

One Good Thing
Books | Fiction / Jewish
5
Georgia Hunter
From the New York Times-bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones, a propulsive and heart-wrenching story of a young woman entrusted with a boy’s life as WWII rages in Italy1940, Italy. Lili and Esti have been best friends since they first met at university. When Esti’s son Theo is born, they become as close as sisters. While a war seethes across borders, life somehow goes on—until Germany invades Italy, and the friends suddenly find themselves in occupied territoryEsti, older and fiercely self-assured, convinces Lili to join the resistance efforts. But when disaster strikes, a critically wounded Esti asks Lili to take a much bigger step: To go on the run with Theo. Protect him while Esti can’t.Terrified to travel on her own, Lili sets out with Theo on a harrowing journey south toward Allied territory, braving Nazi-occupied villages and bombed-out cities, doing everything she can to keep the boy safe.A remarkable tale of friendship, romance, motherhood, and survival, One Good Thing reminds us what is worth fighting for—and that love, even amidst a world in ruins, can triumph.
AD
More Details:
Author
Georgia Hunter
Pages
432
Publisher
Penguin
Published Date
2025-03-04
ISBN
1984880942 9781984880949
Community ReviewsSee all
"I loved We Were The Lucky Ones, but I found this one underwhelming.<br/><br/>There was clearly a lot of research that went into this book. I believe that these stories deserve to be told and I commend authors who dedicate their time to telling them and educating us all. I found it interesting to learn more about Italian Jews’ experiences during the war. However, I didn’t find the story to pull the reader in at all. It almost felt like a very long blog post or recount of someone’s journey through the years of the war. It was a lot of telling vs showing, and the narrative and plot felt thin. The characters also seemed one dimensional, and the dialogue was bland. Although objectively dramatic things were unfolding, the writing lacked suspense and emotion, and frankly felt boring in many parts. <br/><br/>Lastly, Theo is supposed to be 3 years old for the majority of the book, but the way he speaks and behaves would be more consistent with a 6/7 year old. I found this jarring and can’t believe no one changed that in the editing stages. It really distracted me from his character and relationship with Lilli. Ultimately, I’ve read a lot of books set in this era, and don’t think this will be one of the memorable ones."
L
Leora
"Great story. "
L M
Lorraine McTurk