Read & reviewed by Karen (retired Bookseller); The Leonard Girls is a captivating New Zealand novel set in 1969.
Jo is a Uni student, parttime singer & member of a anti Vietnam group. Her sister, Rowie, is a nurse and supports the governement stance on the war as do their parents.
When circumstances find both woomen in Vietnam, work, friendships, romance, loss & tragedy force them both to reconsider their views.
A large cast of characters, friends & whanau, add to the rollercoaster ride of emotions & provide a fasinating look at life in the sixties.
Click here to read an author interview on nzbooklovers.co.nz
Rowie's pro-war, her sister Jo's a protester. And they're both in Vietnam.
The compelling new novel from the bestselling author of From the Ashes
In 1969, at the height of the Vietnam war, nurse Rowie Leonard is serving a 12-month tour of duty. She supports the war and is committed to caring for wounded New Zealand and Australian troops. After a few months, however, she realises that nothing at all about the conflict is as clear-cut as she'd assumed.
Her younger sister, Jo, is the opposite - a student at Auckland University, a folk singer and a fervent anti-war protestor. But when Jo falls for professional soldier Sam Apanui, home on leave to visit his ill father, she finds herself torn between her feelings and her convictions.
As the three of them grapple with love, loss, and the stresses and sorrows of war, each will be forced to confront and question everything they believed.
Aotearoa New Zealand, Historical fiction, Romance, Generational sagas, Family life fiction
Paperback
Deborah Challinor
416 pages
H: 198mm W: 130mm Spine: 25mm
Weight: 313 grams