The Secret of Raven Point
(Libby/OverDrive eAudiobook)

When her brother goes missing in Italy during WWII, young Juliet Dufresne signs up to be an army nurse. She and her brother have always been very close, and she cannot imagine her family life going on without him. Once in Italy, in addition to assisting in the constant surgeries performed at field hospitals, she helps psychiatrist Dr. Henry Willard, who is doing pioneering work on battle fatigue. When she finds out that patient Christopher Barnaby, a deserter up for court-martial, served in her brother's unit, she becomes determined to bring Christopher out of his catatonic state so that he can tell her what happened to her brother. In her third novel, Vanderbes (Strangers at the Feast, 2010) graphically depicts the gruesome nature of battlefield injuries, both to the body and to the psyche, even as she shows Juliet's courage and strength. The skillful Vanderbes' aching depiction of Juliet's struggle to maintain her humanity amid the army's callous bureaucracy and the horrors of war works as both an homage to our armed forces and a moving personal story of emotional growth.--Wilkinson, Joanne Copyright 2010 Booklist

Vanderbes's (Easter Island) third novel explores sibling bonds and what it means to push oneself beyond limits. In 1943, two weeks after high school graduation, Juliet Dufresne signs up to be an Army nurse, hoping to find her missing brother, to whom she is exceptionally close. Serving at battlefield hospitals, she has to live up to enormous expectations, and she finds a well of compassion and strength she didn't know she possessed. She begins working with Dr. Henry Willard, who pioneers new psychiatric techniques, including some pertaining to battle fatigue. One of their charges, a deserter named Christopher Barnaby, is suspected of attempting suicide and is up for court-martial. Yet he may be able to tell Juliet what happened to her brother, if she and Henry can excavate it from his psyche. Juliet and Henry find themselves drawing closer together, and making decisions that put their own careers and lives on the line, in order to help Barnaby. Juliet surprises herself with her capacity for growth and for maintaining her own integrity against seemingly insurmountable odds. The book does not shy away from the grotesque details of battle or the horrible decisions that ordinary people must make when faced with war's extraordinary demands. Agent: Dorian Karchmar, WME Entertainment. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

In Vanderbes's (Strangers at the Feast) vivid World War II drama, small-town boy Tuck Dufresne enlists and goes missing in Italy. His sister Juliet's strategy to resolve his fate-abandoning college hopes for nursing certification, lying about her age to work in a field hospital near the Italian front-affords controversial discoveries. Contending with her mobile medical unit's dismaying patient care workload, teenaged Juliet encounters even thornier issues: her attraction to a married doctor and the case of a soldier abused and traumatized by his fellows for being "different." Vanderbes unflinchingly but sensitively depicts Juliet's widening perspective amid devastating collateral damage and harrowing injuries. Ably voicing German, Italian, and American regional accents, Susie Berneis enhances the absorbing tale, imparting nuances in Juliet's outlook as she comes of age with grace and grit. -VERDICT Highly recommended, particularly for book groups and historical fiction fans seeking authentically rendered, character-driven stories. ["While not all the mysteries here are resolved, the only disappointing thing about this book is that it has to end," concurred the starred review of the Scribner hc, LJ 11/15/13.]-Linda Sappenfield, Round Rock P.L., TX (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

When her beloved brother is declared missing in action, smart, flinty Juliet Dufresne, training to be a nurse, goes to Italy to find him, in an empathetic, oblique take on the layers of damage done during war. Part mystery, part coming-of-age tale, part World War II novel, Vanderbes' (Strangers at the Feast, 2010, etc.) overlong but incrementally moving latest is written from the perspective of a bright Southern teenager who is forced to become an adult too soon. Losing her mother at age 3 has left Juliet especially close to her brother Tuck, so when he disappears while fighting in Europe, she forges her birth certificate so she can enlist immediately after graduating from the Cadet Nurse Corps. Soon, she is tending injured men on the Italian front, one of whom is Barnaby--a deserter who has attempted suicide--who was in the same squad as Tuck. Working with the attractive psychiatrist Dr. Willard, Juliet tries to discover what Barnaby knows about Tuck's last movements while all around her, young men and even her colleagues are being wounded and destroyed. With Barnaby sentenced to death, Willard and Juliet find themselves involved in a wild effort to save him, a journey which leads to truths Juliet will fully understand when the war ends. What begins as formulaic turns unusual and affecting as the emotional depths of Vanderbes' story slowly emerge.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In Vanderbes's (Strangers at the Feast) vivid World War II drama, small-town boy Tuck Dufresne enlists and goes missing in Italy. His sister Juliet's strategy to resolve his fate—abandoning college hopes for nursing certification, lying about her age to work in a field hospital near the Italian front—affords controversial discoveries. Contending with her mobile medical unit's dismaying patient care workload, teenaged Juliet encounters even thornier issues: her attraction to a married doctor and the case of a soldier abused and traumatized by his fellows for being "different." Vanderbes unflinchingly but sensitively depicts Juliet's widening perspective amid devastating collateral damage and harrowing injuries. Ably voicing German, Italian, and American regional accents, Susie Berneis enhances the absorbing tale, imparting nuances in Juliet's outlook as she comes of age with grace and grit. VERDICT Highly recommended, particularly for book groups and historical fiction fans seeking authentically rendered, character-driven stories. ["While not all the mysteries here are resolved, the only disappointing thing about this book is that it has to end," concurred the starred review of the Scribner hc, LJ 11/15/13.]—Linda Sappenfield, Round Rock P.L., TX