EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN by Chris Cleave

Chris Cleave's Everyone Brave is Forgiven follows three young Londoners — Mary, Tom, and Alistair — as the onset of World War II brings them together and throws them into a world they never could have imagined. Mary, eighteen and idealistic, meets Tom when she signs up to be a teacher and stubbornly refuses to give up her classroom even after most of London's children have been evacuated. But as the war escalates and tragedy befalls the young couple, Mary grows closer to Tom's friend Alistair, who is stationed in Malta during an unrelenting siege. Complicating matters further is Mary's dedication to a young black student named Zachary, who she continues to teach even as it comes between her and her aristocratic family. Spanning the years 1939 to 1942, Everyone Brave is Forgiven is a hard novel to summarize because it covers so much ground. We see characters grow from carefree young adults to hardened veterans of war, enduring injury, addiction, and the deaths of countless loved ones. Cleave paints a vivid picture of the war and its effects on every day people through the three main characters, all of whom I liked very much. Cleave has a strong grasp on his characters and does a wonderful job of showing how they grow and change over the years. The writing is also very strong, with many memorable lines that really convey what it is like for the characters to live through this war. Much as I enjoyed the book, I didn't think it quite set itself apart from the myriad other WWII-era novels out there. In terms of the plot and what the novel had to say about wartime, I didn't feel like I was reading anything I hadn't before, except in the case of the subplot with Mary and Zachary. Still, Cleave does a great job at portraying unique and interesting characters, which is what really stood out about the book for me. All of the relationships feel authentic and are easy to get invested in; Mary's strained relationship with her family and her best friend especially resonated with me. I read a lot of WWII books, so while this one didn't blow me away, I can safely say that it's a solid story that will appeal to fans of historical fiction.