It's 1944, and the war is dragging on. On the home front --- Door County, Wisconsin --- it’s time for the cherry harvest, but farm workers are scarce. The war has taken most of the men away. Those who remain can make better wages in the shipyards than they can harvesting cherries. The very survival of the farm families depends on the crop being harvested.

A very practical-thinking farm wife, Charlotte encourages the community leaders to consider using German prisoners of war who are housed in camps in the state to work the orchards. These men are the enemy, both hated and feared. But practical considerations do prevail, and the government agrees to use prisoner labor to gather the harvest.

"THE CHERRY HARVEST is extremely well written, and the characters are believable. Author Lucy Sanna gives the reader a good glimpse into the main characters' thinking, and has penned a novel that is engaging and difficult to put down."

Thomas and Charlotte's son, Ben, is overseas in the thick of the fighting. Their daughter, Kate, helps with the farm chores and raises rabbits to fund her upcoming college education. Kate and Thomas have a special closeness based on their love of poetry and literature, which Charlotte considers an absolute waste of time.

The harvesting begins, and the community is not at ease having these hated prisoners in close proximity to their homes and families. Thomas befriends one particularly polite and well-educated prisoner, Karl, a former teacher. Over Charlotte's objections, Thomas invites Karl into their home to tutor Kate in math.

Kate's parents are preoccupied with worries about Ben's safety and their financial problems. Because Kate has never given them cause to worry, she has a lot of freedom anyway and easily can sneak out of her room at night unnoticed. She is befriended by some young wealthy summer residents and becomes involved with a politician's son.

Karl is polite and respectful, and the tutoring itself goes well. And Thomas enjoys Karl's company. But he has absolutely no idea of the growing attraction between his wife and the prisoner. An ugly incident occurs when Kate is intimidated and frightened by one of the prisoners. Does he really want Kate's bike, or are his motives less pure? This really sets the farming community on edge.

Everyone is weary of the continuing shortages and rationing caused by the war, to say nothing of the worries for their men in uniform. Ben returns home badly injured and full of hatred for the enemy. Imagine his shock and bewilderment to find the enemy working on the family farm. Tensions continue to build, and the story has an ending that the reader does not anticipate.

THE CHERRY HARVEST is extremely well written, and the characters are believable. Author Lucy Sanna gives the reader a good glimpse into the main characters' thinking, and has penned a novel that is engaging and difficult to put down. An extra bonus for this reviewer is that the book is set in the year she was born, which certainly adds to the impact of the story.