Remember Wake

I read this book in one sitting. Although it hasn't received the benefit of a large press publication, it's a gem waiting to be discovered by any teen or adult who would rather study history through the medium of stories than by reading textbooks. Author Teresa Funke has done her homework. My older family members who lived through World War II can resonate with the reality she has created in her fiction. Her characters are believable young men and women caught up in dire circumstances they could not foresee, did not plan for, and need all their grit to survive. In December 1941, Wake Island was attacked by the Japanese navy. Those who survived the invasion were captured and sent to prison camps in Asia. What became of those men? And what became of the wives and sweethearts they left back home in the States? It's a story history needs to remember.

Teresa Funke's REMEMBER WAKE is a flawlessly wonderful novel. I'm a reader who rarely reads historical fiction and a fiction editor who rarely reads work that doesn't contain at least a few glitches in grammar, characterization, dialogue, syntax, etc. As hard as I looked, I couldn't find 'anything' to criticize. This book piqued an interest in historical fiction in me. Funke crafted a story that taught me--despite my best intentions--about a time in history I didn't know 'to know' about. I got a feel for the mid-1940's without being hit over the head with wartime vocabulary and jargon. I gained 'a little' insight into the horrible and unimaginable periods of 'not knowing when or if...' that prisoners of war and their families endured. I'm grateful for this book and I'm sure there are Wake survivors and their descendants who feel the same.

This book alternates chapters telling the story of the plight of soldiers and civilians who were taken prisoner at Wake Island with the problems faced by their families in Boise, Idaho. After obviously researching the matter thoroughly, the author rolled the stories of many survivors of Wake into the experiences of just a few characters in the book, making it an interesting read. It adequately tells about the horrors of war, without getting too graphic. I required all three of my teenage children to read the book -- it was hard to get them started, but all three quickly finished it and have shown a marked interest in WWII since then. I am recommending it as a good buy for our school library.

"Remember Wake" is a cleanly written, fast-paced novel by Teresa Funke. The story follows two young Americans, Maggie Braun and her fiancee, Colin Finnely. Colin, a civilian working on Wake Island at the start of World War II, is captured and sent to a series of Japanese prison camps. At home, Maggie fights a different sort of battle, struggling against fear, uncertainty, and the expectations of her family.The history behind the story is intriguing. A handful of Americans held off the Japanese navy for sixteen days at Wake Island, aided by the heroic efforts of armed civilians. The author's depictions of prison camps are authentic and harrowing.The novel traces the effects of war on its two civilian protagonists, ordinary people caught in the tides of history. Maggie and Colin are heroic, not because they control their circumstances, but because they survive them. The story is always well told, and the scenes between Maggie and William Preston, a would-be suitor, are genuinely heartbreaking. "Remember Wake" is a great read.

This WWII story is both informative and entertaining. I learned some additional things about WWII, especially regarding POWs and I was very taken with the characters in the story. The story moves along quickly which makes it hard to put down, I am going to recommend this book to my book club.