The War Librarian Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons by Addison Armstrong
on August 9, 2022
Genres: Adult, Books About Books, War, WWI, Historical
Pages: 384
Source: Netgalley
Format: ARC, eBook
Find the Author: Website, Goodreads
Find the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
ISBN: 059332806X
Rating:
The Paris Library meets The Flight Girls in this captivating historical novel about the sacrifice and courage necessary to live a life of honor, inspired by the first female volunteer librarians during World War I and the first women accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy.
Two women. One secret. A truth worth fighting for.
1918. Timid and shy Emmaline Balakin lives more in books than her own life. That is, until an envelope crosses her desk at the Dead Letter Office bearing a name from her past, and Emmaline decides to finally embark on an adventure of her own--as a volunteer librarian on the frontlines in France. But when a romance blooms as she secretly participates in a book club for censored books, Emmaline will need to find more courage within herself than she ever thought possible in order to survive.
1976. Kathleen Carre is eager to prove to herself and to her nana that she deserves her acceptance into the first coed class at the United States Naval Academy. But not everyone wants female midshipmen at the Academy, and after tragedy strikes close to home, Kathleen becomes a target. To protect herself, Kathleen must learn to trust others even as she discovers a secret that could be her undoing.
As a lover of historical fiction–especially those revolving around either of the World Wars, I instantly wanted to read this book as soon as I saw it.
And I’m so glad that I read it. There are two stories in this one–one of Emmaline in 1918 and one with Kathleen in 1976.
Admittedly, I much preferred Emmaline’s story. Which is why I didn’t give this four or more stars. I was a little bored with Kathleen’s story and kind of kept waiting to get back to Emmaline.
However, Armstrong did a fabulous job of going back and forth and blending this whole book into a fabulous tale of two strong women.
About Addison Armstrong
I’ve wanted to be an author since I was a five-year old writing stories about talking school supplies and ants getting their revenge on exterminators. While a junior at Vanderbilt University studying elementary education, I wrote my first historical fiction novel, The Light of Luna Park, and sold it to G.P. Putnam’s Sons in January of my senior year. Now that I’ve graduated with my Bachelor’s in Elementary Education and Language & Literacy Studies, as well as a Master’s in Reading Education with an ESL endorsement, I’m teaching third grade English language learners in Nashville and continuing to write.
