"We do not become different people as we age; we just add layers of experience onto who we already are."

Deeply interesting story of a young girl of German descent who is sent with her family to an internment camp in Texas when WW2 starts. She meets a Japanese girl there who is the same age, and it's fascinating to learn about them both. They are now both many years older, having lived separate lives, not connecting again until now. Elise recounts her life as it unfolded, in incredible detail.

More than eleven thousand German American and German Latin American legal residents and citizens were interned during World War II at the camp in Crystal City, Texas, and in other similar detention facilities. They were encouraged and sometimes forced to repatriate to their country - used in exchange for Americans. The thing is though, people like Elise were born here and Americans too, their parents living as Americans, but it didn't matter that they were innocent of any crime. I can identify a little bit, as my Grandmother's parents came over from Belgium in 1905, but that was well before WW1. My Grandmother was born here. I'm sure their German heritage and accents stood out. This story has very real accounts of bombing in Germany and what it was like to live there even if you didn't agree with what Hitler did and didn't want to be there. Fabulous read, gently woven with present day.

". . . the past is nothing you can make friends or enemies of. It just is what it is. Or was. It is this day you are living right now, this very day, that is yours to make of it what you will. So make it beautiful, if you can."

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Susan Meissner has become one of my favorite writers & I have absolutely loved all of her novels thus far. This novel, however, was just ok for me. It seemed to lack Meissners usual character development & seamless storytelling. The story lost my interest a bit in the middle which surprised me because this part should’ve been the most engaging. Just felt disjointed and fragmented. Still a big fan and i definitely look forward to her next novel. 3.5 stars.

This was a nice story which starts towards the end of the Second World War. The main character who was born in the US is sent to live in an internment camp in Texas as her parents are German and considered a risk. Here she meets another girl the same age whose parents are Japanese. Both families are repatriated, one to Germany and the other to Japan. The story then follows the German girl and swings back and forth between the end of the war and present day. It is a nice story and I was unaware of these internment camps in the US for Germans (who were then exchanges for American POWs).

I adore Susan Meissner! Ever since I read The Secrets of a Charmed Life, I knew her stories would be ones that would linger in my heart and soul. The beauty, the pain, the LIFE that flows from her words melt into your very being.

I can't imagine life being turned so topsy-turvy as what these families lived through. The strength that these people had is admirable, to say the least. I am honored to have been able to have my heart touched by these families, as represented in Meissner's story.

Throughout my life, I have had friends come and go, and that will continue, I know. But it is always so interesting to see the people God has brought into my life for specific seasons. He knew that I would need those specific friends for that specific time. This story speaks to so many aspects of life, friendship, and character. Do we know who we are? Who we want to be? Who is it that we want people to see in us?

Anyone who reads WWII stories really should read this book. A different perspective than the "norm". And your heart will never be the same.

I received a complimentary copy of The Last Year of the War from the publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Powerful, emotional, eye-opening read about friendship during war. Highly recommended! Full review at attached link.

I enjoyed what I could read, but I took to long and my copy expired. I would pick it up again. Elise, an old American German lady with memory problems is looking for her friend who she meet while living in a interment camp during world war two. Now she wants to reconnect before her memory of her American Japanese friend, Mariko is lost forever. They lost contact when Elise's family was exchanged for American soldiers in Germany. Can she make it before she loses her memories of Mariko? Does Mariko even remember her?

Have you ever left a good friend or have them leave you? As a Navy brat and wife of forty years I have. And I've watched my kids do the same. Friendship is a bond especially during difficult circumstances that hold us together.

Imagine with me for a moment the fear of being taken from your home and placed in an internment camp even though you've lived in America for twenty years. And then during one of the worst circumstances in your life you meet someone who is also going through one of the worst times in their life and you connect. That is the beautiful friendship of Elise and Mariko.

This book touched me and tore at my heart. Elise is determined to not forget her friend, Mariko. See Elise has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Something that my dad has just been diagnosed to be in the early stages of. These quotes touched me deeply.

“I’ve named my diagnosis after a girl at my Junior High School in Daven port – Agnes Finster – who was forever taking things that didn’t belong to her out of lockers. My own Agnes will be the death of me”
“Agnes will swallow me whole, inch by inch. Every day a little more. She will become stronger and I will become weaker…. I will forget forever the important things. The things that matter.”

Within the pages of this story Ms. Meissner weaves the past together seamlessly with the present, and shows the devastation of WWII.
This is the second book that I've read about internment camps, both within this year. Something that until this year I didn't know much about and I highly recommend it!

First line: I’ve a thief to thank for finding the one person I need to see before I die.

Summary: Elise Sontag, a fourteen year old girl from Iowa, has her life turned upside down when her father is arrested on the suspicion of being a Nazi sympathizer. Her family is sent to an internment camp in Texas where she meets her best friend, a Japanese girl named Mariko. They spend several months together before Elise’s family is deported back to Germany. In the hopes of keeping their friendship alive the two exchange letters but it is difficult with the ongoing war. However, Elise keeps up hope that after the war ends she will be able to return to America and see her best friend again.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this story. The last several books have not been as good as Secrets of a Charmed Life which was my first book I read by Susan Meissner. It is a topic that has not been talked about much and it could be because it is embarrassing but it is our history and we need to acknowledge it. And learn from it too. I cannot imagine how shocking it would be to have everything taken from you and being forced to live in basically a prison. Then to be sent back to a land that they had left or never even lived before. Especially with a war on and cities are being heavily bombed. How do you rationalize that?

The time spent in camp was actually a very small part of the book. Most of it took place in Germany after Elise’s family is repatriated. I liked listening to her story as she navigates this foreign land in wartime. She did not speak German which put her in a tight spot since the Germans were at war with America. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a story set during World War II.

FYI: Definitely check out Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner as well.

The Last Year of the War is another notch in Susan Meissner’s belt of well-written, solid books. This is the sixth book that I’ve read by her, (amongst the tons she’s written) and in each I’ve learned something new. That’s the beauty of her books, nothing is repetitive and they all hold compelling storylines.

I had no idea that German Americans were sent to internment camps. How did I miss that in history class? I really enjoyed the deep-seated and ironic friendship between Elise, a German American girl, and Mariko, a Japanese American girl, that formed at the camp. While we learned a lot about Mariko and her family while at the camp, I wished the author gave us more information about her life after the camp as she did with Elise’s family. Her story, while back in war torn Germany, was quite impactful.

With that being said, I was glad to see them finally reach each other, yet there was a missing connection over the years that was absent for me. I just felt with that much of a bond and the technology advances over the years, this could’ve happened sooner.

I loved the concept of naming her dementia a woman’s name. She could always tell when “Agnes” was taking over. It was clever and understandable. Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot but admittedly found some areas where it lagged. I’m also guilty of reading a book simultaneously (one on kindle for nighttime, one in print for daytime) that had two friends separated for years after a beautiful and meaningful friendship. I did find myself feeling a bit overwhelmed with such similar situations with the main characters. I can totally see this being adapted into a film. Fingers crossed.

It’s 1943 in Davenport, Iowa when the war comes knocking at the door of Elise Sontag’s family. While she and her brother were American born and bred, their parents were immigrants from Germany who never became citizens. Despite living in America for nearly two decades, Elise’s father, a chemist, is suspected of Nazi sympathies and is arrested. After months of struggling in Iowa, the family reunites with their patriarch at the Crystal City Internment Camp in Texas. Elise feels like she has been outcast from everything she knew in life and just wants life to return to normal.

When Elise starts her attendance at the Federal High School in the camp, she meets Mariko Inoue, a fellow internee. Mariko’s family was swept up into an internment camp when the Japanese were forced from the West Coast. The two become close friends and dream of life outside the wires encircling them and plan for the day they turn 18 and, as American citizens, can leave the camp for good. However, things do not go as planned as actions their parents took will forever change the course of their lives. What happens when each is thrust into a culture they do not understand? How will the remainder of the war and its aftermath change each girl?

A few years back, I was introduced to the history of the Crystal City Internment Camp when I reviewed The Train to Crystal City. Fictionalizing the experience drove the unjustness of it home even more than the nonfiction did. I think that is due to the emotions felt by the characters, especially after leaving the camp. When Elise or Mariko were upset, it was felt by the reader. When they were desperate, the reader felt desperate. Meissner had to have conducted meticulous research to help write this novel in a way that presents both history and this high level of emotions. In all, I think this is a worthy book to read and pairing it off with The Train to Crystal City would not be a bad idea to learn more after completing The Last Year of the War.

The Last Year of War was overall a nice and interesting read. I did find it dragged at times and I wanted more. The topic is an interesting one- the internment camps during WWII. The book touches on the feelings of loss and was heartbreaking at times. Elise, a young German American Girl and her family were held in an internment camp before being sent to Germany. While at the camp Elise meets Mirako, a young Japanese girl and they quickly become best friends. They are later separated when Elise and her family are sent to Germany and Mirako and her family are sent to Japan. The two make promises to meet back in the US once they turn 18. However, things change when Elise receives a letter from Mirako saying she can no longer write to Elise anymore due to an arranged marriage her father set up. The story is told alternating from the present, with a much older Elise who has Alzheimer’s and wants nothing more than to find her friend one last time before her memories are gone forever and the past when Elise was a young girl. I did like the alternating time periods and found both to be of interest and I thought the Alzheimer’s was an interesting touch to the story. I wish there was more about the connection between Elise and Mirako from both of their perspectives. What was Mirako thinking? I felt the friendship could have been developed more- I couldn’t really feel what was supposed to be a heartbreaking loss of a friendship when they were separated. The connection didn’t feel there fully. Overall a good read. Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, there was a lot going on in this book, which I think took away from the best part of the story, that being Elise's time in Germany during WWII and her life upon return to the US. After lengthy chapters telling of this, the book would then jump back to her present day quest to find a long lost friend. It made the book seem a little disjointed, especially considering that Elise is now battling Alzheimer's, adding a disorienting effect. I would like to know more of Mariko's story, would make a great companion novel. I just think this book had too much going on to do it all well. Also, given that Elise is a teenager for much of the book, her decisions were often frustrating.

The last of Susan's books that I read was As Bright as Heaven. It took a while for me to get into it, but I kept poking on until it got interesting. Then, I wasn't able to put it down! I was determined not to do the same with The Last Year of the War. As it turned out, I was captivated from the very first page. It's the story of Elise Sontag. Her parents came to America from Germany, but never applied for citizenship. When WWII began her father was accused of treason and their family was sent to an internment camp. While there she met Mariko, a Japanese internee. The two became close friends, but were separated when Elise's family was repatriated to Germany. Elise never saw her friend again. Years have passed and Elise has been diagnosed with dementia. She's determined to find Mariko before she can no longer remember their story. One thing you can always count on from Susan Meissner is an education in a topic you probably didn't know before. I knew that Japanese-Americans were interned during the war, but I didn't know German-Americans were, also. I also had no idea families were repatriated to Germany during the war. I found myself appalled, heartbroken and curious about that time. I loved this book and I think it's one you'll definitely enjoy!

My Thoughts: I’m always amazed about the things I don’t know and The Last Year of the War is a perfect example of that. We all know that many people of Japanese heritage were sent to internment camps here in the U.S. during WWII, but I never knew that certain Germans and Italians were, too. Even more startling, some of these people were exchanged for U.S. prisoners and sent back to their home countries. This is the story of one such 14-year old girl, Elise, who in the space of just over a year lost her home in Iowa, moved into an internment camp in the middle of Texas, found a best friend in a Japanese girl, Mariko, and then found herself in Germany, where she lived through the horrors of a country being badly defeated and where she was looked at as the enemy.

The Last Year of the War unfolds from two times, the present where 81-year old Elise, struggling with Alzheimer’s undergoes a search to find her long lost friend, and the final years of WWII. I thoroughly enjoyed the parts of this story centered around the friendship and life in the internment camp. I loved the spitfire attitude of Elsie in the present who constantly battled “Agnes” the name she gave to her memory stealing disease. Some of the parts in the past didn’t fare as well for me. I found them to be usual, and the second half of the book especially predictable. Unfortunately, the first half of this book shone, but couldn’t quite sustain its momentum throughout.

Note: I received a copy of this book from Berkley (via NetGalley) in exchange for my

In the end this is a story about hope, Love, redemption and friendship. Mariko and Elise meet when they both part of an internment camp in Texas during WWII. They form a swift bond that can never really be broken through years and separation.

As a part of our history that is not talked about I always find it interesting to learn something new.

Ms. Meissner always does her research and writes with a big heart as well.

My ratings are always based on how a book makes me feel. And this book gave me so many feels. Elise and Mariko’s story is a touching and emotional one. I cried several times for these two teenagers caught up in a war they wanted nothing to do with.

The stories of the internment camps for German and Japanese Americans on American soil made me so angry and so sad. The part about the Santa Anita racetrack being used as a temporary housing was mind boggling since I’ve been there quite a few times as a child and had no idea. I was also unaware that these same people were “exchanged” or repatriated back to Germany or Japan if they volunteered.

I can’t even imagine the horrors that the Sontag family faced. From Iowa to Texas and then Germany, during the last year of the war “the worst year”. They all experienced so much loss and trauma and fear, it’s no wonder Elise made the choices she did in regards to Ralph.

Susan Meissner is a local author (San Diego) and I’ve had the pleasure of hearing her speak. She is an impressive and articulate speaker and a very talented writer. Her characters are so vivid and real and the subjects she writes about are incredibly well researched. I’m grateful this story has shined a light on a sad part of US history.

Although I am usually a big fan of historical fiction, especially Susan Meissner, this book just wasn't that enjoyable and I was ready for it to end. It was somewhat depressing and was slow in spots. I would recommend other books of hers over this one.

I am a big fan of books by Susan Meissner, so it was no surprise that I enjoyed this one as well. Although, for me, A Fall of Marigolds, is her absolute best book! This novel took me a little longer to read and once I realized that was going to be the case, I settled in and really dug into the story. I discovered so much about internment camps in the United States during WWII, which I am embarrassed to say I don't remember ever hearing or learning about. I felt so sad and lonely for the main character, Elise, in the early years of her life. I can't imagine the fear she must have experienced, arriving in Germany that first day. I will tell you that the first part of the story seemed a little slow and the last part felt too fast, but it all evened out and I didn't really care because I had to know what happened. There is a dual perspective timeline in the story, but it is heavily told in the past, which worked, but I still would have liked more about Elise when she was older. All in all, this was a solid read for me. For a WWII book to teach me something new, after all the books I've read centered during that time, it was completely worth it!

* I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *

Two girls who meet at an Internment camp as young teens become fast and deep friends. Both are American, but the country decided that their fathers were plotting to do harm. They were both sent back to the countries where their parents originally came from. It’s a very sad thing to happen to someone who loves this country so deeply. Who only wanted a better life for their family and through no fault of their own they are sent away.

Elise and Mariko were born in the US. Families sent to internment camps and as different as night and day. Elise was a German American born in Iowa. Mariko was a Japanese American born in California.

They lost touch with each other for many years but neither forgot the other. As they go through their lives they often think about the other and wonder how she is or what she would think about what they are doing. Elise found love in a family of elite in California. Mariko had an arranged marriage in Japan.

This book will touch your heart in many ways. Some kindly and some sad. War is such an ugly thing. So many people are hurt in so many ways. It breaks my heart that these young girls had to go through this. That people in our world had to go through this kind of thing. Trusting is hard during wartime’s I’m sure. But to drag a person out of their home after they have been here for so long seems cruel. At least to me it does. This book touched on many subjects that happen during a war. Sometimes they found things to laugh about and celebrate and at other times they were terrified of being killed in an air raid. My heart broke for Elise. She went through a lot for a young girl but she did find love and security eventually. As did Mariko.

This book will touch your heart in ways that may surprise you. It sure did mine. I laughed and cried. Celebrated the good times and mourned the bad. The characters were ones you will take to your heart. I didn’t find any that I didn’t like, except maybe a couple of French soldiers up to no good. The Dove family was a wonderful fit for Elise and I like them all.

This book was told from two different timelines and from Elise’s voice. Very well written. It makes you feel like you are there with her through it all. The fears, the laughter, the sorrow, the love. All of it.

A huge 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley publishers for an ARC in exchange for my complete and honest review.

I wanted to give this one five stars because I love Susan Meissner's books and this one might be her best to date (with the possible exception of Secrets of a Charmed Life). I loved the story, the setting, the scope, and the twist at the end (even if I did see it coming a little earlier than I was probably supposed to). I especially loved how Meissner brings to life aspects of World War II that are lesser-known and not often fictionalized, specifically the internment of not just Japanese- but also German-American families and the German home front in the last stretches and immediate aftermath of the war. I appreciated how the story was clean and ultimately hopeful and uplifting, even though most of the story itself is pretty tragic.

I did have a few bones to pick with this one, though. What annoyed me the most was how almost all of the narrative is written in summary form. There's very little dialog or action. I lost track of how many times Elise tells us that "I would learn later" the additional background details she's telling us. I appreciate how well Meissner sets her narrative in the larger framework of the war, but i would have liked to see Elise's story unfold through a closer lens. Some of Elise's later-life reflections also err on the side of preachy. I also wasn't that invested in the Mariko storyline and thought it was a clunky way of framing the whole book; we didn't see enough of Mariko or her friendship with Elise (they are only together for a fraction of time in the middle of the book) to really be invested in her character or that relationship. Whenever the narrative went back to the present day, I found myself losing interest and wanting to get back to the war storyline. I was a lot more interested in Elise's marriage and how she went from internee Elise Sontag to the wealthy Elise Dove than in what happened to Mariko; I think the book would have been better if that journey was what framed the whole narrative. Speaking of the Doves, most of the family fell flat for me, although the brothers were really well-done and Elise's relationship with the two is what ultimately made this book for me.

I realize that I'm spending more words on my issues with this one than on what I liked, but I really did love it. Four-and-a-half stars.