The overall story, based loosely on a true event with well-researched details from the war and terrain added, was pretty compelling. I finished it in less than a week. But I don't think that the novel was a total success. It's hard to pinpoint why this is. Possibly it was the case that the author wanted to fit in all her research instead of letting the story unfurl itself from her imagination? But it is a difficult trick to convey a monotonous series of weeks and weeks in an Interesting manner, and this was managed fairly well with small events happening to ease the boredom of incarceration or marching. The characters were pretty well-developed and mostly believable (if a little cartoonish). The tension of the separation didn't work for me - it seemed contrived. I wouldn't recommend it to a friend, but it was an enjoyable enough read for me!