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A review by cheryl1213
A Star for Mrs. Blake by April Smith
3.0
I never listed history as one of my favorite subjects largely because a poor memory for facts hindered my skills (I still rant about a Calculus test in HS that asked for memorized replies when I had managed to memorize half of the responses and knew how to derive the rest...that seemed reasonable to me and it balanced my strengths!). Still, I can't recall ever hearing about a federal government program that sent mothers (and wives too, but mothers are the focus here) overseas to see where children who had been killed in WWI (and later WWII) were buried (here, in France). It's a cool factoid to know.
Such a trip is the underlying setting of this book, opening with one woman receiving final notification of her impending voyage to her return. In the midst, we meet a group of thrown-together travelling companions including the primary protagonist from a small island in Maine very much feeling the Depression, an Irish immigrant working as a maid in Boston, a Jewish New Yorker, and an upper-crust New Englander. There's a fifth, but that takes some ironing out and the posse has a military escort and a nurse. The book deals with how the travelling group relates to each other and copes with an emotional journey. There's also a side story dealing with a reporter who was severely hurt in the war and now wears what sounds like a Phantom of the Opera mask but was the best potential option for covering burns and was painted to be as realistic as possible.
In general, this just hit me in the so-so ("meh" is a touch too negative") range. It was an easy read and I enjoyed the concept as well as the mini-history lesson. It is interesting to consider how such a random group would be pulled together and apart by such an emotional journey (and there's some hints to the role of the media that would certainly impact the trips today!). However, I just wasn't overly drawn in to the book or the style. It kind of hits me like Olive Garden...I can enjoy Olive Garden and believe it has its place, but it is not "real" Italian....the book held my attention, but didn't truly sustain me. Historical fiction meets chick lit (and, again, I DO enjoy chick lit time to time). Could be an easy train/plane read.
Three stars. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC copy (though it took a little extra time to get to on my shelf!)
Such a trip is the underlying setting of this book, opening with one woman receiving final notification of her impending voyage to her return. In the midst, we meet a group of thrown-together travelling companions including the primary protagonist from a small island in Maine very much feeling the Depression, an Irish immigrant working as a maid in Boston, a Jewish New Yorker, and an upper-crust New Englander. There's a fifth, but that takes some ironing out and the posse has a military escort and a nurse. The book deals with how the travelling group relates to each other and copes with an emotional journey. There's also a side story dealing with a reporter who was severely hurt in the war and now wears what sounds like a Phantom of the Opera mask but was the best potential option for covering burns and was painted to be as realistic as possible.
In general, this just hit me in the so-so ("meh" is a touch too negative") range. It was an easy read and I enjoyed the concept as well as the mini-history lesson. It is interesting to consider how such a random group would be pulled together and apart by such an emotional journey (and there's some hints to the role of the media that would certainly impact the trips today!). However, I just wasn't overly drawn in to the book or the style. It kind of hits me like Olive Garden...I can enjoy Olive Garden and believe it has its place, but it is not "real" Italian....the book held my attention, but didn't truly sustain me. Historical fiction meets chick lit (and, again, I DO enjoy chick lit time to time). Could be an easy train/plane read.
Three stars. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC copy (though it took a little extra time to get to on my shelf!)