I'll Be Seeing You is a gem of an epistolary novel celebrating the friendship of two women who have never met in person. Suzanne Hayes (The Witch of Little Italy) and Loretta Nyhan (The Witch Collector) should know their topic well--like their lead characters, these two best friends haven't yet met, composing their novel through e-mails.
As World War II rages, Rita Vincenzo worries about her two men in uniform: her husband, Sal, and 18-year-old son, Toby. In New England, Glory Whitehall tends to her toddler son and awaits the birth of her second child while her husband, Robert, fights overseas. Both women enter a pen pal program for wives of enlisted men, not knowing what to expect. Certainly, the level-headed professor's wife and the bubbly young homemaker aren't prepared for the deep friendship that will ultimately save them both from the unexpected turns of life in wartime.
In the absence of their loved ones, the women struggle. Rita finds herself saddled with the girlfriend she didn't know Toby had--a poor, spineless, uneducated slip of a girl she considers unsuitable for her son. Meanwhile, Glory turns increasingly to her childhood friend Levi for relief from her loneliness, and in the process finds remaining faithful to Robert difficult. Letter by letter, the two women not only commiserate about rations and recipes, they unfold the secrets of their hearts.
This inspiring depiction of the power of friendship begs to be shared between girlfriends as well as mothers, daughters, and sisters, and it's the perfect pick for women's book clubs. Hayes and Nyhan are a winning team. --Jaclyn Fulwood, youth services manager, Latah County Library District; blogger at Infinite Reads