Liz Tolsma: Daisies are Forever

By Kelly Bridgewater

I couldn't imagine living in a world where bombs are going off constantly, and you have to live in constant fear for your life. But millions around the world face this reality every day. Back in World War II, millions around the globe felt threatened by the Nazi Regime and the Russians who wanted to conquer everything, including trying to make the perfect race.

Liz Tolsma created a fictional world out of her grandmother, Lillian Tolsma's past. Listening to the stories told by her grandmother and her older relatives, she learned firsthand how the Germans and Americans tried to survive the onslaught of destruction at the hands of the enemy. I find World War II history fascinating, and lately, I have been devouring a number of books in this genre. I love all of Sarah Sundin's World War II novels and Kate Breslin's book, Such A Time As This. I keep downloading a number of books in the genre to my Kinde, but I haven't gotten around to reading them yet. Hopefully, some day soon.

What drew me to Liz Tolsma latest book was the cover of her book, Daisies are Forever. The cover on this book and the preceding one, Snow on the Tulips are artistically beautiful. I love the dark background with white and black images filtered with a little bit of tan and yellow in the lamp post. The image of Gisela, the twenty-year-old heroine is in full color and staring into the great unknown. A great eye catching cover.

Tolsma created a strong, motivated heroine in Gisela who carries the guilt of leaving family members behind as she escapes to safety. Gisela makes decisions which affect others around her, including saving the life of Mitch, a run away ex-soldier, by claiming he was her husband. On the other hand, Mitch is a strong hero who fights and protects Gisela and the two little girls who belong to Gisela's cousin, Ella, who she left behind.

The plot shows the graphic nature of how horrible the Nazi's and Russians were as they tried to dominate the entire European continent. The story features the long passage of traveling across a frozen lake to hiding out in bomb shelters for days as they have to listen to loud music and the sounds of a number of women being raped by the Russian soldiers. My favorite part was watching Gisela and Mitch learn how to forgive their own personal guilt and move on in the love and grace of God while learning to fall in love with each other.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Net Galley and the opinions are my own.