The Year of Counting Souls

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. A World War II historical novel set in the Philippines as the Japanese overrun the country. An American nurse finds herself in charge of evacuating wounded patients as the Japanese come nearer. An encounter with a wounded Japanese soldi......more

This is a story of human decency, resilience and integrity during World War II, set in my country, the Philippines. It presents a slice of how Americans, Japanese and Filipinos who were right in the middle of the action lived through the horrors of war. Though fiction, war stories still cut through......more

I liked that this book focused on Manila and the Philippines in WWII. I hadn't ever read a book with that perspective before. I liked the setting in the field hospital. The medical side of things was quite interesting. Overall, I liked the characters. I was rooting for them to survive the war. I rec......more

I’ve read other books from this time frame, even a few set in this general location, but this one seemed to stand out as a very well rounded look at the material. It’s this historical material that made me take notice of the book to begin with. I had high expectations and they were all met. Wallace h......more

The Year of Counting Souls is an interesting little novel set in World War II, in the Philippine Islands. The main character is Louise, a no-nonsense, unsentimental nurse. Along with a group of patients, a few nurses, one doctor, and one Japanese prisoner, they flee into the mountains, one step ahea......more