Reviewer: Amy Lignor
Title: I'll Be Home for Christmas
Author: Julie L. Cannon
Publisher: Summerside Press
ISBN-13: 978-1-60936-018-4
Release Date: September 2010
Genre/Sub-genre: Inspirational Fiction/Romance
Year/Setting: 1940’s/Watkinsville GA & Trenton NJ
Overall Rating: 4.0
Sexual Content Rating: None/Subtle
Language (Profanity/Slang) Content Rating: None/Mild
Violent Content Rating: None/Minimal
Julie's Website/Blog: www.juliecannon.com
Dear Readers:
My mother’s favorite books are the ones set in the WWII era. She still says, to this day, that there was no more interesting time period in human history. Not to mention, the women and men were polite and kind, and even though the whole world was at war and people were being lost, there was a cloud of honor that hung over America that has never been seen since. After reading this story, and getting wrapped up in the true perseverance, determination, and love that the characters showed, I have to wholeheartedly agree with her.
Our two main characters are a girl by the name of Maggie Culpepper, and a young man named William Dove. Maggie and William have lived across the road from each other for years, and have spent day-in and day-out by each others side as they’ve grown into adults. It’s 1943 and the war is raging in Europe. It seems so far away from the small, peaceful town in Georgia where Will and Maggie live out their lives. Will’s family runs the Dove Tree Farm – a gorgeous place where all different types of Christmas trees are grown. Will works with his father, and their caretaker, Tyronious Byrd – all of them making sure that everyone’s Christmas tree will be absolutely beautiful.
This particular Christmas, Will decides to take his relationship with Maggie to the next level, offering her his undying love. But when Maggie’s mother passes away, Maggie not only turns away from God over her anger, but she also turns away from the people who love her…including William.
She ends up enlisting in the Navy, in a program called WAVES. This is a program where the women can do jobs at home (remember Rosie the Riveter?) so that the men can be free to fight the enemy overseas. Maggie, feeling completely claustrophobic from her mother’s death and William’s overbearing love for her, jumps at the chance to leave the small Georgia town, and signs on the dotted line. Soon, she’s on The Silver Comet and racing to New York for basic training, then being stationed in New Jersey where she helps to build airplanes. Maggie is finally happy, and extremely proud and excited that she’s doing something for the war effort. In fact, she may just decide to make the military a lifetime career.
Will is back home absolutely heartbroken. Although he wants nothing more than to support the woman he loves, he misses Maggie so much he can barely breathe. Already suffering from the aches and pains in his hand and leg from the childhood polio he suffered from, the extra agony of losing Maggie, and writing her letter after letter and never receiving a response, is almost too much to bear.
This love story is truly heartbreaking. I wanted to jump into the pages of this book more than once and strangle Maggie for making a man as kind and sweet as William ever shed a tear. I also want to add that Mr. Byrd is one of the most mesmerizing characters I’ve read in a long time. When he speaks of his background, and the agony he had to endure over his lifetime to bring him even closer to God, I literally wept. Any reader who is interested in romance, history, or characters that will live in their memory for a long, long time…then this is the novel for you!
Until next time,
Amy
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