Nicely done historical fiction, Wallace has created good characters and does well with keeping the tension up. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book - but had to set it down halfway through because I knew it wouldn't be a good option for our monthly book subscription box. I will pick it up again soon!

I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

US army nurse Louise Harrison waits to be evacuated from Manila. Meanwhile, she is forced to hide in a remote village with a group of injured soldiers and other medical people.

Those that like to read of war strategies would probably like this book more. It was less of the people involved and more about the strategies. I really couldn't get into the book.

2.25 ☆

It's not everyday I find a book that is set in the Philippines, let alone in the era of WW2. Finding this was such a breath of fresh air to me. It's so new. I don't think I've ever read a book like this.
I haven't read anything from Michael Wallace either and I was not his biggest fan in terms of his writing style. I almost got halfway before I get used to it. AND that's when I really devoured this book. His writing style is raw, almost gritty, and poignant.
I wish I could put into words how much impact this book left me but I am left with just a couple of words: bravo, brava.

Loved this World War II tale! Louise is a smart American nurse who takes her patients under her wing and shows bravery and compassion during a time when it's needed. Definitely recommend!

Learned a lot of significant lessons and enjoyed every minute of reading it!

Manila, December 31, 1941. Dr. Claypool and his 4 nurses, Louise Harrison, Franke Dover, Maria Elena, and Clarice McGillicuddy are waiting to be evacuated ahead of the Japanese invasion. The five of them and a field hospital full of injured patients. But the sea plane is shot down before they can be loaded and taken away, and so the evacuation must proceed through the mountains -- on foot.

This novel pulled me in immediately and never let go. I felt the heat and the humidity, the mosquitoes and other bugs, and most of all, the frustration of patients and medical staff who didn't have enough to eat, enough medicine and other supplies, and couldn't get enough sleep.

I read this EARC courtesy of Lake Union Press and Net Galley. pub date 06/06/17

I enjoy books that keep me wondering, I also enjoy books that make me really question what I would do in this situation. Rarely do I find both of these qualities in one book but this time I did. This is a good read but not one the reader will want to set down. Perfect for book club discussions.

A World War II historical novel set in the Philippines as the Japanese overrun the country. An American nurse finds herself in charge of evacuating wounded patients as the Japanese come nearer. An encounter with a wounded Japanese soldier changes her view of the enemy, and also of herself. Recommended reading.

This was an enjoyable book and made a nice change to have a field hospital as a main setting. An easy read and well written. I prefer not to write what a story is about, as I fear spoiling for others. I do recommend.

A review will be left on Goodreads and Amazon tomorrow.

A little slow to start with but good depiction of this time period. It was nice to read wwII events set outside Europe.

This story begins in Manila, in 1941, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and America's entrance into WWII. Louise, an American nurse working in a Manila hospital, has to help her patients evacuate the city in front of a Japanese invasion. The evacuation goes wrong however, and the American patients, soldiers, and medical staff are forced to retreat into the mountains to avoid being captured by the Japanese. Along the way, they meet an injured Japanese soldier, who Louise insists they help, against the wishes of the other Americans. Eventually we learn more about the Japanese soldier and his feelings about his country and the war. What seems to be an issue of black and white, right and wrong, turns out to be a very gray area, as friendships are formed between people who should be enemies.
This story started off a little slow for me, however, once I got into the book, I read it in two sittings and really enjoyed it. I love historical fiction, especially from this time period, but have not read much about the war in the Philipines. It was a new and interesting perspective and I found myself searching the Internet for more information.
I was especially pleased with the ending. As I was getting down to the last 30 pages or so, I thought, "This is going to be wrapped up way too fast, and in a totally predictable way". That was definitely not the case. I thought the author did a great job with the ending, which made me appreciate the book even more. I thought the actions and emotions of the characters, and the relationships between them, were very believable. This was the first book by Michael Wallace that I've read, and I'm looking forward to reading more by him.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book. It is a pleasure to give my honest review.

1940's Manila. The book description gives a fairly accurate depiction of the story and I will not reiterate here. The Year of Counting Souls stands out for me as my WWII era book preferences usually surround the events in Europe. So, it was very refreshing to look at a different angle of the war by focusing on the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. Michael Wallace's characters reflect the perceptions and prejudice on both the American and Japanese that abounded during this period. Wallace also brings the events of the Nanking Massacre into the narrative. I appreciate MW's objective in bringing this history to the attention of readers. For that reason, I feel the book should capture the attention of a variety of readers.

Personally, I was also very happy that Michael Wallace makes the choice to not stray from the narrative and try and give U.S. Army Nurse, Louise Harrison a romance. Aside from a skimming time jump of when some characters end up in an interment camp and the book accelerates to the end of the war period, I felt that it proved a good introduction to the subject. I believe that both senior high school students and adults of all ages would find this fictionalized historical to be intriguing.

Louise Harrison is a nurse with the army stationed in Manila in World War II, but she and her patients are forced to evacuate to the mountains to a remote field hospital. Caught between stark terror and stultifying boredom, Louise becomes friends with injured Japanese soldier Sammy Mori who has been deemed a traitor to his country after he reported the terrible war crimes he witnessed in Nanking. Now, Sammy’s own brother, Yoshiko, a member of the dreaded Japanese military police is hunting him down. When he finds the field hospital, Louise and Sammy must find a way for themselves, sworn enemies to trust each other to find a way to survive. This is one of the best books I have read about the human impact of World War II in a long time. Find a block of time when you can read without being disturbed because you won’t want to stop