The Leonard Girls

Rowie's pro-war, her sister Jo's a protester. And they're both in Vietnam.

The compelling new novel from the bestselling author of From the Ashes


In 1969, at the height of the Vietnam war, nurse Rowie Leonard is serving a 12-month tour of duty. She supports the war and is committed to caring for wounded New Zealand and Australian troops. After a few months, however, she realises that nothing at all about the conflict is as clear-cut as she'd assumed.

Her younger sister, Jo, is the opposite - a student at Auckland University, a folk singer and a fervent anti-war protestor. But when Jo falls for professional soldier Sam Apanui, home on leave to visit his ill father, she finds herself torn between her feelings and her convictions.

As the three of them grapple with love, loss, and the stresses and sorrows of war, each will be forced to confront and question everything they believed.

Praise for Deborah Challinor:

'Challinor is a good storyteller ... seamlessly joining fact and fiction and creating a convincing, atmospheric yarn' Bookseller and Publisher

'The perfect blend of fact and fiction' NZ Herald