Beyond Summerland
Jenny Lecoat
Reviewed by Helen
Set on Jersey in The Channel Islands the German occupation is over and life should be returning to normal but very slowly a lot has happened in the years of the occupation and the Parris family have had their share of sadness with the loss of husband and father Philip wife Violet and nineteen year old daughter Jean will do their best to cope but when accusations start flying about collaborators tempers are flaring.
Jean is determined to find out who the person was who reported her father and with her uncle Eddie returning to the island and moving in with them he too is pushing for answers but what Jean soon discovers will push her to the limits.
Hazel is a teacher at the school and lives with her invalid father in a flat above the ironmongers shop run by Philip Parris and when she is accused of reporting Mr. Parris she does her best to prove her innocence, but it is not easy with the finger pointed her way.
Soon Jean and Hazel are talking to each other and Jean learns even more about what happened and this changes the way she thinks about many things, but Jean is keeping secrets herself and times are getting dangerous as people are determined to see collaborators get what they think they deserve, where will it all end?
I am not sure how I felt reading this one, I really felt for Jean and Hazel and what they went through but did get very frustrated with some of the other characters in this one, I did love the setting and if you enjoy a historical fiction story then this is one that you should read it is heartbreaking what these islanders went through during and after the occupation.
My thanks to Allen & Unwin for my copy to read and review.
Jean is determined to find out who the person was who reported her father and with her uncle Eddie returning to the island and moving in with them he too is pushing for answers but what Jean soon discovers will push her to the limits.
Hazel is a teacher at the school and lives with her invalid father in a flat above the ironmongers shop run by Philip Parris and when she is accused of reporting Mr. Parris she does her best to prove her innocence, but it is not easy with the finger pointed her way.
Soon Jean and Hazel are talking to each other and Jean learns even more about what happened and this changes the way she thinks about many things, but Jean is keeping secrets herself and times are getting dangerous as people are determined to see collaborators get what they think they deserve, where will it all end?
I am not sure how I felt reading this one, I really felt for Jean and Hazel and what they went through but did get very frustrated with some of the other characters in this one, I did love the setting and if you enjoy a historical fiction story then this is one that you should read it is heartbreaking what these islanders went through during and after the occupation.
My thanks to Allen & Unwin for my copy to read and review.
3 stars
July 2, 2024 by Allen & Unwin AU
