A young soldier reflects on his privileged upbringing as he prepares to fight on D-Day.

The story opens on June 6, 1944, as soldier Charles Trammel is preparing to land at Normandy. Through flashbacks, he reflects on his youth, education, and the complicated family dynamics (his father is from a storied political family; his mother hails from a working-class Irish Catholic background) that shaped him. Charles is a privileged teenager navigating bumpy personal waters as World War II approaches. Much of his story takes place at Trammel Academy, a prestigious prep school named for his family where Charles has a strict classical literature teacher in Mrs. Verardi (who will prove to influence him significantly). At home, Charles’ family is often at war; a dramatic dinner culminates in Charles’ liberal mother challenging his grandfather, a conservative senator, who dies later that night from a heart attack. Charles is drawn to his chauffeur, Chauncey, a surrogate father figure whose background helps Charles begin to understand social inequality and the value of character over class. As the war draws closer, Charles finds himself rejecting the expectation that a senator’s son would avoid frontline combat. He joins the military, facing the brutal reality of war. In his final moments before the big battle, Charles acknowledges how the pivotal experiences and relationships in his life have defined him more than his last name. Van Sickle alternates between the fighting on Omaha Beach and the flashbacks to Charles’ youth to craft an engrossing narrative of personal awakening that tackles lofty themes of privilege, identity, and moral courage. The characters are compelling, particularly Charles and two of his prep-school peers, the manipulative and charismatic Jackson Inverness and the gentle and introspective Chilton McGovern (“His father was a first-generation Scottish steel baron and looked like a Viking. As did his mother. And his sister”). The dual timeline works well, allowing readers to track Charles’ evolution as a person and the ways in which the past has shaped his present. Part war story and part coming-of-age tale, this novel is a compelling read.

A captivating chronicle of personal growth and the people and events that influenced it.

A teenage assassin-in-training stumbles on dark family secrets and confronts an unforeseen menace in Van Sickle’s novel.

Hedy Hinterschott keeps a relatively low profile at the University of San Francisco High School. Eschewing parties and personal relationships isn’t her choice; it’s done for her family’s preservation—the Hinterschott ancestry includes generations of assassins going back half a millennium. Hedy’s parents have been coaching her and her half-witted twin brother, Gary, in talents befitting assassins. Hedy meets Dave Corso, a fellow USF student who intrigues her like no other. Then she learns that her uniqueness—she’s the only Hinterschott female to be born in 500 years—comes from a horrific practice of her unusual family. As if this weren’t enough for a 17-year-old prospective assassin to handle, Hedy is abducted, though the motive isn’t immediately apparent. Are the kidnappers targeting a certain person she’s close to? Or is there another secret her parents haven’t gotten around to telling her? The story, aside from snippets of violence, is lighthearted. Much of it centers on the Hinterschott household, animated by the twins’ sibling banter and their grandmother’s German lilt. Hedy, who narrates, isn’t an instantly likable hero; she berates nearly everyone, from a teacher to Gary’s affectionate dog, with her brother taking the brunt of her incessant jibes (“You are too dumb to breathe”). However, she’s never outright cruel, and she proves bright and capable in all sorts of ways; the ever-vigilant Hedy “reads” strangers, assesses their threat level, and responds to them accordingly (“He’s a short man who approaches us with assertiveness. ‘You can’t loiter here!’ Little big-man syndrome. If I’ve seen it once, I’ve seen it a thousand times. Verdict: all talk, no action”). The final act amps up suspense when a villain steps into the spotlight. This narrative could easily serve as the first installment of a series that readers would surely welcome.

A sly, unconventional household enlivens this edgy, delightful romp.