All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee

All We Thought We Knew
by Michelle Shocklee

ISBN-13: 9781496484178
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Released: Oct. 1, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
1969. When Mattie Taylor’s twin brother was killed in Vietnam, she lost her best friend and the only person who really understood her. Now, news that her mother is dying sends Mattie back home, despite blaming her father for Mark’s death. Mama’s last wish is that Mattie would read some old letters stored in a trunk, from people Mattie doesn’t even know. Mama insists they hold secrets that Mattie should know.

1942. Ava Delaney is picking up the pieces of her life following her husband’s death at Pearl Harbor. Living with her mother-in-law on a secluded farm in Tennessee is far different than the life Ava imagined when she married only a few short months ago. Desperate to get out of the house, Ava seeks work at a nearby military base, where she soon discovers the American government is housing Germans who they have classified as enemy aliens. As Ava works as a secretary to the man running the hospital, she crosses paths with Gunther Schneider, a German who is helping care for wounded soldiers. Ava questions why a man as gentle and kind as Gunther should be forced to live in the internment camp, and as they become friends, her sense of the injustice grows...as do her feelings for him.


My Review:
All We Thought We Knew is a Christian romance set in 1969 and in 1942 in Tennessee. Vivid historical details were woven into the story giving it a distinct sense of the time and place. Mattie was exasperating at first because she was so self-centered and voiced her opinions even when she knew it'd hurt others. She understood the reasons given by her twin and by her mother for the decisions they made, but she wanted her way instead. A returned, wounded veteran helped her to move beyond her pain to actually care about others. She also has to work through her anger at God for letting her twin die during the war and her mother die a year later.

Ava is Mattie's dying mother, but we also get her backstory. I enjoyed seeing how the relationship between Ava and Gunther played out, but they spent very little time together 'on screen' so we're just supposed to accept how much Mattie loved Gunther. (I can see why he loved her as she shows him kindness when he's feeling pretty low.) I felt like the ending was a bit rushed. The critical decision made by Gunther didn't really make sense in terms of why Mattie's father felt so strongly about keeping it a secret even 20+ years later. Gunther had a strong faith in God throughout the story, even talking with a Jewish friend about Jesus.

There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable historical novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.