All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee,

All We Thought We Knew is the first book I have read written by Michelle Shocklee, but I have multiple books by her on my TBR list. Reading this book just confirmed I need to move the books up on my TBR pile. All We Thought We Knew is in the top 5 books I have read this year and might be contending for first place. I will wait until the end of the year to officially decide, but it has a fair chance at winning right now. (Walking on Hidden Wing is the other top read currently) The character development was truly powerful. I was sucked in and right beside Mattie as she slapped Nash, with Ava as she taught English lessons to Gunther, and with Gunther as he was loaded on a rail car to move to North Dakota. The storyline was amazing. There is just something that fascinates me about WWII. It was such a complex war, with many dynamics. All We Thought We Knew touched on a lot of those different dynamics. It wasn’t so war heavy, but the side of the home front in the USA. But also, the glimpses of Gunther’s brother being a Nazi, and Dr. Sonnenberg being a Jew and dealing with Nazi POA which shown light on what was going on. The internment camps for the Germans and other Prisoners were an interesting side to learn more about. The historical element was great. I learned a lot. I felt like I was right there during 1940s and 1960s while the two timelines were going on. It was easy to envision and see what was happening. The relationship aspect was very clean and sweet. Very closed door and realistic. Michelle Shocklee did a great job intertwining faith throughout the whole book. I appreciated the journey that Ava, Mattie and Gunther went on to find their faith. It was really encouraging. *I received a complimentary copy from the author and voluntarily chose to review it. All opinions are my own.