Last One Home is quite uniquely told in a vivid and descriptive fashion. Pure and simple, I loved this story more than my words can express. From beginning to end, this book is filled with poignant passages that will forever be etched in my heart and soul. Ryan is a gifted storyteller. She paints an extraordinary picture of this historical time period, the 1940’s. The manner in which she describes the bombing of Pearl Harbor and WWII overall, you feel you are sharing the experience with the characters. It’s worth noting the central focus is on the lead character, Elizabeth also known as Lizzie. We learn early on she desires more than comfortable lifestyle of a 1940’s housewife. She wants to experience more from life and see the world. Enlisting in the Army Nurse Corp was her hope to fulfill that dream. This is written in a dual timeline. We are taken back to the 1940’s when Lizzie had her whole life and dreams ahead of her from the current year of 2018 where she struggles to remember those dreams. The support characters, Everett (the love of Lizzie’s life), her father, brothers, deceased mother and her best friend to name a few add a wonderful richness to the story. I can’t say enough about this book. You’ll want to experience it for yourself. 5 Last One Home Stars! Thank you to Shari J. Ryan, NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reading opportunity.
thought I was prepared for where this book would take me. I’ve read other books by the author; I know that she’s always going to take me on an emotionally fraught journey. Yet none of that preparation braced me for the impact of this story. This felt like one part Pearl Harbor, one part Schindler’s List, and all the uniquely Shari J Ryan flair to tie it all together. My book hangover at the end of this one is going to take hours, possibly even days, to recover from what I just went through. Take this as the warning it’s meant to be and keep boxes of tissues handy; I can barely see now because I spent so much of the book in tears. I cried because my heart hurt. I cried in joy. I cried because I was laughing so hard. It’s also possible that I may be a little dehydrated now that I’m finished reading it. Even though it asked so much of me while reading it, I will not hesitate to go back and read it over and over again.
From start to finish, I absolutely loved this book. My only disappointment was when I came to the last page and the story of Elizabeth Salzburg had come to an end. Someone In Hollywood should snap up the rights to this because it would make a great movie! We start off by meeting an elderly Elizabeth whose memory is fading. While her long term is still on point, her short one is not so when her grandson in law comes by asking questions about her her service during Pearl Harbor and WWII...she is able to recount in great detail what life was like for her and why she made the choices she made. We begin her journey as she’s winding down her nursing studies. She’s under the watchful eye of her naval commander father and even a trip to the beach is met with an escort home. When she meets the handsome Everett Anderson, she discovers her one true love and the person she wants to spend forever with. But...then the Japanese bomb Pearl and while her love for Everett is never going to go away...she also has this need to be something and do something bigger than herself so she enlists in the Army Nurses Corp. Before she deploys, she finds out that Everett’s deployment is not far behind hers and they promise each other to live for the day and they will find their way back to each other one day. Elizabeth goes above and beyond her call of duty as a nurse on the front lines and sees things that will scar her forever but she’s determined to help as many people as she can before she comes home. What I love about this story is that it’s written in first person. I feel a deeper connection because I can see things from their point of view and the pictures that Elizabeth paints are so vivid and memorable, it’s as if you’re right there walking beside her. You want to feel what she feels and you can and do. I also love that this is yet another perspective of WWII that I haven’t read much about....a nurses for one but also from someone who experienced Pearl Harbor and then made their way to Europe. What a great read!! Thank you NetGalley and Shari Ryan for early access to this gem of a book. I think I’ll keep it in my back pocket for a while because Elizabeth strength and bravery are so inspirational!
