Beyond That, the Sea

This hit me harder, emotionally, than I was expecting.

At eleven years old, the main character, Beatrix, is sent by her parents from London to New England to escape the German air raids. There she lives with the Gregory family until the end of the war, finding a place in their family that comes to feel more natural than the distant relationship she maintains through letters with her parents in England. Inevitably, as the war comes to an end she must leave her new family behind and return to the life she was cast from, finding both her former home and herself changed. As she grows older, she must learn what to let go and what to hold close from her time in America and in England.

At its heart, Beyond That, the Sea is the story of a woman show more caught between two separated lives, where living in one means losing pieces of the other, often irreparably. It's heart-wrenching in its portrayal of nostalgia, grief, and a sense of displacement. The story is heavily focused on the relationships between characters with the POV split between Beatrix and all the members of both her families giving insight into all of their complexities. The characters all read as real, at their most sympathetic and their most frustrating. show less

I am kicking myself for waiting so long to read this book! It was captivating from start to finish. Told from a myriad of perspectives, this novel is about a young woman coming of age across the sea from her family and the consequences it will have on everyone around her (I didn't mean that to sound menacing - it's not!). When Bea is 11 she is sent away from her home in London to quaint idyllic New England to live with a new family. It's the thick of World War II and bombs are raining down on London. Bea's parents feel that her best chance at a having a childhood (and living) are better spent abroad. So Bea is taken in by a wonderful upper middle class family with 2 boys. She immediately fits in with Gerald and William and is the sister show more they never knew they needed. As the war drags on, she finds herself forgetting her real family in London and wishing she could stay in America forever. Full of heart; I can't stop thinking about this book and all the wonderful characters in it. Marvelous writing and storytelling. show less

A sweeping, complicated love story, that compassionately showcases first love, not-quite-right love, and mature love.

As a twelve-year-old girl, Bea's sent over to America to avoid the bombs of London. She lands with a warm, loving family with a lake house on a private island in Maine, where she can spend her summers forgetting the war even exists. She loves the Gregory boys - Gerald, the younger, who wholeheartedly embraces her from the very first moment, and older William, who's passionate, angry and tender in intervals. From fancy dress parties to races on the island, Bea fits perfectly into their life. But looming over their heads is her eventual return to London, as both boys fall in love with her. Bea and William share fleeting show more moments, but Bea cuts off contact upon her return. She can't stand to have her heart in two places like that.

The book alternates between Bea's teenage years with the Gregorys and her adult life in London. It shows the complications of relationships and the ties that bind us to each other, both those easily broken and those never lost. It's a story of forgiveness - Bea's forgiveness of her parents for the trauma of being ripped from them, then being ripped back from a life she loved, and Bea's mother's forgiveness of Bea for loving the Gregorys so much. It's a tale of regrets - a girlhood lost, families left behind, loves that couldn't go the distance and characters who die too young. But above all, it's about the meaning we find in certain places and people.

This book takes hold of your heart, making you fall in love with all the characters, but perhaps most so with Nan Gregory, the mother figure at the center of it all. She's the sun in all the other character's solar system, bending their worlds with her love without even trying.

This is one I will read again.

Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. show less

This is a beautiful, well-written, character-driven, coming of age story. During WWII, young Beatrice is shipped off to live with an unknown-to-her (and relatively privileged) family in America. We see her grow and shine with her ‘new family’ as she becomes increasingly distant from the old one that she left behind. We also get to know those around her, along with their vulnerabilities and inner thoughts. And the author does a great job describing the shifting, interpersonal dynamics.
A common theme here is loss. Loss of what once was and the inability to recreate or go back in time to replicate the experiences of our cherished memories. There is also loss of what could have been, with having to settle for the disappointing reality show more of life. But in the end, hope prevails!
I was provided with an ARC (thanks to the author & publisher!) and I am voluntarily posting my honest review. show less

Although the war plays a crucial role in this book, this is not a book about the war. It is a character driven story. And every chapter is told from the perspective of a different character. (Always in the third person.) I like how this gives you an insight into the minds of all of the characters and how you get to see the same event from different angles. You get to see both sides of every coin. You get to sympathize with the characters in a way that makes it almost impossible to choose sides in any conflict. The characters are well written, and you feel their emotion through all the turmoil, joy and fear of their lives. This one decision, to send their daughter to America, changed everyone's life forever and as the book spans many show more years you can see the repercussions of it as they grow and change. It's a beautiful. if not always happy, story. I found myself wanting to get back to the book so I could find out what happened to these people. I was completely engaged from beginning to end. show less

Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence- Ash is a 2023 Celadon Books publication.

Beatrix- ‘Bea’ Thompson is sent to America at age eleven by her parents to protect her from the ravages of World War ll. She lands with the Gregory family in Boston and is immediately folded into this loving family, though it does take some time to adjust.

As the war rages on, Bea enjoys a life she could never have imagined. Her American mother, Nancy, grows quite attached, and Nancy’s son’s also forge a tight bond with Bea.

But on the other side of the ocean, Bea’s parents struggle with the reality of war, with missing their daughter, and the widening distance between them- not just geographically, or physically, but emotionally…

Eventually, show more though, despite the chasm of grief over leaving America, Bea returns home to her mother. Yet, as the years pass, the bonds she created with the Gregory’s never fully fades. They each, in their own way, stay emotionally connected, believing they must live separate lives despite the deep-seated feelings that bind them together…

What an amazing novel! I love historical sagas- and this one fits the bill- it’s sweeping- covering decades of time. In many ways it is a quiet novel, but it packs a big emotional punch. The characters each have strengths and flaws, go through many trials and changes, periods of setbacks and growth, triumphs and grief, and the reader is right there with them, going through it with them!

Overall, this is a beautifully written story- a love story on so many levels, and a story that will stick with me a long time to come!

5 stars show less

To protect her from the impending war, Beatrix’s parents send her from their home in London to America in 1940, when she is only 11-years-old. BEYOND THAT, THE SEA, follows Beatrix as she lives with an American family in Boston, summering in coastal Maine, finally returning to London once the war is over.

BEYOND THAT, THE SEA tells the story of a girl torn between two worlds – the home she left in England and the home she’s come to accept as her own in America. This piece of historical fiction had a different feel from the typical WWII books I’ve read in that the war is an important aspect in creating the setting and for some factors of the plot, but takes a back seat overall to the characters as they are truly the main focus. show more The author has created compelling characters. I was immediately swept away into Beatrix’s story from page one and became equally enamored by the other characters. The chapters are short and rotate narration focus which I enjoyed. The timeline takes place over several decades. There is a running timeline printed at the bottom of each page indicating the year of the current chapter’s setting which is beyond fantastic. I wish more books would have this, especially those with nonlinear timelines as it’s sometimes hard to keep it straight when the only indication is at the beginning of the chapter. Themes including family, love, loss, regrets, coming-of-age, wealth, and secrets are explored. Characters navigate dynamics of their relationship with their family, those they are connected to through Beatrix, and their sense of self. BEYOND THAT, THE SEA was beautifully written and I had a hard time putting it down.

I’d highly recommend BEYOND THAT, THE SEA to fans of historical fiction. I’d be interested in reading future works by the author.

Thank you to Celadon Books for the giveaway ARC. show less