Protect The Heart
Formats: E-Book, Paperback
Ages: 16-18, 18+
Abraham Luchner pulls up roots from his Snake River Valley home in support of the war effort. Joined by his friend Cameron Terry, an impulsive adventure seeker, Abe determines to sever ties at home in order to minimize distractions.
Maura Laerty has been claimed as Cameron's betrothed in the eyes of the community. Determined not to become a war widow or caregiver of one more soul who needs her ongoing assistance, she refuses his proposal, at least until he returns. Despite her efforts, Maura soon finds herself saddled with responsibilities that tax her resolve and turn the townspeople away.
Reviews
Protect the Heart is a story set in Idaho during World War II and helps the reader to understand what it really was like during that time period. Maura is a young woman who works at a special hospital, taking care of wounded soldiers sent back home. The hardest part of her job is taking care of new mothers who have given birth but have found out their husbands were killed in action. Even though Maura is writing to a young soldier who is just a friend, she finds herself attracted to Cameron's buddy: Abe. With every letter Cameron writes, he tells her about his best friend, which fascinates Maura. As Cameron reads Maura's letters out loud to Abe, his friend becomes very interested in Maura. This growing attraction has only one problem. Even though she considers Cameron as a friend, he wants to propose marriage to her when he gets back from the war. He doesn't seem to understand that they are just friends. This is a beautiful love story of how two people connect through letters and how their love for one another gradually grows, despite the war and all its problems. Throughout this novel, proper etiquette has to be watched or the townsfolk will be too quick to judge. I learned so much as I read this novel. I didn't realize what the families had to go through as they waited for their loved ones who were sent across the ocean to another country to fight for freedom. A freedom that wouldn't be ours if it weren't for the brave young soldiers who volunteered to fight, not knowing if they would ever return again to their homeland.
I couldn't put this book down, reading far into the night to finish it. The characters feel very real, and sympathetic, with an old-fashioned style that I found completely refreshing. I found myself gasping at certain points in the story, and always concerned about how things would turn out for the heroine, working on the homefront, helping returning soldiers and their families whom they'd left behind. "Protect the Heart" has become one of my favorite books.
"Protect the Heart by LK Hunsaker is a story that will warm the heart and touch the soul. ... 5 stars"
