Beyond That,The Sea by Laura Spence-Ash: Book Review

Beyond That,The Sea is a beautiful story of a young girl sent to the U.S. to live with another family during WWII. It was moving and well written.

Acknowledgments:

Thank you to Celadon Books and Macmillan Audio for the ARCs of Beyond That,The Sea and audiobook. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

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From The Publisher:

A sweeping, tenderhearted love story, Beyond That,the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash tells the story of two families living through World War II on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and the shy, irresistible young woman who will call them both her own.

As German bombs fall over London in 1940, working-class parents Millie and Reginald Thompson make an impossible choice: they decide to send their eleven-year-old daughter, Beatrix, to America. There, she’ll live with another family for the duration of the war, where they hope she’ll stay safe.

Scared and angry, feeling lonely and displaced, Bea arrives in Boston to meet the Gregorys. Mr. and Mrs. G, and their sons William and Gerald, fold Bea seamlessly into their world. She becomes part of this lively family, learning their ways and their stories, adjusting to their affluent lifestyle. Bea grows close to both boys, one older and one younger, and fills in the gap between them. Before long, before she even realizes it, life with the Gregorys feels more natural to her than the quiet, spare life with her own parents back in England.

As Bea comes into herself and relaxes into her new life—summers on the coast in Maine, new friends clamoring to hear about life across the sea—the girl she had been begins to fade away, until, abruptly, she is called home to London when the war ends.

Desperate as she is not to leave this life behind, Bea dutifully retraces her trip across the Atlantic back to her new, old world. As she returns to post-war London, the memory of her American family stays with her, never fully letting her go, and always pulling on her heart as she tries to move on and pursue love and a life of her own.

As we follow Bea over time, navigating between her two worlds, Beyond That, the Sea emerges as a beautifully written, absorbing novel, full of grace and heartache, forgiveness and understanding, loss and love.

My Thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Told from multiple points of view, it is heartwarming with well-developed and likeable characters. Set over more than forty years on both sides of the Atlantic, the story will remain with me for quite some time.

We are first introduced to eleven-year-old Beatrix and her family in London in 1940. Her working-class London parents have made a difficult decision to send her to the U.S. to live with a family in Boston to spare her from possible harm.

Beatrix or as she’s known in the U.S., Bea, is placed with The Gregorys, a loving family with two boys of their own. It doesn’t take long for Bea to settle in and she begins to feel like part of the family. William Gregory is the oldest of the two boys and wants to find his own path in life after high school, not following in the footsteps of his Harvard-educated father and grandfather. Gerald is the younger brother and the more compassionate son.

The years pass, the war ends and Beatrix returns to London. We follow each of the characters over the next few decades through death, marriage and the birth of children. The two families are forever tied through Beatrix’s time in Boston and continue corresponding through the decades.

The ability to read from the point of view of many characters in the book gave the reader great insight into the complexity of these families. One of the most poignant moments was when Beatrix learns that her mother and Mrs. Gregory had begun corresponding many years after Beatrix’s return to London. The conclusion of the book is beautiful and the perfect ending to this story.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book which was performed by Ell Potter. Her ability to provide both British and US accents to male and female characters was extraordinary. The tone and quality of her voice made it easy to listen to. I have no hesitation in recommending the audiobook version of this book to those that enjoy audiobooks.

I highly recommend this book to those readers who enjoy Historical Fiction or Women’s Fiction.

What I Liked:

• The use of multiple points of view to tell this story
• The well-developed, likeable characters
• The satisfying conclusion

Similar Books I’ve Reviewed:

The Wedding Veil by Kristy Woodson Harvey

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland