The Cherry Harvest: A Novel

by Lucy Sanna

Overview

A memorable coming-of-age story and love story, laced with suspense, which explores a hidden side of the home front during World War II, when German POWs were put to work in a Wisconsin farm community . . . with dark and unexpected consequences.

The war has taken a toll on the Christiansen family. With food rationed and money scarce, Charlotte struggles to keep her family well fed. Her teenage daughter, Kate, raises rabbits to earn money for college and dreams of becoming a writer. Her husband, Thomas, struggles to keep the farm going while their son, and most of the other local men, are fighting in Europe.

When their upcoming cherry harvest is threatened, strong-willed Charlotte helps persuade local authorities to allow German war prisoners from a nearby camp to pick the fruit.

But when Thomas befriends one of the prisoners, a teacher named Karl, and invites him to tutor Kate, the implications of Charlotte’s decision become apparent—especially when she finds herself unexpectedly drawn to Karl. So busy are they with the prisoners that Charlotte and Thomas fail to see that Kate is becoming a young woman, with dreams and temptations of her own—including a secret romance with the son of a wealthy, war-profiteering senator. And when their beloved Ben returns home, bitter and injured, bearing an intense hatred of Germans, Charlotte’s secrets threaten to explode their world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062343635
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/19/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	251,282
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.70(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Lucy Sanna has published poetry, short stories, and nonfiction books, which have been translated into a number of languages. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Sanna now divides her time between Madison, Wisconsin, and San Francisco, California. The Cherry Harvest is her first novel.

Editorial Reviews

Sanna has adeptly interwoven details of life and hardship for many in the U.S. during this time with the very different lives of the rich who profited off the war . . . an impassioned and spirited historical romance.” — Shelf Awareness

“At times romantic, scheming, heartbreaking, and tragic, Lucy Sanna’s fiction debut takes us to an America only just receding from memory. It is a time of war, love, and passion, and in Sanna’s hands it all becomes undeniably and vividly alive.” — Christian Kiefer, author of The Animals

“A beautiful novel and a reminder that war touches every family, but never in the same way. Sanna’s engaging, unforgettable characters show how every action can resound in unimaginable consequences—and what starts out as an act of kindness might prove the most dangerous. Haunting.” — Amy Smith, author of All Roads Lead to Austen

“A delight to read. The world she created was so physically real and the characters so engaging that I was instantly drawn in . . . I read the book at one sitting...and highly recommend.” — Nancy Farmer, Newbery Honor and National Book Award-winning author of The House of the Scorpion

“The Cherry Harvest gripped me from the first sentence. It’s a vivid, compelling, and beautifully written story, by turns lyrical and savage, as the well-drawn characters, consumed by passion, fear, hope, and hatred, move inexorably toward the unexpected climax.” — Gillian Bagwell, author of The Darling Strumpet, The September Queen, and Venus in Winter

“The Cherry Harvest is not just a novel you won’t want to put down—Sanna’s insightful characters and heart-stopping plot twists make it a tale that will stay with you always.” — Antoinette May, New York Times bestselling author of The Sacred Well and Pilate's Wife

“A fine novel of life during wartime.” — San Jose Mercury News

From the Publisher

Sanna has adeptly interwoven details of life and hardship for many in the U.S. during this time with the very different lives of the rich who profited off the war . . . an impassioned and spirited historical romance.

Shelf Awareness

A beautiful novel and a reminder that war touches every family, but never in the same way. Sanna’s engaging, unforgettable characters show how every action can resound in unimaginable consequences—and what starts out as an act of kindness might prove the most dangerous. Haunting.

Amy Smith

The Cherry Harvest gripped me from the first sentence. It’s a vivid, compelling, and beautifully written story, by turns lyrical and savage, as the well-drawn characters, consumed by passion, fear, hope, and hatred, move inexorably toward the unexpected climax.

Gillian Bagwell

The Cherry Harvest is not just a novel you won’t want to put down—Sanna’s insightful characters and heart-stopping plot twists make it a tale that will stay with you always.

Antoinette May

A delight to read. The world she created was so physically real and the characters so engaging that I was instantly drawn in . . . I read the book at one sitting...and highly recommend.

Nancy Farmer

At times romantic, scheming, heartbreaking, and tragic, Lucy Sanna’s fiction debut takes us to an America only just receding from memory. It is a time of war, love, and passion, and in Sanna’s hands it all becomes undeniably and vividly alive.

Christian Kiefer

A fine novel of life during wartime.

San Jose Mercury News

05/15/2015
It is 1944 in Door County, WI, and Charlotte Christiansen has persuaded her husband to use German prisoners of war from a nearby camp to help harvest the family's cherry orchard for another year of financial survival. Now the men have arrived, and the changes in her town, her family, and to herself are far greater than she ever could have imagined, including being attracted to one of the prisoners. Setting the story in a small community on the shores of Lake Michigan during World War II allows interesting details about daily life on the home front to become a large part of the story. Events move at a fast pace, adding to the intensity of the dramatic action but the characters are inconsistent in their thoughts and actions, making it hard for readers to become fully engaged. A series of unexpectedly abrupt and contrived plot twists toward the end may leave readers less than satisfied. VERDICT Despite its flaws, this debut novel makes a strong choice for book clubs as it addresses a wide range of topics for discussion: Is violence on a personal or global scale ever justified? Are relationships forged from necessity just as valid as those developed from emotion? Additionally, the issue of how deeply unacknowledged desires can affect the way we live is addressed. [See Prepub Alert, 12/15/14.]—Stacey Hayman, Rocky River P.L., OH

Library Journal

During WWII, in Door County, Wisconsin, Charlotte and Thomas Christiansen, and their daughter, Kate, are preparing for another cherry harvest. In a soft, melodious voice, Suzanne Toren narrates this story of love, hate, and wartime distrust. At the height of the harvest, Charlotte falls in love with Karl Becker, one of many German POWs helping on the farms of Wisconsin, after he foils her rapist. Their lives are turned upside down, especially when the Christiansens’ wounded son, Ben, returns home from the front and his hatred of Germans flares up, with deadly results. Toren carefully enunciates each word and phrase, slowing down the dramatic scenes. While her voice often dips so low that it’s difficult to hear the dialogue, she fully captures the emotions of this tragic story. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2015 - AudioFile

During WWII, in Door County, Wisconsin, Charlotte and Thomas Christiansen, and their daughter, Kate, are preparing for another cherry harvest. In a soft, melodious voice, Suzanne Toren narrates this story of love, hate, and wartime distrust. At the height of the harvest, Charlotte falls in love with Karl Becker, one of many German POWs helping on the farms of Wisconsin, after he foils her rapist. Their lives are turned upside down, especially when the Christiansens’ wounded son, Ben, returns home from the front and his hatred of Germans flares up, with deadly results. Toren carefully enunciates each word and phrase, slowing down the dramatic scenes. While her voice often dips so low that it’s difficult to hear the dialogue, she fully captures the emotions of this tragic story. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2015 - AudioFile