Lizzie Scott recently lost her only remaining relative, her older brother Seb, in the Korean War. Dealing with her sorrow by staying busy, she does her part to support the war efforts. She works as a switchboard operator during the day, and at night, dances with the servicemen at the Air Force Base.

During one dance, she makes the acquaintance of a serious looking, battle worn young airman, Jeremy. Jeremy, also alone in the world and racked with guilt over his best buddy's death, attends the dance with the sole purpose of meeting the Lizzie he has heard so much about. Seb had given him the task of delivering his farewell letter.

Lizzie, raw with grief and unable to accept Seb's death, doesn't want the letter. She certainly doesn't want a romance with a serviceman about to return to the front. Wars took her father, her brother, and she suspects her mother. She won't let it take anyone else she cares for.

Marianne Arkins does a superb job of weaving historical references into a well crafted plot. Lizzie is eighteen and as sweet and silly as an eighteen year old should be. Although not much older, the dour Jeremy has been prematurely aged by horrors of war. These two lonely souls are destined for each other. The deceased brother Seb gives them a little push. Don't Fence Me In was as sweet as the cherry cokes Lizzie sips on.

Reviewed by: Kimber