Two women living at two different times in two different places come together in this beautifully told story. We meet Emmaline Balakin in 1918. Living alone in Washington, DC, she was working in the Dead Letter Office when a life-changing letter lands on her desk. Shy and introverted, she decides to change her life and she crosses the Atlantic to work as a librarian mere miles from the front. We meet Kathleen Carre in 1976, just as her dream has been realized. She has been accepted into the Naval Academy as a member of the first group of women ever admitted.
The author has developed two fascinating characters. Neither had fully understood or anticipated the challenges they would face. As their stories progress, readers become totally immersed in their lives. Their fears, accomplishments, and growth are realistic. The horrors of WWI are skillfully brought forward, as is what it was like for women to be part of their first class at the Academy. There is intrigue, loss, and sorrow. As the narrative moves towards its conclusion, a shocking secret is revealed. One that will stay with the reader.
For those who enjoy historical fiction combined with the modern day, THE WAR LIBRARIAN is well worth reading. Highly recommended.
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.
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