by Bette Greene
First published 1999
Patty Bergen stands at eighteen with her high school diploma in hand, but graduation feels hollow. She cannot move forward without confronting what happened with Anton, the German soldier she loved and lost. Her solution is bold and desperate: travel to Germany to find his mother. The journey might give her the connection to Anton she craves, or it might destroy the memory she treasures. In Paris, she meets Roger, and suddenly her mission becomes complicated. Roger offers her something real and present, while Germany promises only ghosts and painful truths. Patty must choose between chasing the past that shaped her and embracing a future that frightens her. Her search for Anton's mother becomes a search for herself, forcing her to decide what kind of woman she wants to become.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, 20th-century, coming-of-age, young-adult, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Germany, Paris
Period: World War II
261 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Speak
Content warnings: war