Far From Home Children of the Promise #3

Far From Home Children of the Promise Vol. 3 by Dean Hughes



The Thomases are still a war torn family. President Thomas is grating on my nerves with his holier than thou attitude.....but I also see where he is coming from.....sometimes. Sister Thomas is standing up to him......go Bea.

Alex is still in the heat of the battle near the front lines. It is winter 1945 and things are miserable for every soldier. Along with the battle the cold is tearing them up. Alex is freezing and fight for most of this book. He loses one of his men that reminds him of Gene........he finally has enough feeling left to cry. Alex finds out at the end of the book that he and Anna will be parents.

Bobbi rarely hears from Richard. She remains close to Ishi (an AJA in her ward) and her children as they also wait for news of Daniel, their husband and father. Bobbi finds herself tiring of Afton (her friend and roommate). Afton has found love in Sam, a Hawaiian. She leads him on for awhile knowing that he feels deeply for her but that she will not marry him because of their racial differences. Bobbi learns that Richard's ship has been sunk near the Philippines. She waits for so long to hear from him that she fears he is dead. Richard is finally rescued and sent back to the hospital at Pearl Harbor where Bobbi is stationed. He and Bobbi decide they do love each other and want to get married. Bobbi will soon be leaving on a naval hospital ship.

Wally is a POW in Japan. Conditions are still terrible for him. He is working in coal mines. The Japanese are under pressure to mine the coal and are horrendous to the prisoners. Wally and the other POW's suffer from extreme conditions, little food, disease, unsanitary situations, and the wrath of the Japanese. Wally struggles to get his hatred under control.

LaRue is only fifteen but acting much older. She has begun volunteering at the USO. She dances and flirts with the soldiers leading them to believe she is not just fifteen. Ned, a soldier from Hill Field falls in love with LaRue. Despite President Thomas' urging and harsh criticism LaRue cannot get enough of the attention she is attracting from the older boys. When Ned professes his love and asks LaRue to marry him before he is shipped out to the battle, LaRue has to come clean about her age. Ned is enraged but he loves her so much he asks her to wait for him while he is at war. She agrees to write to him but will not become engaged. She is also flirting like wild fire with the boys her age. LaRue begins to realize that she doesn't like what she is turning into.

The Stoltz's are separated. Anna and her mother are in London. Father has joined the Allied forces and is spying for then against the Nazi's in Germany. He is also hopeful that he will be able to locate Peter. Peter is caught by the Gestapo. He runs. In an effort to hide from then he finds that he must join the army even though he hates the Nazi's and what they are doing to Germany and the other nations. Conditions for the German troops fighting the Russians are horrid. Peter and the other boys are so young. They are freezing and starving. Peter and his last friend are sick and wounded. They finally make it to a hospital where Peter's friend Hans dies. Peter can take no more. He goes AWOL and joins fleeing refugees in hopes that he will not be caught. He is determined to never kill again even if it means forfeiting his own life.

This is another great addition to the already great series. I have loved watching Wally and the other POW's struggle with their determination to quell their hatred and find a way to forgive the Japanese. Also Alex and Peter are able to show that even though a nation may be wicked, not all of the people in the nation are. Despite desperate times and evil in the world, good can still be found in individuals.

Rating 5
Rating PG 13 War, violence, violent death, injury, hatred.