Catching the Wind by Melanie Dobson artfully combines modern events with historical flashbacks.  The potency of the emotions and experiences is so powerful that readers will be drawn into the characters’ world without hesitation. The flashbacks begin in early World War II and continue forward a couple of decades.

Dobson has an almost lyrical quality to her writing.  The story has such a great impact that readers will be sucked into the book as though it was reality.  So many challenging situations and heart-wrenching things happen.

Somehow, the author manages to pull it all together in an ending that makes it seem as though things might really be okay in the end.  The time spent engulfed in the stories of the characters has one yearning and crying and rejoicing right alongside the author’s fictional protagonists.  Every person ought to have a friend as dedicated as Dietmar was to Brigitte.

The only way to truly appreciate the writing and its emotional impact is to get ahold of a copy and try to figure out exactly where this journey will lead.  Poignant, beautiful and hauntingly sad.  Yet, somehow hopeful and faith-filled and an amazing adventure.

Review of a Digital Advance Reader Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Tyndale House Publishing

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None 

Violence/Gore:  Report of a character cleaning up blood, death is implied; an adult shoves a child into a vehicle; report of Nazis killing a person’s father; report of lives lost in a gas chamber; an adult grabs a child by the arm and drags her; an adult holds a child at gunpoint; an animal is shot and blood spatters; a person is struck with an object and then shot; report that a character committed suicide by hanging herself; a character wants another character to kill someone. 

Sex/Nudity:  Married characters have affairs, no sexual acts mentioned but it is implied the characters are sharing a bed; married characters kiss; report of a man touching a child in inappropriate places – brief, not detailed; characters refer to sleeping with someone; a man is clearly contemplating some type of sexual assault on a child, but it is hinted at and not executed; non-married characters embrace, hold hands and kiss.

Mature Subject Matter:

War crimes of Nazi Germany, adultery, treason, murder, child abandonment, death of family members, infidelity.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Adult characters consume wine with a meal; report of an adult dying of a drug overdose.