Thank you to @netgalley for the chance to review All We Left Behind by Danielle R. Graham. I am a huge fan of historical romance, especially WWII, but this took place in Vancouver, which I hadn't read much about previously. Chidori and Haygen were in love, but Pearl Harbor changed everything. Chidori and her family were placed in an internment camp. Hayden joined the air force, praying that his love would keep him alive and strong through the end of the war. This was heartwrenching, but so wonderful. Graham's writing was powerful - I ugly cried, especially when they were describing the psychological impact of the internment camps.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

All We Left Behind by Danielle R. Graham is her first historical fiction novel… and what a novel it is. I am relatively new to the genre but with storytelling like this – I am sure to continue on.

The story alternates between two different (albeit close) time frames – August 1941 and April 1944. It is a story that is set (at least to begin with) on Mayne Island, British Columbia. A love story between Chidori Setoguchi and Hayden Pierce that began when they were teens (though they knew each other since the age of six) but then they were torn apart as a result of WWII.

As the relationship between Chidori and Hayden progresses, familial concerns arise from both families when Hayden asks Chidori to go steady. Hayden sees engagement and marriage in their future but with hostilities towards Japanese Canadians growing…and the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 – their world as they know it is irrevocably changed. To begin with, there is the introduction of a curfew for Japanese Canadians, then they are considered enemy aliens, and finally the Setoguchi family is forced to leave town and sent to an interment camp. This separation is devastating for Hayden. So much so, he decides to enlist to help end the war sooner!

The story progresses in the two streams – we are lead through the trials and tribulations of Hayden enlisting, training as a pilot and then going to war. Many things happen to Hayden (which I will leave for the reader to discover). But suffice it to say – a very poignant story which had me feeling tremendous sadness, anxiety and at times hopefulness. We also get a glimpse of the life that Chidori had to live in the interment camp and then life following the end of the war.

I am appalled when I read about the treatment that we, as a nation, inflicted upon so many, many innocent people. All We Left Behind is a story of enduring love, hope, tragedy, how the Canadian government treated so badly those citizens of Japanese heritage (taking away their rights, property and freedom).The writing of Danielle R. Graham was easy to read, engaging. Her storytelling was delightful and kept me totally engaged throughout. I will have to seek out her other titles (under the name of D.R. Graham). So for fans of historical fiction (specifically WWII) – I highly suggest you pick this book up and have a read.

The reason I read historical fiction is for what I can learn from it. This was a new top me perspective on the war. I found out some new and interesting things.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

This is pitched as "For the fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz" and they are absolutely correct. The writing style is so beautiful and lyrical. The story is heartwrenching and heartwarming at the same time. It had me in tears so many times.

Nicely done historical fiction. I know a lot about the war experience from an American point of view, so it was interesting to learn about it from a Canadian point of view. The author made you want to cheer for love and hope that love will conquer all, even war.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I enjoyed this novel very much and found it hard to put down until i was finished

I enjoyed this complex story. This book has great descriptive writing about a time in history that was so evil. To be able to find love and friendship during war and the struggles they go through. I was immediately drawn into this book and could not put it down until I finished it. The way the author writes makes it feel as though you are watching a movie of the book as you read it. I could picture all the details.

I loved all of the history this book had to offer. This is my first book from the author and I throughly enjoyed it!

This book was so intriguing! I loved the characters and the story line! It kept me from page 1 till the end!

Danielle Graham's All We Left Behind is a moving look at WWII on a small island in Canada. Hayden is a young man in love with Chidori, a Japanese-Canadian girl that has lived next door his entire life. When the war comes and Japan joins the fight on the side of the Germans, things look bleak. There is talk of moving all Japanese-Canadians to internment camps or prisons. Hayden is convinced that nothing bad can happen to them. They are young and in love and believe that all will be well. However, the day comes when Chidori is forced to leave with her family. In an effort to do something, Hayden joins the military, hoping that he can help end the war and they can be reunited. When he is shot down and becomes a prisoner of war, the only things keeping him alive are thoughts of Chidori. But, when the war ends, will it be too late for them? An intricate look at the heart and how it beats for someone else, All We Left Behind was a very good book. I finished it in one sitting. I didn't want it to end.
Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book. All opinions are my own.
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All We Left Behind is the first book I have read by Danielle R. Graham. I thought it was good. Four stars.

Wow! This was such an incredible story. It opened my eyes to so many things that happened in history and I looooved the characters. I would highly recommend this to readers who love historical fiction. Thank you to Netgalley for my free review copy.

I would like to thank Harper 360 and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book. I am a life long "fan" of World War 2 books. This book is about true love and how war can split them apart. I enjoyed this book.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

All We Left Behind had me in all sorts of emotions. In the beginning, you will meet Chidori and Hayden. Now they had something pure and adorable between them: love. Yet, the ugly world tried to tear them apart. I mean, it obviously happened due to a war but it hurt my heart when people close to a certain someone tried to do something as well.

While Chidori is at internment camp, due to being Japanese, Hayden is kind of lost in his own mind (for a bit). He just wants to be with Chidori but he also wants the war to be done and over with. So, he does what he thinks needs to happen - he goes to war.

Once he runs into trouble, he finds himself going down a deep dark hole and thinking of what Chidori could be doing. The one thing that keeps him going and eventually getting out of his prison - Chidori. All things her. The promises they made to one another before she was shipped off. The hope that she will be back home waiting for him since the war is over.

Only to have all those hopes and dreams come crashing down. There's a teeny tiny sliver of hope though and that's what he clings onto. Heck, I was clinging right along with Hayden. Again, I felt so many emotions while reading this book.

I was angry with all the racism throughout this. Especially with how people are acting today - it just frustrates me that people are still in this same mindset. Then enters sadness because of how people were being treated before camps, then camps, and then after camps. I don't think I've ever hated the government more than I did until today. Yeah, they are filled with a bunch of assholes but what they did the homes and property of the Canadian-Japanese people was freaking dirty.

Also, what Hayden's mom did was dirty too. So, it's safe to say that I hated her. I didn't need her tears at the end of this book because it meant NOTHING to me. Just saying. After seesawing between those two emotions, I finally got to happiness. That ending was just so freaking cute. I kept waiting for the reunion to happen and when it did - these two were just perfect.

In the end, the happiness was definitely worth the wait. True love might exist with this one.

I did not care for this book and ended up DNFing it in chapter 9. The biggest problem I have with it is that the author does not know how to write for a 1940s mindset - the language used is MUCH too modern. Nobody used hyphenated language ("Japanese-Canadian," for example) in the 40s and I'm pretty sure the word "bigot" wasn't getting thrown around casually in 1941 either. Unfortunately, I was not able to stay in the story because of how often the anachronistic language and thought patterns were throwing me back out, and I had to quit reading.

All We Left Behind
An incredibly good story! Based on real events, there was suspense, intrigue, and a desire to find out what happened. A book to be re-read.

This was such a great book. It keeps you on the edge of your seat with such relatable characters and a phenomenal story line, this is a page turner that you can’t put down until the last page is turned.

as a fan of WW2, this book was good, the characters and the love story everything was good my only reservation was that it is very romanticized for my taste.

This story of Hayden and Chidori. Hayden is a young man who unfortunately was capture by the worst enemy, he was living the worst nightmare not only because he was in a terrible place but also because he didn't know anything about his family and the love of his life.

I had a very hard time with Hayden and Chidoris parents, they were not kind at all to square for my taste, their traditions and beliefs were too closed, when they found out about the intentions of Hayden, their culture and belief system was more important for them than to see their son and daughter happy, they were constantly bothering them with things that were more about cultural and even racist than the well being of their love.

I didn't know that happened in Canada when the ww2 started this is all new to me, and it feels terrible that citizen who was there and born there were so discriminated only because they had a Japanese heritage, it kind of make you aware how racism has never stopped and it has been there for many many lifetimes.

I enjoy this book and the love story of Chidori and Hayden, I only felt a little off that they were in a constant battle of trying to find each other over and over again.

I picked this book since my grandparents are Canadian and my grandfather, like the main character Hayden Pierce, served in the Royal Canadian Airforce during WWII. Hayden along with the young woman he is in love with, Chidori, live in peaceful Mayne Island, not yet impacted much by Hitler’s charge across Europe. All this changes when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor.

Despite living in Canada for two generations, Chidori Setoguchi and her family are forced to an internment camp and considered enemy aliens. All of their property and belongings are auctioned off at a fraction of the price to pay the government back for their interment.

Doing the only thing he can think of to help Chidori, Hayden joins the Royal Canadian Airforce to help bring an end to the war. Much of the story details his excruciating experience in a POW Stalag camp in Poland. When the camp is liberated by the Russians, Hayden does everything he can to get back to Mayne Island and Chidori.

This is a story of young love, war, and most importantly racism and how Canadians of Japanese descent were treated without dignity or respect out of fear. This novel is classified as young adult fiction and reads that way. Thank you to Harper360, Netgalley and Danielle R. Graham for the advanced copy.

I struggled to get into this book. I went into this with expectations (I know, I know) based on the description and the author. I had hoped I would be getting something similar to Kristin Hannah, Kate Quinn, Martha Hall Kelly. I was also very eager to see the aspect of the treatment of Asian’s during WWII.

This is a topic that has not been explored much in recent literature (to my knowledge) especially in the WWII historical fiction genre and, even more so, in the romance genre. I had been very eager to learn about this topic and explore it a bit more. However, the dialogue for this book kept bothering me. I felt like it was written by a adolescent. It didn’t seem realistic. It felt like when you watch a movie or show with bad acting and you miss out on the content or message because you’re too focused on the acting.

While this book was lacking for me and I, ultimately, had to put it down, I did feel as though there was a lot of potential here. This story is relevant, and is being published in a time when Asian discrimination is rearing it’s ugly head once again. I feel this story is poignant and, if you can get past or see no issue as I did with the dialogue, you will be privy to an excellent love story.