Four young women - all from varying cultural and ethnic backgrounds come together to start training at a secretarial school. Secretary is not their first choice of job but they think that this would be a stepping stone to whatever their dream job is. Whether it be the movies or journalism or teaching. Living together just four girls, is a taste of independence and not something that went down well with the families of the girls. For some of the girls it was an escape from the cloying effect of huge families, extended families, constant needling and just in some cases to get away.It is 1938 and the whole world is on the brink of change. These four young women also know that life is going to change but they did not realize how radical the changes would be. In Wanda's case being of Oriental descent, despite having been born in America it became a nightmare. Classified as an alien, and a probably enemy of the American people, she and thousands of those of Japanese descent were overnight taken from their homes and put into barren camps where the treatment meted out to them was horrendous. It seems terrible that no journalist thought of highlighting the unfair treatment meted out to them for no fault of theirs, other than their race of origin.With Wanda's internment in the camp the girls grow up almost overnight each one thinking very clearly for themselves as to what they should or should not do. For Teddy a personal awareness of her sexuality and that the sooner it is acknowledged the better though how she is going to do this she does not know.A coming of age of four young women - a delightful read with the background of WWII looming in the background and how it affected Americans so far away from the actual theatre of war.
This novel reminded me of reading cultural anthropology texts in college, lo those many years ago! The author includes pretty much every plot point and thought each of the four main characters has, which can be interesting and tedious at the same time. What makes it a good read is the historical context: the buildup to WWII and then its immediate aftermath. The story follows four young women who meet at typing school in 1938 San Francisco and become housemates. The author takes great pains to describe their various ethnicities and the discrimination they experience. The dialogue is pleasantly realistic for the period, though there is a fair amount of stereotyping which may have been try to the time. A surprise bonus was the inclusion of lesbian characters. I love the title of this book -- that alone made me buy it! Even before I knew anything about what it was about. Also the cover. The woman in the chair looks like Jennifer Lawrence.
The action in this novel takes place over a 12-year period, following four young women who meet in typing class and move in together in a house in San Francisco, right at the beginning of WWII. The book is well researched, following one woman as she and her family are sent to the Japanese camps in the Arizona desert, and another woman as she goes to London to help with the Jewish children sent to England to escape the Gestapo and the concentration camps. and the two women who stay in the house.I particularly liked two quotes (on page 58 of my copy), where one woman says during a discussion of the war, "Who in hell knows what is going on? Can you understand the reports from Germany? Seems to me there's a lot of censorship for a war America isn't fighting," and, "Wars are always designed by men and the results are mended by women."Despite various typos and strange sentence constructions here and there that had me crying out for a good copyeditor, the book kept my attention throughout.
—Kate
I had high hopes that I would really like this book . I'm a fan of historical fiction and I was drawn to this story that tells of the friendship of four young women in San Francisco before , during and after WW II .It was moving at first when Ann, Moira and Teddy go to the bus that is carrying off their Japanese American friend Wanda to an internment camp . After that , I didn't really feel a connection between these women . What the author does do well is depict what is happening in the country while the war is going on. However, I'm just too spoiled by the other beautiful , well written ,and poignant stories of the war to give this more than 3 stars .Thanks to Open Road Integrated Media and NetGalley .
—Angela M
