For fans of Lilac Girls, the next powerful novel from the author of Goodreads Choice Awards semifinalist The Two-Family House about two sisters working in a WWII armory, each with a deep secret. “Loigman’s strong voice and artful prose earn her a place in the company of Alice Hoffman and Anita Diamant, whose readers should flock to this wondrous new book.” –Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling … –Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan’s Tale
“The Wartime Sisters shows the strength of women on the home front: to endure, to fight, and to help each other survive.” –Jenna Blum, New York Times and international bestselling author of The Lost Family and Those Who Save Us
Two estranged sisters, raised in Brooklyn and each burdened with her own shocking secret, are reunited at the Springfield Armory in the early days of WWII. While one sister lives in relative ease on the bucolic Armory campus as an officer’s wife, the other arrives as a war widow and takes a position in the Armory factories as a “soldier of production.” Resentment festers between the two, and secrets are shattered when a mysterious figure from the past reemerges in their lives.
“One of my favorite books of the year.” –Fiona Davis, national bestselling author of The Dollhouse and The Masterpiece
“A stirring tale of loyalty, betrayal, and the consequences of long-buried secrets.” –Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of The Edge of Lost and Sold on a Monday
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The Wartime Sisters is a Historical Fiction. It has real life situations, locations and people that the story revolves around, although the actual plot and characters are fiction.
The plot was deeply emotional and a page turner. The relationship between the sisters, Ruth and Millie was heartbreaking from the beginning. Ruth, the older of the siblings is studious and mature from an early age. She also is plain in her physical features. Millie was beautiful from birth, irresponsible and extremely sensitive. Everyone was attracted to Millie and put Ruth in the shadows. Their parents treated their children differently and this resulted in Ruth’s desire to escape the world she lived in her parent’s house. Both siblings love each other, but they are so different, it was difficult to maintain a healthy relationship. The upbringing they had molded the adults they become. Just as Ruth begins her life as a married woman, and thinks she has escaped her sister, life intervenes and her future is changed. Millie was preconditioned by her mother to think she was destined to be adored by her husband and would have a wonderful life.
The plot explores the relationship of the siblings, their relationships with their spouses and friends and how all of their lives change due World War II.
The author does a fantastic job of creating the world that exists in this story. The plot is developed so well and it is definitely a page turner. The descriptions of the locations are very clear and let the reader see a visual of the settings in their mind. The characters are deeply developed and brought out so many emotions in me as I read the book; joy, sadness, anger and disgust. I flipped/flopped on my opinions of the some of the characters as I read. That showed me that you don’t know a person until you know all that they lived through to make them the person that they are at present.
This book was an emotional journey that I honestly struggled a bit to get through, but the journey was worth the outcome of having this story in my consciousness. I want to thank St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read the ARC. I wanted to share my opinion of this book with others.