Remember the Lilies by Liz Tolsma {Review & Giveaway}

About the book: Be swept away to exotic places in Liz Tolsma's Remember the Lilies! Filled with mystery, romance, and a race to find a family before it's too late, you'll want to keep the pages turning. Irene and Rand come from very different walks of life. Will they find common ground in their fight to survive? Irene has grown up in the jungle as a missionary with her Aunt Anita, but now she and countless others are imprisoned by Japanese soldiers at the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in the Philippines. Irene and her aunt are safe there, and she keeps busy with her duty of delivering censored messages to the camp's prisoners, but like everyone else, she prays for the war to end and for her freedom. Rand is a wealthy, womanizing American, whose attempted escape from the internment camp has put himself and others in danger. When Rand and Irene's Aunt Anita meet one another in the hospital, Irene learns more of his story and her heart is determined to save his family. But the danger outside the walls of the hospital worsens every day, and life in this exotic place is anything but luxurious. Can Irene find Rand's family before they disappear forever? And can a humble missionary woman and an arrogant man find common ground in the face of their biggest fears?

My thoughts: As I began reading Remember the Lilies I made side trips online to discover the real history of the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila.This was the location of this work of fiction by Liz Tolsma. I had never heard this bit of WWII history, so it was a revelation to me. I knew of the atrocities of prisoner of war camps of both the Japanese and Germans. I knew of the atrocities of the Holocaust victims in German encampments. But I had missed this bit of history where the civilians - American, Australian, English, German, etc, were imprisoned on the Santo Tomos campus for three years. At first, it was somewhat livable and survivable, but as the war was waning the Japanese became more brutal and starvation was the menu. I read several accounts of this period and it fleshed out Remember the Lilies with reality.

Tolsma has written a good story. The characters are believable and well done. The scene is painted in grim and realistic word pictures without grisly details. It is brutal enough as written.

The story covers characters who range from the wealthy owner of nightclubs, niece of a missionary, doctors, and nurses. They are reduced to living in huts or shacks made up of mats which do little to protect from rains and mud. They do have a "clinic" comprised of doctors, nurses, and nuns in captivity. Their captors, the Japanese, who guard them are uncaring and brutally harsh on them. The least infraction results in extreme measures of punishment. The children, too, are there and bring rays of sunshine into the midst of suffering. The adults give up of themselves and their meager food supply to care of these youngest amongst them.

The story of faith, redemption, perseverance runs strong through the darkness that is their struggle. The end is predictable because we already know who won WWII. But surprises are in the storyline. Surprises of joy in the midst of sorrow.

A good story. A good read. An opportunity for a romp into a bit of history with which we might not be familiar.

GIVEAWAY: A copy of Remember The Lilies is reserved for one of Chat With Vera's readers. Just enter using the form below. Begins February 14 & ENDS March 10 @ 12:01 a.m. ET. Open to USA addresses only.
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DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy was provided by Litfuse Publicity Group to facilitate this review. Opinions expressed are solely my own. I was not compensated for this review. Read more reviews here.