE COLD candidly captures life in America circa 1969 -- all of the tension, apprehension, hope, and love.
Ms. Qualey has crafted a read that is not only inspiring but also historically educational. It's so entertaining, though, you won't even realize it. The novel accurately mirrors all of the passion, urgency, and even violence of the times.
October 8, 2008
Very good, but I wish I had been a teenager when I first read this, because I think I would have been more swept away. I wasn't around back then, but I think Qualey captured the Vietnam era well. I especially liked when she contrasted Jeff's late 1960s high school experiences with his older brother's times in the beginning of the decade. Loved Jeff's mother; she's very real, but not someone you see in a lot of literature.
October 26, 2013
It was slow for the first few scenes and then picked up as Maud told the story of her sister's suicide bombing during 1969's protests of the Vietnam War. This is a unique perspective for a book, discussing the resistance movement and what was happening on the homefront. Maud's sister protests and bombs while Jeff is dealing with the death of his brother in Vietnam.
September 21, 2010
A YA title I read before deciding what grade to use it with, this book captures the confusion of the Vietnam era for today's young people. Not the greatest book out there, but considering the dearth of books out there for young people about this era, this is worthwhile.
August 18, 2014
I think this is a great book! It's about to teenagers, who are dealing with hard times during the Vietnam War. They find each other and end up finding love. I would recommend this book to other people, it is touching and a beautiful story.
December 3, 2007
My favorite of Marsha Qualey's books, and one of my favorite YAs ever.
December 28, 2007
This book is love.
And an incredibly nuanced examination of the Sixties. In a YA novel.
And an incredibly nuanced examination of the Sixties. In a YA novel.
April 28, 2009
A tale about love between two teenagers who both lost someone because of the Vietnam War. Loved the switching point of view.
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June 8, 2010This was a sad and loving book. Both of the characters had a trajity in their lives. I liked this book because i loved how even though they lost a person in their lifes they had never given up.
April 20, 2011
Interesting perspective on the 60's. Characters that are different from many found in YA lit.
June 7, 2014
The overall story is interesting enough to capture my attention though I did not live through the early 70s there is an awful lot of drug use for every day suberbia. Loved the ending.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews