A WWII novel of courage and conviction, based on the true experience of the men who fought fires as conscientious objectors and the women who fought prejudice to serve in the Women’s Army Corps.
Since the attack on Pearl Harbor, Gordon Hooper and his buddy Jack Armitage have stuck to their values as conscientious objectors. Much to their families’ and country’s chagrin, they volunteer as smokejumpers rather than enlisting, parachuting into and extinguishing raging wildfires in Oregon. But the number of winter blazes they’re called to seems suspiciously high, and when an accident leaves Jack badly injured, Gordon realizes the facts don’t add up.
A member of the Women’s Army Corps, Dorie Armitage has long been ashamed of her brother’s pacifism, but she’s shocked by news of his accident. Determined to find out why he was harmed, she arrives at the national forest under the guise of conducting an army report . . . and finds herself forced to work with Gordon. He believes it’s wrong to lie; she’s willing to do whatever it takes for justice to be done. As they search for clues, Gordon and Dorie must wrestle with their convictions about war and peace and decide what to do with the troubling secrets they discover.
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Sexual Content - 0/5
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Violence - 1/5
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Language - 0/5
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Drugs and Alcohol - 0/5
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Summary
From: Rebecca Maney
Book Title: The Lines Between Us
Book Author: Amy Lynn Green
What do you like about this book:
"We live in different worlds, Gordon. Mine is the real one, and yours is some idealistic fantasy where everyone loves their neighbor and no one has to fight for freedom. It took a declaration of war to wake us up to that, but I'd rather know now than keep pretending."
Well, that was a blunt good-bye. Becoming a conscientious objector had cost Gordon Hopper the woman he imagined himself to fancy, and subsequently landed him in the middle of Oregon with Dorie's brother, his best friend Jack. . . . . fighting fires. Tragically there was one fire that Jack couldn't fight, and it left Gordon wondering if all of his convictions had just gone up in smoke.
"What are you doing here, Dorie? ". . . . . . "What do you mean? You practically summoned me."
Dorie Armitage wanted answers. As a member of the Women's Army Corps, she had a reputation for flying above and below the radar when it came to rules, but twisting her leave into a fictitious army investigation into a suspicious fire was over the top, even for her. And blast it! Gordon Hopper was still as straight laced as ever; would he even help her find the information she sought; they both sought? Highly doubtful.
" . . . but maybe it takes courage to stand up to people making fun of you for what you believe, or to jump out of planes . . . . you were braver than I realized . . . "
Written with remarkable creative flair, this story weaves an amazing amount of little known information about World War II's conscientious objectors, and some of the tasks assigned to them, into a very interesting narrative. The ending? Pleasantly satisfying in a round-about way, but still leaving a lot of room for thought. As every good story should.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. The opinions stated above are entirely my own.