Her family moved from Missouri to Florida in 1947 and they never looked back. She was afraid of starting school as the new girl but found many kids had moved from other cold winter states to St. Petersburg and she had no problems making friends. But it was love at first sight for Nora when she noticed him reading in a corner outside the classrooms. She was a high school sophomore and he was a junior, but she was the aggressor and he was shy when she asked him about the book he was reading. Leonard was smart and his family was well off-his parents had big hopes for his future college success and his father was looking forward to boasting about his son. But Nora and Leonard were falling in love, and his parents wanted to end it before they became "entangled" by pregnancy. When their relationship progressed to a dangerous point after the Harvest Dance, his mother made a deal with Nora-if she didn't tell her parents what happened that night, Nora would never contact Leonard again. She agreed to the terms. But when Leonard found out about his mother's bargain, he left home and joined the army. After basic training in Kentucky, he was going to be shipped out, and he returned to Florida to see Nora before he had to go. They secretly went to a small town on the coast and finally slept together, returning separately to their parent's houses. He left for Japan and she missed her period.
He never answered her letters-even when she wrote to him that she was pregnant. When she finally swallowed her pride and asked about him to his mother, she told her that he no longer cared for her or their baby, and had married a woman in Japan. Nora was alone and devastated, and the baby was due in a few months-what could she do?
This is a novel of choices made under extreme pressure and the consequences of those choices. Nora is left to cope by herself as a pregnant girl in the early fifties in a small town where there were no secrets. As she attempts to live her life while being beaten down by her community, she realizes that the only strength that she can rely on is her own.
The author did a great job of reimagining a period of American history that is often forgotten-the Korean War and its aftermath. Her characters were very sympathetic and real which was a refreshing change from the many over the top books being published now. Time to let a little sunlight in?
Reviewed by Donna Ballard
August 4, 2026
Reserve a physical copy - Coming soon
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