Promise Me This opens as Owen Allen, preparing to travel to America on the maiden voyage of Titanic, meets Michael Dunnagan--an orphan, street thief and eventual stowaway. They spend the long voyage together, and Owen teaches Michael about the seeds he is carrying to contribute to his uncle's garden business in New Jersey. However, Owen is among those lost when the ship sinks, leaving Michael with the seeds and a promise to care for his friend's family and save enough money to bring Owen's sister, Annie, to America.
Though Annie resents Michael for living when Owen died, in time the two become friends and correspondents, and love grows in their letters as the First World War rages. Annie, now serving as a nurse, promises Michael she will come to him when the war ends. But when Annie disappears, Michael must cross the Atlantic again to search for the woman he has never met but come to love.
Two-time Christy Award winner Cathy Gohlke (I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires) does not disappoint with her third novel, a carefully researched story full of likable characters struggling to cope with the difficult realities of grief and wartime. Some characters--kindhearted Aunt Maggie, spunky best friend Constance--fall into predictable types, but the story's strength lies in Michael's transformation from a wary, abused, hot-tempered street lad into a kindhearted, determined man willing to risk everything for love. The seeds Owen gave Michael--of flowers and bushes but also of compassion and character--blossom fragrantly in this sweet, compelling story. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams