It is the spring of 1942 in Lidice, Czechoslovakia. There is a war going on in Germany and constant talk of Hitler and the Nazis, but other than the fact that Milada and her family have to survive on rations, nothing much has changed.

However, in a matter of a few short days, things take a deadly turn for Milada and her family.

When the Nazi soldiers invade Lidice, they obliterate not only the foundations of the small town but the families as well. The women and the men are separated, both supposedly going to work camps, and a select few are even chosen to be a part of Hitler's "perfect race."

Milada is one of those chosen few. Over the course of three years, she finds herself going from a regular Czech girl to the adopted child of a major Nazi official. As time passes, Milada begins to question her identity. Is she Milada, the Czech girl with sun-kissed hair from Lidice, or is she someone named Eva?

"Someone Named Eva" is a work of historical fiction and is Joan Wolf's first novel. Written from Milada's point of view, the overall tone of this novel is quite like the author puts it, "at first ... sweet and inviting ... now pungent." Wolf's transition from the sentimental to the serious moments is flawless.

Wolf also created the perfect heroine in Milada. Not only is Milada headstrong and smart, her defiance, confidence and will to hang on to all she has lighten up the otherwise depressing points in the novel.

Based on actual events that occurred during World War II, the author brings to life the horrors of Hitler's Germany and the tragedy of Lidice in a fresh, touching, yet heartbreaking manner.

While this book may lack the classic "happily ever after" ending, it does have something that I hope to see in other books: the bittersweet taste of reality.