All Manner of Things by Susie Finkbeiner takes place in the 1960s.  It is an emotional and honest piece of writing.  The author follows the life of a young woman, Annie Jacobson, as she deals with many tough things that have occurred in her life as a result of her family’s involvement in the war effort.

Finkbeiner gives readers the stories of the characters and then she inserts samples of written communications between them to personalize the experience.  It really works well and it helps the readers feel part of the story without bogging down the flow.

Many different emotions fill these pages and at times it seems as though the characters have moved from words on paper to real people.  The book is written from the perspective of Annie Jacobson, but the letters sprinkled throughout the book are written both to and from her. 

The book is about hope, faith, and triumph over tragedies.  So many intense subjects are covered in this one novel.  Readers will certainly find at least one experience to which they can relate.

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Revell

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None 

Violence/Gore:  A character recalls a person hitting him and breaking his nose; a character says someone might slap someone; a character throws food at someone; a character watches war scenes on the television, showing injuries and fighting; a person writes about helping injured soldiers and mentions stopping blood, because arms and legs have been blown off. 

Sex/Nudity:  A mom tells a daughter that boys want more than just kissing; adult man puts his hand on a young woman’s bottom; non-married characters kiss and hug.

Mature Subject Matter:

War, post-traumatic stress disorder, death of family members, dementia, racial prejudice.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Person says people might be drugging or stoned.