✅ Dual-Timeline Novel
✅ WW2 + Vietnam War
✅ Slow Burn Romance
✅ Suspensful historical fiction - I couldn’t put it down!

This book is absolutely one of my favorite books of 2024 so far! Michelle Shocklee is a master of writing and it is obvious as she weaves a beautiful and heart-wrenching story of hope and perseverance through some of life’s most difficult trials. I was so moved by what I was reading that I couldn’t put the book down. I read the entire novel in one day! The characters felt real and the faith was inspiring and motivating. It was enthralling to read about WW2 and the Vietnam War through the eyes of people that history often forgets (or completely leaves out)! Their perspective gives you a better-rounded view of what it was like to live - and to suffer - during that tragic time. The romance was beautiful and I loved that it was a slow-burn. It helped the story feel that much more real as if you were transported back in time and were witnessing the growth of these relationships yourself. I so highly recommend everyone pick up this novel and read it.

Another enjoyable story by Michelle Shocklee! This one is pretty sad throughout, but still good, and ends well also. There's a bit of mystery to the story, and I had my suspicions about what had happened, but I was not totally correct... :) This story deals with some tough issues in history, including the internment camps during WWII, and the Vietnam War, but handles them well. This story also has romance, for those of you who enjoy romance!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance e-copy of this book! All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee combines the world of World War II and the Vietnam war. This is definitely a unique and different perspective. I have not read many stories about the Vietnam war. My uncles do not like to talk about it, so I know they do not want to share the horrors that they had to endure. I know this was the Hippie era where there were many protests across America and college campus. But other than that, I really did not know much about this time period. I would have liked to see more of a justification for Mattie not wanting her brother and friend, Nash, to join the Marines to go fight in Vietnam. It was covered, but slightly. I wanted a little more depth to this aspect of the novel. This is a timeslip novel, so there is two time periods that depend on each other in order to solve the mystery by the end of the story. A little bit of romance in both periods. A horse farm as the setting and a camp in other. Shocklee does a wonderful job at bringing the settings to my imagination. Overall, All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee ventures into the Vietnam War Era and ties a thread to the World War II era. From heroic characters to characters with doubts, Shocklee invites readers into a world of questioning why readers believe what they believe. It is okay to dive deeper to cement pre-conceived ideas.

I received a complimentary copy of All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee from Tyndale Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

All We Thought We Knew

Ava never thought she would be widowed and living on a ranch with her unfriendly mother-in-law. However, many servicemen, including her husband, died during WWII. In order to spend her time productively she gets a job at a local POW camp. She is surprised how pleasant some of the inmates are-particularly the German orderly from the hospital who speaks English so well.

Years later, Mattie is bitter about her twin brother’s recent death in the Vietnam War. She comes home to help her fatally ill mother. At her mother’s request she reads some of her mother’s private letters. These letters contain a big surprise!

This book is a thoughtful romance that shows how people can be different than expected and love can bloom in surprising places.

I received this book on NetGalley after I saw it at the TLA conference in San Antonio,Tx. If you enjoy reading historical fiction then this is the book for you. Especially if you like reading about World War 2. This books shows how three lives are intersected. 2 of the people we learn about, Ava and Gunther, experience the horrors of World War 2. Gunther is studying to be a doctor in the states when he gets detained in an internment camp just for being German. It is there, at one of the military stations, that he meets Ava. She isn’t like the other Americans and they form a bond. This book goes between their story and the story of Mattie. Mattie is opposed to the Vietnam war and when she lost her brother to the war she withdrew from her family until she finds out that her mom is sick. She comes home to make amends and spend time with her mom only to find out there’s a huge family secret. A secret she learns by reading letters her mother had kept. This is a powerful story of forgiveness and how tragedy can bring healing to a family. The author has done her research and the story is heartfelt. Keep a box of tissues near you! I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys WW2 fiction. I will definitely read more books by this author!

I thought this was a very well written book. I have enjoyed Shocklee's other books in the past and was looking forward to reading this one. I have to admit, I wasn't sure why it seemed so important to share a secret that I thought didn't need to be shared. Shocklee does a great job taking us on the journey step by step, to help the reader understand why or why not somethings do need to be shared.
With themes of forgiveness, understanding each other, and listening to others stories, All We Thought We Knew is a read that needs to be read slowly to savor it. The only problem is you will end up reading it quickly because you need to know what is going to happen next.
If you have liked her other books, I strongly recommend this one.

ALL WE THOUGHT WE KNEW by MICHELlE SHOCKLEE is a beautifully written novel with unforgettable characters and a strong Christian message.I particularly like the way the author shows how the Jews were treated by the Nazis, even in the prisoner of war camps in America. With Anti-Semitism so entrenched in society it is important for us who profess to be Christians to stand for the Jews as never before.
The two timelines, 1942 and 1969, flow really well together as we follow the lives of Ava Delaney in 1942 and Mattie Tayler in 1969, both taking place on Delaney’s Horse Farm in Tullahoma.
Mattie is an angry young woman, blaming her father and her brother’s best friend Nate McCullum for not stopping her twin Mark from joining up to fight in Vietnam. She leaves home a week after Mark’s funeral trying drugs and free sex…..
She is called back home by her father when her mother is dying. She finds Nash, who has lost an arm in the war, working with her father on the farm. She finds it hard to get over her anger, although she feels guilty for running away when she should have been there to look after her mother.
There are a lot of secrets in this family which she is gradually learning - things are definitely not as they seem - especially when she reads the letters in her mother’s shoebox…..
In 1942 Ava Delaney’s husband Richard dies at Pearl Harbour and she is left living on the Delaney farm with his angry and disapproving mother, Gertrude. In order to get out of the house she takes on a job at Camp Forrest working for Dr Colonel Hew Foster. …..
Gunther Schneider, a medical student at Columbia’s Medical School, is arrested and sent to Camp Forrest where he starts out as an orderly in the hospital and is promoted to the clinic when he saves someone’s life…..
We are caught up in the characters’ emotions as the various secrets unfold. I like the hope and unconditional love that comes through so strongly
I specially like the part horses play in the story….
I am not going to tell you any more for fear of spoiling things for you.
I was given an ARC of the book by NetGalley from Tyndale House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

An emotional book that had a complex storyline but had my attention from the beginning. Such depth and understanding of people, families and community is displayed by the characters. A huge reminder to seek truth all the time.