DREAM WHEN YOU'RE FEELING BLUE

DREAM WHEN YOU'RE FEELING BLUE by Elizabeth Berg

From the back of the book:

In Chicago, as World War II rages in Europe, the Heaney sisters sit at their kitchen table each evening to write letters - Louise to her fiancé, Julian, who has just left to fight overseas; Kitty to Michael, also a soldier, and the man she wishes fervently would propose; and the third Heaney 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.  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 uncover a secret, and will lend her to a radical action on behalf of those she loves that will change the Heaney family forever.  The lifelong consequences of the choices the sisters make are at the heart of this superb novel about the power of love and the enduring strength of family.

First, there is a mistake in the blurb on the book cover.  Louise is engaged to Michael and Kitty's boyfriend is Julian.  Where were the editors when this was printed?

Now, the book.  I really liked it.  I've read other books by Ms. Berg and wasn't overly impressed.  I guess that's why this one sat on the bookshelf for quite a while.  I was pulled into this one from the beginning.  For some reason, I enjoy books set in this time period.  Maybe it's because the people were so patriotic and stood behind the soldiers who were putting their lives on the line each day.

This book gave a good look at what it was like to be at home, waiting for your man to come back; hoping and praying that he would return unharmed.  I could "see" the girls writing their letters, going to the USO dances, working on aircraft at a defense plant - just like an old black and white movie.  The letters they received gave a detailed glimpse of what the war was like for the men fighting and their own fears.

I thought this was a very good book - I wish I had read it sooner.