1944, British Mandate Palestine
A compelling love story, set against the violent birth of a nation.
Tonia believes that desperate efforts to realize the impossible dream of a Jewish state will only bring a second Holocaust upon them. She plans to seek a different life in America — which means turning her back on her family and the young man she refuses to fall in love with. She knows she will never love another man the way she does Amos, but she also knows he will never leave the land in which his family has lived for generations.
Much of this novel takes place in Kfar Etzion during Israel’s War of Independence. A later part of the story is set in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Tonia searches for her new life.

This is one of very few English novels that take place in British Mandate Palestine and the only one that tells the story of Kfar Etzion. While the characters are fictional, historical events are accurately portrayed, to the best of the author’s ability.

The Lonely Tree, however, is not a history book. It is a character-driven love story with no political agenda. The iconic Lonely Tree of the title still stands in the Etzion Bloc today.

“. . . Yael Politis is an excellent author who really knows how to make a story readable . . . this is a book that everyone should read at some point . . .” Book Review Blog – CuriousBookFans.com Reviewed by sunmeilan