I just finished reading The All American by Susie Finkbeiner. I will say that I was not anxious to start this novel because I just didn’t think the synopsis showed that it would be a book that I would enjoy. I was SO wrong on all counts.
This is a terrific novel, easy to read and so interesting. Taking place in the McCarthy Era of seeing a Communist around every corner, this novel brought the real politics of the era to the forefront for me.
The characters in the Harding family were so realistic that I could see myself in that family. Each character brought different qualities to the novel and each one kept me reading long into the night.
Because A League of Their Own was partially filmed in my hometown in Indiana, I enjoyed the idea of a girls’ baseball team. These teams were very in vogue during the Second World War and people came from miles around to watch their games. While the Girls’ Baseball Clubs weren’t around for very long, their games provided much-needed entertainment to the public during a very trying time.
I was also glad to see that the House Un-American Activities Committee were not very successful in hunting out suspected Communists in our towns, but did make ordinary citizens suspicious of their neighbors, sometimes to dire consequences.
Ms. Finkbeiner is a fantastic writer and I will definitely be reading her other books. I was so excited about this book that I can’t wait to open the covers of her other books. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell Publishers in return for my honest review.
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