Review: Remembering You

In Tricia Goyer's Remembering You: a Novel (Guideposts, 2011), television producer Ava Andrews jumps at the chance to jump-start her life when her mother asks her to go with her grandfather on a reunion trip through Europe with other veterans from his World War II division. Ava wants to get stories for her TV program, reconnect with her grandfather, and move past a failed romance.

But the trip has unexpected complications. She finds herself touring with her grandfather's best friend and his grandson Dennis-her first love. She also learns that her gentle grandfather is hiding emotional wounds from the war. Each new battlefield raises more questions: Who is Angeline? What happened at Chenogne?

Goyer's characters all must overcome real issues in order to grow. Ava has to overcome self-centeredness. Her grandfather has to learn to forgive himself as Christ forgave him. Their vulnerability makes them characters with whom readers can relate and sympathize. Ava's growth is particularly evident as she struggles to understand the effects of the war on her grandfather and resolve the rekindled attraction between her and Dennis. By the end of the book, the reader is rooting for a happy ending.

Goyer's extensive research about WWII adds another dimension to the story. The dialogue sometimes veers toward the cliché, but Remembering You is a pleasant read.