It's 1942. The world's at war, and even small-town America is awash in fear. . .and hatred. Sis Greggory's beloved brother, Danny, is serving in North Africa. The war news is bad; the Axis powers seem invincible. Where is Danny? They can only wonder. Sis lives and breathes civilian war drives, trying to keep him safe. Before it is over, the lives of Sis, Danny, and Horst, a German prisoner of war, are forever changed.
Not to be Forgiven is a fictive rendering of what happens to one family in a small town in Nebraska when German POWs are shipped in to help with the harvest. It’s the story of how one little girl deals with WWII, how she befriends a POW, and what happens to that friendship when her beloved brother returns from the war a victim of combat fatigue. Thematically, it explores the significance of hate fuelled by war propaganda, and how the child must learn to live with the horrific memory of what she caused. The novel asks but never answers: who is most in need of forgiveness?
Not to be Forgiven is at once a nostalgic rendering of a child's patriotism and a hard-hitting portrayal of the deep, ugly emotions war engenders. It will make you laugh, and it will shock you to your core.
