Beyond That, The Sea

When you read the cover blurb for Laura Spence-Ash's debut novel Beyond That, The Sea (#1,167) you may be forgiven for thinking "Oh, no!  Not another WWII novel!".  But if you decide to skip it, you'll be missing one of the best books I've read in a long time.  

World War II is the catalyst for this book.  Eleven-year-old Beatrix Thompson is sent from London by her parents to live overseas with an American family for the duration of the war.  How that decision changes the lives of each one of characters of the Thompson family and the Gregorys with their two boys outside Boston is charted in the emotional landscape of this novel.  Everyone's point of view is explored, and although the war is the triggering factor, it's the internal events that are key here.  How Bea is changed by, and changes her environments beyond the war is the crux.

I had just one small nit to pick here.  I grew up in the Boston area, and when Bea and Mrs. Gregory go to Boston to buy Bea a party dress, the book says they go to Downtown Crossing.  Probably Ms. Spence-Ash is too young to know that that term wasn't used until about thirty or forty years later than the period in the book.  Yes, Jordan Marsh had wonderful blueberry muffins, but my mother and I preferred the chicken pot pies at Filene's elegant dining room across the street!  Long's jeweler on Summer Street brings back many memories of picking out an opal ring for my sixteenth birthday, a gold bangle for my high school graduation and my own engagement and wedding rings.  Those were the days...

It's a terrific book.  I don't understand why it hasn't been given more press: there is enough here to keep book clubs occupied for several meetings!  Settle in for a soul-satisfying read with Beyond That, The Sea.  Highly recommended.