It is summer 1941, in Fascist Trieste, Italy. One night, after curfew, while quietly reading in her room, Adelia Monteforte, 16, is surprised when her politically active mother appears and tells her, "Come. We must leave."

Peddling her bike with Addie on the handlebars, they arrive at the busy dock. It is teeming with people boarding a rickety ship. Her mother pushes them to the front of the line and hands the officer some papers and coins, telling him something Addie cannot hear. Turning to her daughter, she tells Addie, "You have to go to America now. Your papa and I will follow." With a quick hug to Addie, her mother leaves. Frightened and alone, Addie obeys her mother and sails to America. Upon her arrival there she is met by her Aunt Bess and Uncle Moris. Childless with no clue on how to raise a teenager, they take her to their summer rental apartment on the shore at Atlantic City. At the shore, Uncle Meyer travels during the week selling pots and pans. Aunt Bess keeps busy playing Mah-jongg or canasta. Addie prefers to be alone and read.

One afternoon, a station wagon pulls into the driveway next door. Addie watches a pretty woman with strawberry-blond hair get out of the car followed by three brown haired boys and a dog. Finally an older boy emerges and her heart stops. His hair "seemed to glow gold in the morning sun." So begins her love affair with the Connally family and its eldest son, Charlie, the golden boy filled with dreams and aspirations. Is Addie to become part of that destiny? They become close and on the following Thanksgiving Day they plan to tell their parents they want to become engaged. That day a horrific tragedy occurs and the seemingly idyllic family is ripped apart and disappear from her life. Unable to find them and uncertain what to do with her future, she takes a bus to Washington, DC taking with her a camera given to her by her uncle and her graduation money. Working in a secretarial pool at the Washington Post, she comes to her boss' attention when he needs a translator and Addie comes to his aid. Eager to get involved in the war raging in Europe, she gets transferred to the London office, working for Teddy White, a hot-shot correspondent who falls in love with Addie.

Addie's thrilling journeys, her life in London during the devastating and dangerous bombings, is well chronicled. Always following her heart, I find some of her decisions fool hardy and lost patience with her choices several times. In the end, Addie returns to Chelsea Beach where it all began. There, right under her nose, is the love she has been searching for. What a sweet surprise!

Historical fiction is my favorite genre and THE LAST SUMMER AT CHELSEA BEACH goes to the top of my list of best reads. It is beautifully told with characters that will touch your heart and keep remembering after you close the book. Pam Jenoff encompasses family, friendships, second chances, the power of healing and finally forgiveness. A great read that I recommend to everyone who loves history, an exciting heroine, a romantic story with a surprising and happy ending that tugged at my heart. Brava!