i_hype_romance's review against another edition
4.0
A huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this wonderful title in exchange for an honest review.
I fell in love with the characters in this book. The World War I setting was fascinating, and I love the fact that the author shaped the plot around actual events and people.
All of the Smith College alumni who volunteer for the unique rescue mission are either running from something or searching for something. Seeing their stories unfold as they find the strength to help those who are trapped and starving in the French countryside was riveting and unforgettable.
Kate has always struggled against the stigma of being poor. She has never felt she belonged anywhere. Her bookwormish habits growing up alienated her from her working class family, who were proud but struggled to understand her. Her less than illustrious background drove a wedge between she and her Smith classmates. When her best friend Emmie persuades her to join the relief effort, she is excited to try her hand at making a difference.
Enmie has grown weary of the constant pressure to find a suitable husband from the rank and file. She has always felt awkward and insufficient in the eyes of her philanthropist mother, and sees the relief mission as a way to find her purpose.
These two main characters are surrounded by a robust supporting cast.
Pick this book up if you enjoy tightly woven stories that emphasize personal growth and the bonds of found sisterhood. Pick this book up if you are interested in women's liberation, and the impact World War I had on the lives of ordinary people.
I fell in love with the characters in this book. The World War I setting was fascinating, and I love the fact that the author shaped the plot around actual events and people.
All of the Smith College alumni who volunteer for the unique rescue mission are either running from something or searching for something. Seeing their stories unfold as they find the strength to help those who are trapped and starving in the French countryside was riveting and unforgettable.
Kate has always struggled against the stigma of being poor. She has never felt she belonged anywhere. Her bookwormish habits growing up alienated her from her working class family, who were proud but struggled to understand her. Her less than illustrious background drove a wedge between she and her Smith classmates. When her best friend Emmie persuades her to join the relief effort, she is excited to try her hand at making a difference.
Enmie has grown weary of the constant pressure to find a suitable husband from the rank and file. She has always felt awkward and insufficient in the eyes of her philanthropist mother, and sees the relief mission as a way to find her purpose.
These two main characters are surrounded by a robust supporting cast.
Pick this book up if you enjoy tightly woven stories that emphasize personal growth and the bonds of found sisterhood. Pick this book up if you are interested in women's liberation, and the impact World War I had on the lives of ordinary people.
alayna's review against another edition
4.0
Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig tells the story of Smith College alumna who volunteer as WWI relief workers in 1917. The novel follows Kate Moran, a young woman from a working-class family and whose academic scholarship places her in classrooms with daughters of the elite. As Kate navigates war-torn France, she wrestles who she is among her peers: the proud, capable woman she knows she is verses the "charity girl" her classmates consider her.
The narration shifts between Kate, Emmie, and Julia. But focuses mostly on Kate and Emmie.
Kate's working-class background will made her uniquely capable of navigating the challenges of war-torn France. She understood the importance of emphasizing dignity as well as charity to villagers as they rebuild their lives and livelihoods. But Kate also learned that the women of Smith College had their own unique skills to solve problems in ways she wouldn't have considered..
Emmie's banter with the captain was especially enjoyable - a little comic relief in the midst of the mud, shelling, and rationing.
This book was very well researched which gave it a great sense of place. But at times I felt overwhelmed by the details. Even so, I appreciated learning about the variety of ways that women supported the war effort. Through a variety of letters we learn about the relatives of our cast of characters and the ways they are supporting both the war and suffrage efforts.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to historical fiction lovers. The audiobook was narrated by Julia Whalen and was especially enjoyable.
The narration shifts between Kate, Emmie, and Julia. But focuses mostly on Kate and Emmie.
Kate's working-class background will made her uniquely capable of navigating the challenges of war-torn France. She understood the importance of emphasizing dignity as well as charity to villagers as they rebuild their lives and livelihoods. But Kate also learned that the women of Smith College had their own unique skills to solve problems in ways she wouldn't have considered..
Emmie's banter with the captain was especially enjoyable - a little comic relief in the midst of the mud, shelling, and rationing.
This book was very well researched which gave it a great sense of place. But at times I felt overwhelmed by the details. Even so, I appreciated learning about the variety of ways that women supported the war effort. Through a variety of letters we learn about the relatives of our cast of characters and the ways they are supporting both the war and suffrage efforts.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to historical fiction lovers. The audiobook was narrated by Julia Whalen and was especially enjoyable.
alayna's review against another edition
4.0
Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig tells the story of Smith College alumna who volunteer as WWI relief workers in 1917.
The novel follows Julia, Emmie, and mostly Kate Moran, a young woman from a working-class family and whose academic scholarship places her in classrooms with daughters of the elite. As Kate navigates war-torn France, she wrestles who she is among her peers: the proud, capable woman she knows she is verses the "charity girl" her classmates consider her.
Kate's working-class background will made her uniquely capable of navigating the challenges of war-torn France. She understood the importance of emphasizing dignity as well as charity to villagers as they rebuild their lives and livelihoods. But Kate also learned that the women of Smith College had their own unique skills to solve problems in ways she wouldn't have considered..
This book was very well researched which gave it a great sense of place. But at times I felt overwhelmed by the details. Even so, I appreciated learning about the variety of ways that women supported the war effort. Through a variety of letters we learn about the relatives of our cast of characters and the ways they are supporting both the war and suffrage efforts.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to historical fiction lovers. The audiobook was narrated by Julia Whalen and was especially enjoyable.
The novel follows Julia, Emmie, and mostly Kate Moran, a young woman from a working-class family and whose academic scholarship places her in classrooms with daughters of the elite. As Kate navigates war-torn France, she wrestles who she is among her peers: the proud, capable woman she knows she is verses the "charity girl" her classmates consider her.
Kate's working-class background will made her uniquely capable of navigating the challenges of war-torn France. She understood the importance of emphasizing dignity as well as charity to villagers as they rebuild their lives and livelihoods. But Kate also learned that the women of Smith College had their own unique skills to solve problems in ways she wouldn't have considered..
This book was very well researched which gave it a great sense of place. But at times I felt overwhelmed by the details. Even so, I appreciated learning about the variety of ways that women supported the war effort. Through a variety of letters we learn about the relatives of our cast of characters and the ways they are supporting both the war and suffrage efforts.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to historical fiction lovers. The audiobook was narrated by Julia Whalen and was especially enjoyable.
meganclemons's review against another edition
4.0
First, I would like to think NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read Band of Sisters in exchange for my honest review. I had not previously read any of Willig's solo works but I truly loved her works with Williams and White so I knew that I would most likely love this book.
I am a big fan of historical fiction and Band of Sisters taught me about a group of women and a part of history I previously had no knowledge of. Willig does an amazing job of storytelling and making you feel for these characters. I was so proud of them and I can't wait to devour everything Willig has published in the past! Dual timelines are my favorite trope in historical fiction right now but I enjoyed that this was simply a story about a wonderful group of women. I also enjoyed the letters at the beginning of each chapter!
I am a big fan of historical fiction and Band of Sisters taught me about a group of women and a part of history I previously had no knowledge of. Willig does an amazing job of storytelling and making you feel for these characters. I was so proud of them and I can't wait to devour everything Willig has published in the past! Dual timelines are my favorite trope in historical fiction right now but I enjoyed that this was simply a story about a wonderful group of women. I also enjoyed the letters at the beginning of each chapter!
adrose18's review against another edition
4.0
A solid historical fiction outing. I had never heard of the Smith women who did relief work during WWI and enjoyed learning more about them.
I listened to the audio book - my favorite narrator Julia Whelan - and really enjoyed that.
It was a bit intense to listen to a story about the invading Germans while the Russians were invading Ukraine - only with deadlier weapons.
I listened to the audio book - my favorite narrator Julia Whelan - and really enjoyed that.
It was a bit intense to listen to a story about the invading Germans while the Russians were invading Ukraine - only with deadlier weapons.
mombond's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it, but there are so many characters to keep track of. If the author mentions too many characters in the author notes I didn't feel bad for not being able to keep track of so many names.
hannah13's review against another edition
3.0
I would give this book a 3.5. It was an interesting context based on true events but not quite engaging enough to score a 4
jdiedrichs628's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
whiskeyinthejar's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Band of Sisters is a historical fiction account of the Smith College Relief Unit that brought aid to French villagers during World War I. In the author's note, Ms. Willig states that she took real events as inspiration for fictional twists. Instances that happen in the book are all taken from researched materials, particularly the Smith girls' letters to back home, and reshaped with some artistic license to create this story while character names are changed but heavily inspired by the real women.
Debutante nonsense, her mother called it. Good enough for those that don't have to worry about getting their living.
While the Unit was comprised of over ten women, the author brings the central focus to two, Kate Moran and Emmie Van Alden. They were former roommates and great friends during college but have drifted apart the six years after graduation. The chapters begin with letters from different Smithies, providing the reader with a more rounded look at the personality of the Unit, while the chapters alternate between Kate and Emmie's point-of-view. Kate went to the college on a scholarship, where Emmie comes from a powerful rich family; their falling out stems from Kate overhearing Emmie's cousin Julia, who is a doctor for the Smith Unit and gets a strong secondary character focus, calling Kate a charity case. Kate's feelings of inadequacy and not feeling like she fits in anywhere has her restless and agreeing to join the Unit when Emmie calls to ask. Emmie has her own feelings of inadequacy because of how respected and known her mother is, a powerful suffragette. Their friendship, finding themselves, and coming into their own is more the core of the story than I expected with the War more as a strong setting.
To decency, the officer had said, and those who persist in practicing it.
She would persist. She would.
Knowing that the Smith Unit was real and the events I was reading that they endured and achieved were real, of course, add a richer and deeper feel and experience to the story. From the Unit traveling to France hoping not to be torpedoed, having to create plan z when nothing planned works out quite the way it had been envisioned, and to realizing they're going to have their homebase at Grecourt, in the Somme, which was much closer to the front than any had anticipated had me locked into the story. A few villagers grew close to the women but for the most part, the focus of the story stayed on Kate and Emmie and the navigating of their friendship and their self-growth. There was also a slow building relationship added between Emmie and an English solider that had him popping in and out, because of this you could say there was a romance element but I wouldn't go the full step of adding the romance tag.
She looked at the six other remaining members of the Unit, huddled together around the trucks, each and every one of them a wonder, each and every one of them her sister. They had been strangers to each other when they arrived seven months ago, but now she knew each of them down to the bones, just as they knew her, better than she had ever known anyone.
The ending brings the War more out of simply being the setting and into the story with the Smith Unit having to retreat from Grecourt, in what we now know was the Ludendorff Offensive. The War begins to touch the Smithies more personally and presently as instead of trying to help the French villagers rebuild, they are with them fleeing for their lives. Here is where I thought the story's emotions were felt the most and meet more of what I was expecting with a World War I setting in the Somme during 1917-1918. The ending felt somewhat abridged but the epilogue gives us answers and closure with a few letters to let us know where Kate, Emmie, and the rest of the Smithies highlighted find themselves after the War. Band of Sisters doesn't necessarily bring World War I to you but it does provide a well written way to sink into a historical fiction account, mainly through the eyes of two women, of the Smith College Relief Unit and learn about the real ways these women made a difference.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Band of Sisters is a historical fiction account of the Smith College Relief Unit that brought aid to French villagers during World War I. In the author's note, Ms. Willig states that she took real events as inspiration for fictional twists. Instances that happen in the book are all taken from researched materials, particularly the Smith girls' letters to back home, and reshaped with some artistic license to create this story while character names are changed but heavily inspired by the real women.
Debutante nonsense, her mother called it. Good enough for those that don't have to worry about getting their living.
While the Unit was comprised of over ten women, the author brings the central focus to two, Kate Moran and Emmie Van Alden. They were former roommates and great friends during college but have drifted apart the six years after graduation. The chapters begin with letters from different Smithies, providing the reader with a more rounded look at the personality of the Unit, while the chapters alternate between Kate and Emmie's point-of-view. Kate went to the college on a scholarship, where Emmie comes from a powerful rich family; their falling out stems from Kate overhearing Emmie's cousin Julia, who is a doctor for the Smith Unit and gets a strong secondary character focus, calling Kate a charity case. Kate's feelings of inadequacy and not feeling like she fits in anywhere has her restless and agreeing to join the Unit when Emmie calls to ask. Emmie has her own feelings of inadequacy because of how respected and known her mother is, a powerful suffragette. Their friendship, finding themselves, and coming into their own is more the core of the story than I expected with the War more as a strong setting.
To decency, the officer had said, and those who persist in practicing it.
She would persist. She would.
Knowing that the Smith Unit was real and the events I was reading that they endured and achieved were real, of course, add a richer and deeper feel and experience to the story. From the Unit traveling to France hoping not to be torpedoed, having to create plan z when nothing planned works out quite the way it had been envisioned, and to realizing they're going to have their homebase at Grecourt, in the Somme, which was much closer to the front than any had anticipated had me locked into the story. A few villagers grew close to the women but for the most part, the focus of the story stayed on Kate and Emmie and the navigating of their friendship and their self-growth. There was also a slow building relationship added between Emmie and an English solider that had him popping in and out, because of this you could say there was a romance element but I wouldn't go the full step of adding the romance tag.
She looked at the six other remaining members of the Unit, huddled together around the trucks, each and every one of them a wonder, each and every one of them her sister. They had been strangers to each other when they arrived seven months ago, but now she knew each of them down to the bones, just as they knew her, better than she had ever known anyone.
The ending brings the War more out of simply being the setting and into the story with the Smith Unit having to retreat from Grecourt, in what we now know was the Ludendorff Offensive. The War begins to touch the Smithies more personally and presently as instead of trying to help the French villagers rebuild, they are with them fleeing for their lives. Here is where I thought the story's emotions were felt the most and meet more of what I was expecting with a World War I setting in the Somme during 1917-1918. The ending felt somewhat abridged but the epilogue gives us answers and closure with a few letters to let us know where Kate, Emmie, and the rest of the Smithies highlighted find themselves after the War. Band of Sisters doesn't necessarily bring World War I to you but it does provide a well written way to sink into a historical fiction account, mainly through the eyes of two women, of the Smith College Relief Unit and learn about the real ways these women made a difference.
stephkatsb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5