The Last Green Valley: A Novel

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Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

The Last Green Valley – Mark Sullivan

After a few moments, she said quietly, “We’ll find it, won’t we, Emil? A val­ley like that we can call home? A place we’ll never leave?” I think Sullivan is wonderful at researching and writing about low-profile people from history. I really enjoyed his previous story called "Beneath a Scarlet Sky." I didn't think I had an emotional attachment to the characters until something happened to one of them and I almost cried. At the end of the book, Mark Sullivan goes into detail about his meetings with the family, shares some pictures, and talks about what he fictionalized and why. He also sheds some light on some of the more periphery characters; notably, the story behind one of my favorite characters from the book, the Romanian Cpl Gheorghey. I thought this section was interesting and, for me, ultimately added to the whole reading experience. The Last Green Valley in northeastern CT (and MA): An oasis of peace old-time nostalgia. Trails to hike, places to stay, meals to eat, gifts to buy, and what to do with the kids. Illustration by Beth Griffis Johnson A bucolic setting in Brooklyn, home of the Golden Lamb Buttery and the Brooklyn Fair, held every August.

When Emil and Adeline are torn apart, what gives Adeline the faith and strength to carry on? What makes her so sure they will be together again? There is so also much useless dialogue in this book. I swear there is a solid 5 minute part where the parents are discussing on whether or not their child should pee out of the wagon. And I had the speed at 1.3 so it probably was even longer. Mark Sullivan has done it again! The Last Green Valley is a compelling and inspiring story of heroism and courage in the dark days at the end of World War II.” — Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author

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The family faces hardship, separation and physical deprivation as they attempt to forge a better life for themselves. No choices are easy and not everyone can be trusted. The Martel family is not at the camp in Poland for long before they are separated, stripped away from Haussmann and sent with several other men to again prove their loyalty. Now the true test of hope and faith for the Martels will be pushed to the limit. While Emil is toiling away in the East and trying to survive day to day, Adeline and the two boys follow his command of “going as far West as they can,” with the promise that he will find them. He tells me it was a style that he was not used to, and it certainly required no small amount of effort on his part to get inside the minds and hearts of the people he is working to portray, to truly understand the setting. “It was an extremely hard-won skill.” Mark Sullivan tells me that he came out of college determined that he was not going to have a typical corporate job. Perhaps this was what drew him to the Peace Corps, ultimately to him being posted to Africa. Sullivan confirms that it was this experience that opened his eyes to a larger world around him. Perhaps that was how the stories evolved for both Beneath a Scarlet Sky and The Last Green Valley, that there was a world vastly greater than what we are oftentimes acutely aware of. Mark Sullivan is the acclaimed author of eighteen novels, including the #1 New York Times bestselling Private series, which he writes with James Patterson. Mark has received numerous awards for his writing, including the WHSmith Fresh Talent Award, and his works have been named a New York Times Notable Book and a Los Angeles Times Book of the Year. He grew up in Medfield, Massachusetts, and graduated from Hamilton College with a BA in English before working as a volunteer in the Peace Corps in Niger, West Africa. Upon his return to the United States, he earned a graduate degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and began a career in investigative journalism. An avid skier and adventurer, he lives with his wife in Bozeman, Montana, where he remains grateful for the miracle of every moment.The Last Green Valley" by Mark T. Sullivan is a WWII story of a dream that leads one family to freedom. This novel is inspired by one family's unimaginable story of courage, survival and triumph. Raw and heartbreaking the Martel family flees Stalin's Russia and Hiltler's Nazi Germany, despite extreme physical and psychological challenges, to ultimately find freedom in the USA. My only problem in my reading of this was that the current political situation in Ukraine made this unbelievably difficult to finish. I only hope that those fleeing the present-day war can eventually find the happiness and peace that the Martel family found. After his triumphant novel Beneath a Scarlet Sky, Mark Sullivan delivers another stunning tour de force. Based on interviews and careful research, The Last Green Valley is the novelization of an inspirational true story featuring human strength, faith, and endurance against all odds.” — Authorlink The journey we take with them is gripping—filled with fear, exhaustion, hunger, trials and tribulations. Karoline is sometimes very cruel to Adeline, who is the mother of her grandchildren. Why do you think this is? What do you think of their reconciliation before they part ways?