Review: Come from Away by Genevieve Graham

Title: Come from Away 
Author: Genevieve Graham
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publish Date: April 24, 2018
Source: Publisher

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "In the fall of 1939, Grace Baker’s three brothers, sharp and proud in their uniforms, board Canadian ships headed for a faraway war. Grace stays behind, tending to the homefront and the general store that helps keep her small Nova Scotian community running. The war, everyone says, will be over before it starts. But three years later, the fighting rages on and rumours swirl about “wolf packs” of German U-Boats lurking in the deep waters along the shores of East Jeddore, a stone’s throw from Grace’s window. As the harsh realities of war come closer to home, Grace buries herself in her work at the store.

Then, one day, a handsome stranger ventures into the store. He claims to be a trapper come from away, and as Grace gets to know him, she becomes enamoured by his gentle smile and thoughtful ways. But after a several weeks, she discovers that Rudi, her mysterious visitor, is not the lonely outsider he appears to be, but someone else entirely—someone not to be trusted. When a shocking truth about her family forces Grace to question everything she has so strongly believed, she realizes that she and Rudi have more in common than she had thought. And if Grace is to have a chance at love, she must not only choose a side, but take a stand."

My Two Cents:

In "Come from Away," Grace never imagined that war would come to her quiet town in Nova Scotia but now deadly u-boats lurk in the waters of the shore and missing her brothers as they go to war is a lot harder than she ever expected it to be. When a stranger appears at her family's store, she can't imagine just how close the war will get and how what she knows about herself and others will change in the face of this.

Grace is a very sweet character with a very good heart. Already considered an old maid, she wonders if there is anyone out there and if she will ever get married. When she meets Rudi, she knows that everything about their love should be forbidden and that they will face a lot of friction from those around them. Rudi is protected by a handful of the townspeople but he is also met with a lot of suspicion that he can't really want to stay in Canada. Grace realizes early on that she knows Rudi's heart and that they'll be able to stick together through all the obstacles they face. I really liked watching their relationship evolve throughout the book!

So much WWII related historical fiction takes place in Europe so it was interesting to read a book set somewhere else like Canada. It's always amazing to me to realize just how far the frontlines of war actually stretched. I loved the historical detail about how Nova Scotia dealt with the u-boats coming so close and what they thought about it.

The book was well written but does dive into some unnecessary telling rather than showing. Hang in there though - the book finds its footing quickly and looks at some interesting thoughts on prejudice and how scary the unknown can be if you aren't open to it. Overall, this was a good read with a new take on WWII.