Children of the Promise- Since You Went Away

The second book in the Children of the Promise series, Since You Went Away, follows the Thomas family as they are thrown into the middle of WWII.  Alex is a paratrooper fighting in Europe, Bobbi is a nurse serving in Pearl Harbor, Wally is a prisoner of war in the Pacific and Gene has now joined the service as a marine. 
This book also focuses on a German family, the Stoltzs.  They were taught by Alex while he was on his mission and were baptized into the church.  Anna, their daughter, fell in love with Alex while he was teaching them.  Since Alex returned from his mission and joined the military, they have promised each other that they will wait until the war is over and they will marry each other.  The Stoltzs are now on the run from the Gestapo after Anna stabbed a Gestapo agent when he tried to rape her.
Not only does this book show the suspense and horrors of war but it now involves a love story between Anna and Alex as they try to survive the war in order to find each other in the end.  Hughes has a way of making these characters come to life, and I noticed myself laughing and then crying with them as they struggle to get through the war.

Book #5- Children of the Promise
                Vol. 3- Far From Home
                By Dean Hughes