ms_aprilvincent's review
2.0
I love reading about the suffragette movement, but this book just didn't do it for me.
〰
Three teenage girls join the suffragettes for their own reasons: Evelyn wants higher education but her parents think that would be wasted on a woman destined to become a homemaker; May has been a lifelong agitator because of her mother's involvement in several causes; Nell has never felt comfortable being confined to women's work, clothing, or expectations, and she's raring for a fight.
〰
May and Nell are gay (though Nell may be trans, in a time before the vocabulary for it was available). They meet at an organizational meeting for a suffragette demonstration. May almost immediately blurts out to Nell that she's a lesbian, and their relationship begins VERY quickly and is almost entirely dominated by May. This is the part that I didn't like. It's not that I think lesbians should be erased from the fight for women's suffrage, but I found May hard to take. She is headstrong and doesn't consider other people's feelings or circumstances, and to me, she's completely unlikable.
〰
Nell comes from a poorer part of town, and she's long been one of the providers for her large family. When her dad is called to war, she feels pressured to find more work. Her commitment to her family means she can't spend as much time with May, which causes tension between them, because May is selfish.
〰
By far the most compelling story is Evelyn's. She wants to go to college but she also really loves her boyfriend and wants to marry him. I think this is a conflict a lot of feminists have, because sometimes it seems like some people label you based on which path you decide to follow. Of the three, Evelyn makes the biggest physical sacrifice, going to prison and taking part in a hunger strike. This is the first time in fiction I've seen a detailed version of the process and its effects and it's pretty horrific.
〰
Even though I didn't really like the book, I'd still give it to young adult readers, as an intro to learning about women's suffrage and because of the representation on the page. Someone might learn something 🤷♀️
I received this book as a digital arc from netgalley.
〰
Three teenage girls join the suffragettes for their own reasons: Evelyn wants higher education but her parents think that would be wasted on a woman destined to become a homemaker; May has been a lifelong agitator because of her mother's involvement in several causes; Nell has never felt comfortable being confined to women's work, clothing, or expectations, and she's raring for a fight.
〰
May and Nell are gay (though Nell may be trans, in a time before the vocabulary for it was available). They meet at an organizational meeting for a suffragette demonstration. May almost immediately blurts out to Nell that she's a lesbian, and their relationship begins VERY quickly and is almost entirely dominated by May. This is the part that I didn't like. It's not that I think lesbians should be erased from the fight for women's suffrage, but I found May hard to take. She is headstrong and doesn't consider other people's feelings or circumstances, and to me, she's completely unlikable.
〰
Nell comes from a poorer part of town, and she's long been one of the providers for her large family. When her dad is called to war, she feels pressured to find more work. Her commitment to her family means she can't spend as much time with May, which causes tension between them, because May is selfish.
〰
By far the most compelling story is Evelyn's. She wants to go to college but she also really loves her boyfriend and wants to marry him. I think this is a conflict a lot of feminists have, because sometimes it seems like some people label you based on which path you decide to follow. Of the three, Evelyn makes the biggest physical sacrifice, going to prison and taking part in a hunger strike. This is the first time in fiction I've seen a detailed version of the process and its effects and it's pretty horrific.
〰
Even though I didn't really like the book, I'd still give it to young adult readers, as an intro to learning about women's suffrage and because of the representation on the page. Someone might learn something 🤷♀️
I received this book as a digital arc from netgalley.
notmydayoff's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this book up on a whim and I loved it, I really did. The problem with loving it, however, was that I also loved the characters and this story is incredibly sad. Silly old me didn't think the war would as prevalent in this book as it actually was which came as a bit of a nasty shock.
Overall I really enjoyed the writing and the characters of this story. The plot got quite dark and if you've struggled with any form of PTSD, depression or anxiety/depression in a romantic relationship this book should come with a warning.
The twisting of characters as they matured was very well handled and honest but overall rather unpleasant to read about. I found the last 100 pages to be more than a little miserable (and I wasn't expecting sunshine and roses) so that made the ending a tad unsatisfactory for me.
All in all I think this is a great YA novel and eventually depicts a lot of great changes to troupes in YA, so it should really receive more buzz. That being sad I think that buzz should come with a little more warning because the trauma at parts of this book was a little blindsiding.
Overall I really enjoyed the writing and the characters of this story. The plot got quite dark and if you've struggled with any form of PTSD, depression or anxiety/depression in a romantic relationship this book should come with a warning.
The twisting of characters as they matured was very well handled and honest but overall rather unpleasant to read about. I found the last 100 pages to be more than a little miserable (and I wasn't expecting sunshine and roses) so that made the ending a tad unsatisfactory for me.
All in all I think this is a great YA novel and eventually depicts a lot of great changes to troupes in YA, so it should really receive more buzz. That being sad I think that buzz should come with a little more warning because the trauma at parts of this book was a little blindsiding.
cae's review
3.0
This was a strange one. In one sense, I found this a refreshing take on WWI for the common people in the UK (for a children's book). Issues were not glossed over, not romanticized or reductive. Nothing was neatly solved.
Somehow it still failed at a personal level to me. I just couldn't quite feel with the characters, the plot did not grip me. I appreciate the honest take on the situation though, so I'm glad it exists I guess? But ultimately it reads more like a digestible textbook than a riveting novel.
Somehow it still failed at a personal level to me. I just couldn't quite feel with the characters, the plot did not grip me. I appreciate the honest take on the situation though, so I'm glad it exists I guess? But ultimately it reads more like a digestible textbook than a riveting novel.
mollylou_'s review
4.0
I loved this book because it was interesting to hear about history which you don’t really get taught, although I think the ending was a bit unsatisfying. It doesn’t really round off Evelyn’s story in a way I would have liked, but maybe that was done for a reason. It felt like it focused on May and Nell’s story much more. Other than that, it was a great book with a story everyone should hear, and it was really good how the story focused on girls from lower class, middle class and more of an upper class, because it allowed you to see the effects of the suffragette movement and WW1 on all types of people. I would definitely recommend!
whatdoreadss's review
3.0
3,5 stars! I enjoyed reading this book, but I would like to read more about the actual lives of the characters (work, daily life etc.) Overall, I liked the characters, the representation and the themes discussed.
abimartin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
josiejumps's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
jostyard's review against another edition
3.0
things a bright girl can do is a historical fiction novel set between the years 1914-1918. it follows three young women who all join the suffrage movement, fighting to win women the right to vote. they are each completely different girls who each join for completely different reasons, but are united in their shared dream to have a life of purpose and fulfilment.
the book did an amazing job of familiarising me with the suffragette movement and the lead up to the great war. it gave me a sense of what it may have been to be part of the fight for an independent and free life, and also provided a much needed insight into the part women played in the war. however, overall i was simply hoping for a little more from it.
the emotional power of the novel never really it the mark. this may have been due to the multiple perspectives, because it often felt that the author had to dilute the story slightly to make room for everyone's story. the book was still very impactful, but just not at the level i was hoping for. i also felt that too much of the focus was on the war rather than on the suffragette movement. i realise that this is how things were historically, but the fact that the book focused so much on the war took away a lot of the impact on women's rights it was meant to have. the suffragette theme was lost halfway through and didn't seem to be found again, which was incredibly frustrating because it was very strong in the first portion of the book.
but although this book wasn't perfect, it was a book that was needed. books following the suffragette movement intended for young adults are severely lacking, and i am very glad i read this. it was extremely informative without ever feeling too dense or ever info-dumping. reading about this movement was utterly inspiring and very powerful, even though i had a few complaints. it was informative, it made me think, and it made me very grateful to all these women for fighting this battle for us. it was crazy to read this book as a girl living in 2019, knowing that the level of injustice women faced in this book was accepted as the norm. though, it was also incredibly inspiring to recognise just the amount of change that has occurred over the past hundred years, and made me genuinely hopeful for a future society where men and women may have complete and total equality.
the characters were likeable enough, but weren't anything special for me. two of the main characters never interacted with the other main character, which was a little odd and i felt the story would have benefited if their stories had somehow intertwined. neither storyline felt like it was done full justice and often felt like they were two separate ones. a lot in this book just felt underdeveloped. the characters, the relationships, and the plot lines were all rushed in order to make this book fit four years, making for a patchy read that didn't feel complete.
nell has grown up in poverty and hardship in a large family. she is hard and strong and stubborn in a world that teaches women to be soft and weak and passive. she is also implied to be trans, and it was really great to see that representation in this novel. i liked nell well enough, but she sometimes had a the habit of aggravating me slightly. may, in complete contrast, has grown up fairly wealthy with her mother. her and her mother are both pacificts, quakers, suffragists, and feminists, and both have long campaigned for equality and peace. may is also incredibly stubborn, set in her belief that she is always right. may is a character that a lot of people found annoying, but who i quite liked. i appreciated her character growth and development throughout the book too. the inclusion of two gay suffragettes made my heart incredibly happy, even if their romance was a little too insta-love for my liking. it wasn't my favourite f/f romance out there, but it was very heart warming to see two seemingly unlikely people come together and find comfort and acceptance with one another.
evelyn was a character that i had mixed feelings on. i liked her well enough at the beginning, but i wasn't quite sure by the end. i think my main problem with evelyn was that i couldn't really get a grasp of who she was or what she believed in. this made sense, as evelyn herself seemed to have problems with figuring it out herself. however, it did make it hard to form any kind of connection to her or understand her on a deep level. even her involvement in the suffragette movement felt forced and like something she wasn't entirely sure she believed in. i never felt that she had a strong belief in the cause. evelyn felt like someone who wanted to rebel against the corrupt system more to satisfy her rebellious whims rather than for an actual belief in the cause. during the second half of the book, all thoughts of the suffragettes were pushed aside to make room for a romance that i wasn't even sure if evelyn wanted. even all of her suffering in the prison and everything that came before that was basically hindered invalid, because she almost immediately apologised for and regretted all of it. she ended the book as the housewife that she previously never wanted to be, and that anticlimactic ending for her left a bitterness in my mouth. all of her fights and struggles for freedom were for nothing, and she was left to live out the rest of her days minding over teddy. i had just hoped for more for her. (i would like to note that i have nothing against housewives. my problem lies in the fact that evelyn previously explicitly and frequently stated that she never wanted to be a housewife). she was someone i enjoyed reading about at the start, but not so much towards the end as her focus turned to being a housewife rather than fighting for independence.
as mentioned earlier, although i had hoped that the focus would be on the suffragette movement rather than on the war, i was very pleased the with the discussions of war that the book brought up. it showed the impact that ww1 had on women, men, children, suffragettes, the wealthy, and the poor. it accurately and honestly showed the damage of war and the impact it had on everyone, not pulling any punches on the harshness of war. the conversations on violence and peace were also very well done, exploring both viewpoints effectively.
sadly, i was hoping for more diversity in a book that i would have expected a lot of diversity in already. the f/f relationship representation was great, but i don't recall any active poc characters in the whole book. it was fabulously diverse in it's representation of the lgbtq community and class differences, but severely lacked in the representation of poc characters. the book would have greatly benefited if it had represented all women in the movement, not only white women. the portrayal of a woc and the struggles she would have faced would have truly increased the impact of the book. i also noticed a definite lack of female friendships in a book that i would have expected to be filled with them, which was disappointing too. another complaint of mine was that i would have hoped for there to have been more on page action, rather than being told second-hand what things the suffragettes had done.
things a bright girl can do was an important and powerful book that provided a much needed insight into the fight women went through in order to get the right to vote. it wasn't perfect, but it was moving and insightful. although the ending was quite anticlimactic and slightly disappointing, i can forgive the book because it had a very powerful first half. i enjoyed my time reading this book and would recommend it to anyone looking to gain more knowledge on the suffragette movement!
the book did an amazing job of familiarising me with the suffragette movement and the lead up to the great war. it gave me a sense of what it may have been to be part of the fight for an independent and free life, and also provided a much needed insight into the part women played in the war. however, overall i was simply hoping for a little more from it.
the emotional power of the novel never really it the mark. this may have been due to the multiple perspectives, because it often felt that the author had to dilute the story slightly to make room for everyone's story. the book was still very impactful, but just not at the level i was hoping for. i also felt that too much of the focus was on the war rather than on the suffragette movement. i realise that this is how things were historically, but the fact that the book focused so much on the war took away a lot of the impact on women's rights it was meant to have. the suffragette theme was lost halfway through and didn't seem to be found again, which was incredibly frustrating because it was very strong in the first portion of the book.
but although this book wasn't perfect, it was a book that was needed. books following the suffragette movement intended for young adults are severely lacking, and i am very glad i read this. it was extremely informative without ever feeling too dense or ever info-dumping. reading about this movement was utterly inspiring and very powerful, even though i had a few complaints. it was informative, it made me think, and it made me very grateful to all these women for fighting this battle for us. it was crazy to read this book as a girl living in 2019, knowing that the level of injustice women faced in this book was accepted as the norm. though, it was also incredibly inspiring to recognise just the amount of change that has occurred over the past hundred years, and made me genuinely hopeful for a future society where men and women may have complete and total equality.
the characters were likeable enough, but weren't anything special for me. two of the main characters never interacted with the other main character, which was a little odd and i felt the story would have benefited if their stories had somehow intertwined. neither storyline felt like it was done full justice and often felt like they were two separate ones. a lot in this book just felt underdeveloped. the characters, the relationships, and the plot lines were all rushed in order to make this book fit four years, making for a patchy read that didn't feel complete.
nell has grown up in poverty and hardship in a large family. she is hard and strong and stubborn in a world that teaches women to be soft and weak and passive. she is also implied to be trans, and it was really great to see that representation in this novel. i liked nell well enough, but she sometimes had a the habit of aggravating me slightly. may, in complete contrast, has grown up fairly wealthy with her mother. her and her mother are both pacificts, quakers, suffragists, and feminists, and both have long campaigned for equality and peace. may is also incredibly stubborn, set in her belief that she is always right. may is a character that a lot of people found annoying, but who i quite liked. i appreciated her character growth and development throughout the book too. the inclusion of two gay suffragettes made my heart incredibly happy, even if their romance was a little too insta-love for my liking. it wasn't my favourite f/f romance out there, but it was very heart warming to see two seemingly unlikely people come together and find comfort and acceptance with one another.
evelyn was a character that i had mixed feelings on. i liked her well enough at the beginning, but i wasn't quite sure by the end. i think my main problem with evelyn was that i couldn't really get a grasp of who she was or what she believed in. this made sense, as evelyn herself seemed to have problems with figuring it out herself. however, it did make it hard to form any kind of connection to her or understand her on a deep level. even her involvement in the suffragette movement felt forced and like something she wasn't entirely sure she believed in. i never felt that she had a strong belief in the cause. evelyn felt like someone who wanted to rebel against the corrupt system more to satisfy her rebellious whims rather than for an actual belief in the cause. during the second half of the book, all thoughts of the suffragettes were pushed aside to make room for a romance that i wasn't even sure if evelyn wanted. even all of her suffering in the prison and everything that came before that was basically hindered invalid, because she almost immediately apologised for and regretted all of it. she ended the book as the housewife that she previously never wanted to be, and that anticlimactic ending for her left a bitterness in my mouth. all of her fights and struggles for freedom were for nothing, and she was left to live out the rest of her days minding over teddy. i had just hoped for more for her. (i would like to note that i have nothing against housewives. my problem lies in the fact that evelyn previously explicitly and frequently stated that she never wanted to be a housewife). she was someone i enjoyed reading about at the start, but not so much towards the end as her focus turned to being a housewife rather than fighting for independence.
as mentioned earlier, although i had hoped that the focus would be on the suffragette movement rather than on the war, i was very pleased the with the discussions of war that the book brought up. it showed the impact that ww1 had on women, men, children, suffragettes, the wealthy, and the poor. it accurately and honestly showed the damage of war and the impact it had on everyone, not pulling any punches on the harshness of war. the conversations on violence and peace were also very well done, exploring both viewpoints effectively.
sadly, i was hoping for more diversity in a book that i would have expected a lot of diversity in already. the f/f relationship representation was great, but i don't recall any active poc characters in the whole book. it was fabulously diverse in it's representation of the lgbtq community and class differences, but severely lacked in the representation of poc characters. the book would have greatly benefited if it had represented all women in the movement, not only white women. the portrayal of a woc and the struggles she would have faced would have truly increased the impact of the book. i also noticed a definite lack of female friendships in a book that i would have expected to be filled with them, which was disappointing too. another complaint of mine was that i would have hoped for there to have been more on page action, rather than being told second-hand what things the suffragettes had done.
things a bright girl can do was an important and powerful book that provided a much needed insight into the fight women went through in order to get the right to vote. it wasn't perfect, but it was moving and insightful. although the ending was quite anticlimactic and slightly disappointing, i can forgive the book because it had a very powerful first half. i enjoyed my time reading this book and would recommend it to anyone looking to gain more knowledge on the suffragette movement!
kba76's review
4.0
Three very different girls - Evelyn, May and Nell. They are, however, linked by their determination and desire to make a difference to their lives.
This takes in the stories of the girls and their lives over the course of a couple of years. Set against the backdrop of war it really brings to life some of the areas that can seem dull now.
I found the girls taxing in different ways, but I admired the determination they had to make their lives count.
Inspirational.
This takes in the stories of the girls and their lives over the course of a couple of years. Set against the backdrop of war it really brings to life some of the areas that can seem dull now.
I found the girls taxing in different ways, but I admired the determination they had to make their lives count.
Inspirational.
jasmine_books342's review
5.0
This is a wonderful book. I've never read a book like this before. It was wonderful. I loved reading about how each character developed throughout the book and about the struggles, especially for women, at that time. An amazing book.