Reviews

Sisters of the Great War by Suzanne Feldman

mcthilde's review against another edition

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3.0

I liked the story, the characters, the setting… but I didn’t love the writing, I felt it lacked emotional depth, and the writing made it feel rushed to me. Also, typos are annoying, and I couldn’t make sense of the timeline. 

sj_reads's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

zefrien's review against another edition

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emotional informative medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

erkane's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I really loved this story. I read it pretty quickly. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for books about World War I. 

spalsma's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

3.5

neoo5's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

bookboss85's review against another edition

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4.0

Original review can be found at: http://www.nerdprobs.com/books/book-review-sisters-of-the-great-war-by-suzanne-feldman/


**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

I love historical fiction. So when this came across my email for a review request I was excited. It is also medically based which is a huge bonus for me. The book also takes place during WW1 which is something that I haven’t read much about. I was really excited to read it.

Ruth wants more out of life. She wants to be a doctor but her father refuses. Her father will only pay for nursing school. She ends up getting kicked out of school. She wants to do more with her life so she volunteers for the war as a nurse with the British. Elise doesn’t know what to do with her life. She spends her time fixing vehicles. She decides that when her sister goes to war that she will also go with her. She will enlist as an ambulance driver and mechanic for them. What they didn’t know was that it would be the longest 4 years of their life. This book was amazing! I binged it most nights. I stayed up late too many nights to read it. I found myself thinking about the book during the day. The way the author wrote the war and the wounded. I could see and imagine everything that happened to the soldiers and people who worked in the hospitals.

I loved the character of Ruth. She was tough as nails and an inspiration with her tenacity to become a doctor. She never gave up her dream. The only thing that bothered me with Ruth was how she complained and complained to her sister and she never asked her sister how she was and how she felt. Elise gets the short end of the stick. She has much tougher working conditions and has a more dangerous job. Elise finds herself while in the war. This book does contain woman-on-woman romance so if that is not your cup of tea you have been warned. This book does have some steamy sections which was nice. It was a great storyline and showcased the love between sisters.

There was tension between daughter and father and there was misogyny between father and daughter as well as between colleagues. It shows how much they thought of women in that day and age. I will be looking for more books by this author in the future. I really liked her writing style and her subject matter.

quirkycatsfatstacks's review against another edition

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4.0

Sisters of the Great War, written by Suzanne Feldman, was inspired by real women, which means so much to me and other readers. Set during World War I, it follows American sisters who volunteered during the war.

The year is 1914, and Ruth and Elisa Duncan have just made the biggest decisions of their lives. To escape the path laid out for them, they are going to volunteer in the war effort. Ruth will become a nurse, and Elise a driver.

Ruth and Elise work on different sides of the same effort – finding and saving all those they can. Ruth must learn the hard way that they cannot save them all, while Elise finds comfort, even during trauma and loss.

Sisters of the Great War is an immersive and vital read. Before this point, no history book had really showcased the role women played during the war. Sure, my classes covered what they did, but it was an emotionless study compared to Sisters of the Great War.

For that reason, and many others, I feel like this is a must-read. It really goes out of the way to portray the roles, showing that they weren't passive – and that many of them were on the front lines, contrary to popular belief.

I'm not going to lie, Sisters of the Great War is still a heavy read, despite its essential and informative nature. That likely is no real surprise, though. Because, again, it's based on real people during a war.

Thanks to MIRA and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read more reviews at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks>

shoaglin's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

taliaweiss's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0