The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee: Book Review

 *Book received for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

Jimmy Propfield joined the army for two reasons: to get out of Mobile, Alabama, with his best friends Hank and Billy and to forget his high school sweetheart, Claire.

Life in the Philippines seems like paradise--until the morning of December 8, 1941, when news comes from Manila: Imperial Japan has bombed Pearl Harbor. Within hours, the teenage friends are plunged into war as enemy warplanes attack Luzon, beginning a battle for control of the Pacific Theater that will culminate with a last stand on the Bataan Peninsula and end with the largest surrender of American troops in history.

What follows will become known as one of the worst atrocities in modern warfare: the Bataan Death March. With no hope of rescue, the three friends vow to make it back home together. But the ordeal is only the beginning of their nearly four-year fight to survive.

Inspired by true stories, The Long March Home is a gripping coming-of-age tale of friendship, sacrifice, and the power of unrelenting hope.

Tosca Lee is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of twelve novels including THE LONG MARCH HOME (with New York Times bestselling author Marcus Brotherton) THE LINE BETWEEN, THE PROGENY, THE LEGEND OF SHEBA, and ISCARIOT. Her work has been translated into seventeen languages and been optioned for TV and film. She is the recipient of two International Book Awards, Killer Nashville's Silver Falchion, ECPA Book of the Year, and the Nebraska Book Award, and has finaled for numerous others including the Library of Virginia People's Choice Award, the High Plains Book Award, a second Silver Falchion, and the Christy. When she's not writing, Tosca loves binging television shows, looking for something good to eat, cooking when she can't find it, traveling with her husband, and sleeping in.

You can find Tosca on social media or hanging around the snack table. To learn more, please visit toscalee.com.

Marcus Brotherton is a New York Times bestselling author and coauthor dedicated to writing books that inspire heroics, promote empathy, and encourage noble living.

His commendations include the Christopher Award for literature “that affirms the highest values of the human spirit.”

For more information, please visit: www.marcusbrotherton.com

I love good WWII fiction, but more often than not, I see a lot of stories that take place in Europe or even here in the US. When I saw that this one covered the Pacific, I was certainly intrigued by that. The fact that it was based on true stories made it all the more appealing to me. But let me just say... this book was intense and a little hard to read at times. I mean, let's just be honest, war is a tough topic. I have to personally be in the proper mindset before I can truly enjoy stories like this that are more difficult. When I sat down to read this one, I was not in that proper mindset and as such I had to step away for the time being... so I've not actually finished reading this at the time of this review. That said, what I was able to read was done wonderfully, it's well-written, compelling and emotional... in all the best ways possible. While I wasn't able to finish it at this time, I look forward to coming back to it when I am in a better head space to truly enjoy it! 

If you enjoy WWII fiction, this is certainly one worth checking out!