Bring Tissues to The Last Year of the War

The Last Year of the War by Susan Meissner is a really sweet story about two friends, one German and the other Japanese. I have to warn you though, you’ll want to bring tissues with you when you read this. I received an Advanced Reader Copy free in exchange for an honest review.

The title of this book refers to two wars that Elise ended up going through: the literal war that she lived through during her teenage years, and the war against Alzheimer’s disease taking her in her twilight years. She might not be able to remember why she walked into a room sometimes, but she can remember what she was doing during World War II.

Elise ends up in one of the American internment camps that were set up during World War II to house Japanese and German people that the government thought were threats. This is where she meets her best childhood friend, Mariko. Towards the end of the war, they are forced apart, never to see each other again. Until finally, right before Alzheimer’s is about to claim Elise and she’ll never have another opportunity, Elise finds her old friend on Google and makes a spontaneous trip to see her (hoping she won’t forget why she went on the trip in the first place).

The Last Year of the War primarily deals with their story as children. It’s easy to forget that this is a fictional story. Even though Elise and Mariko weren’t real, people really did live through circumstances just like theirs. The choices they had to make weren’t always happy ones, because it was a really dark time in history, especially if you were German or Japanese.

I cried a lot while reading this book. The passages from elderly Elise’s point of view were so sad, because in them you watched her memories creep away. Then when she finally sees her old friend… more tears. I didn’t cry much during the parts where Elise recalls her childhood during the war, even though they went through rough times, because I knew it would all work out for her.

This is a book I highly recommend, especially if you’re looking for a good friendship story or you want to see the world through the eyes of someone living through World War II. Even though it’s a fictional story, there is so much truth in this book that it will definitely help you see a part of our history that hopefully the world will never end up repeating.