The Foxhole Victory Tour

Reviewed by:

Violet Hammack from Modesto, CA, a Professional Writing student at Taylor University in Upland, IN.

Title:

The Foxhole Victory Tour

Author:

Amy Lynn Green

Publisher:

Bethany House

http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/bethanyhouse

Publication Date:

2024

Format:

Print book

Length:

370 pages

 OVERVIEW

In her book The Foxhole Victory Tour, Amy Lynn Green describes the journey of a variety show troupe as they travel across North Africa to raise morale for soldiers stationed there during World War II. Facing active war zones, tensions between the troupe and the men and women serving, and pressure from the home front, what starts as a convenient escape for protagonists Maggie and Catherine quickly becomes something bigger.

Maggie McCleod is independent and quick on her feet, but her headstrong nature tends to land her in trouble more often than not. Catherine Duquette is beautiful and kind but has trouble standing up for herself. Both girls take the job for different reasons: Maggie, to prove something to herself and her religious preacher father that working as a musician and comedian is a worthy endeavor; Catherine, to escape from her divorced parents’ expectations and locate her handsome army pilot whose letters mysteriously stopped arriving…

The two are joined by an ensemble cast of three other performers, whose troupe sets out across the Atlantic to perform their variety show in cities and camps in North Africa. What seems to be novel and fun at first quickly grows complicated as the group encounters the difficulties of a harsh schedule, poor living conditions in war camps, and growing tensions between troupe members when they discover a competitive opportunity on the other side of the tour: a recommendation for a position on Hollywood-giant Bob Hope’s radio show.

I wholly enjoyed reading this book from beginning to end. The characters are all compelling, vivid, and distinct, which can be challenging in an ensemble piece. It’s difficult to decide which character should receive the recommendation, a decision that their boss struggles with equally.  His thought process is represented in letters written to the USO Home Office as they await his recommendation, which adds to the intrigue of the plot.

The setting is fresh, an impressive feat given the saturation of the WWII historical fiction market. The arcs in the story are fully fleshed out from beginning to end, from something as big-picture as the victory tour itself to something as small as how the troupe magician’s magic trick works.

This book carries the theme of sharing hope in the middle of darkness. The main characters’ whole job is to go around giving a reprieve and a show to men stationed in the middle of a war. Green does a great job of using comedic dialogue (and Maggie’s stand-up routine) to lighten the mood, as well as some heartfelt moments of watching the troupe grow closer to each other. They also find different ways to bring hope and meaning to the soldiers, both in the military camps and, in one case, a prisoner camp nearby. This book certainly has a lot of heart and is a strongly-written, well-rounded read.

ASSESSMENT

Rating: 5 out of 5

Suggested Audience

This book, while set against the backdrop of a war, features characters whose job description is to raise morale for troops. As such, the tone and mood remain heartfelt and relatively lighthearted, despite occasional encounters with the heightened tensions of the battlefront. The book does contain mild setting-appropriate violence and a brief non-explicit depiction of a pin-up art piece, which is viewed in a negative light. The Foxhole Victory Tour would be suitable for YA and adult audiences.

Christian Impact

The book’s themes of finding and sharing hope in darkness are a particularly strong part of this story. The whole point of the tour is to raise morale for soldiers who are facing death every day. How do you encourage a crowd like that? Where do you find light to pierce the darkness? Maggie, in particular, comes from a religious background and uses her knowledge to perform hymns for the soldiers when it seems there’s nothing else to play. Without taking an explicitly Christian route, elements of the story nevertheless point clearly back to Christ.

https://www.christianbook.com/

https://www.amazon.com/