An Enemy Like Me is an emotional saga that sees one family through the throes of World War II. Jacob Miller has been fighting to balance his patriotism for America and the life he has built for himself and his little family against his heavy German heritage. At a point in history where Hitler’s atrocities have taken centerstage, being of German descent in America automatically puts a target on Jacob’s back. For Bonnie, his young wife, the war is threatening to tear apart her family. Though initially pleading with her husband not to leave them, she ultimately realizes why Jacob is so adamant about joining the war effort. Their young son, William, is only four years old when Jacob departs. Though only being a little boy, he too, is changed by the events taking shape in his life and by watching the effects of the war and worrying over Jacob tortured his mother. 

Placed against the backdrop of a brutal war, in which hatred for “others” such as Germans, the Japanese, or any who might seem to have sympathies for the “enemy,” An Enemy Like Me is a depiction of not just the enemy Nazis, Germans or Japanese. Instead, enemies are found in a parent who is not able to see or understand their own child. An enemy is a mother who has been so hardened toward life that she sees anything that could take her grown son from her as a threat, whether it be war, or his own wife. Enemies are lack of money and food. Enemies are divisions between social classes. Most of all, sometimes the biggest enemy can be found within us. 

While reading An Enemy Like Me, I kept getting the notion that William, especially, was slowly coming to the conclusion that he was his own worst enemy. We are all our own worst enemies. I saw this especially in how he described his relationship with his son. Though desperate to be close to him, he is constantly finding himself at odds with him, instead, whether it be their interests, their dreams and career desires, or merely the simple act of putting in effort to change. The reflective nature of the narrations of William, Jacob and Bonnie give readers the encouragement to reflect on their own relationships and internal enemies, creating a book that both brings heartfelt, vivid characters to life and which readers are able to easily identify with and find relevant to their own lives and struggles.

I recommend An Enemy Like Me to a broad audience of historical fiction readers, especially those who have a love for heartfelt, introspective war stories. This is definitely a book that deserves to be put on anyone’s TBR list!