The Poppy Factory by Liz Trenow

From Goodreads

A captivating story of two young women, bound together by the tragedy of two very different wars. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Maureen Lee.

For Jess and Rose, the realities of war have terrible repercussions …

2012 and Jess, an army medic, is back home following her tour of Afghanistan. Shell-shocked by what she has seen, she wonders if her life will ever be the same again. Can help come through her great-grandmother Rose’s diaries?

1922 and Rose has just welcomed her beloved husband Alfie home from the First World War. But the homecoming is not what Rose had expected; Alfie returns from war a changed man, and not the same person Rose married. As he struggles to find work and to cope with life, Rose struggles with temptation…

Can an old factory, set up to help injured soldiers, help Jess, Rose and Alfie and save them from the heartache of war?

My review

I'm late at posting a review of this book.  I read it in November,14 and gave it a 9/10.

In the words of one of the characters Rose after WW1, which I thought were very poignant. 'These poppies they make - and they sell in their thens of thousands now - are not just a symbol of loss and sadness, I've come to understand. They are also a reminder of how important it is for the rest of us to go on living to the best and fullest lives possible, in honour of those who didn't survive.'

This is a dual time story about Jess and her great grandmother Rose who have both suffered due to wars in different times and for different reasons.

Jess has PTSD due to what she had experienced as a medic during her tour of Afghanistan. On her return she finds solace in the bottom of a bottle and pushes those near and dear away from her.

Jess chances upon some old diaries written by her great grandmother Rose and her experiences following the return of her disabled husband Alfie from WWI.

Alfie isn't the same man that Rose married and as both Rose and Alfie learn to deal with the aftermath of the War in different ways. The story evolves nicely.

With two very distinct voices, I have to admit that I preferred Rose to Jess. This was a well written thought provoking book, it's the first book that I've read by this Author and I will look out for more.

How would we cope if we had been through what they had all experienced? I'm not sure how I'd handle it at all.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.