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pugslikemybooks's review against another edition
3.0
things a bright girl can do is a historical fiction novel set between the years 1914-1918. it follows three young women who all join the suffrage movement, fighting to win women the right to vote. they are each completely different girls who each join for completely different reasons, but are united in their shared dream to have a life of purpose and fulfilment.
the book did an amazing job of familiarising me with the suffragette movement and the lead up to the great war. it gave me a sense of what it may have been to be part of the fight for an independent and free life, and also provided a much needed insight into the part women played in the war. however, overall i was simply hoping for a little more from it.
the emotional power of the novel never really it the mark. this may have been due to the multiple perspectives, because it often felt that the author had to dilute the story slightly to make room for everyone's story. the book was still very impactful, but just not at the level i was hoping for. i also felt that too much of the focus was on the war rather than on the suffragette movement. i realise that this is how things were historically, but the fact that the book focused so much on the war took away a lot of the impact on women's rights it was meant to have. the suffragette theme was lost halfway through and didn't seem to be found again, which was incredibly frustrating because it was very strong in the first portion of the book.
but although this book wasn't perfect, it was a book that was needed. books following the suffragette movement intended for young adults are severely lacking, and i am very glad i read this. it was extremely informative without ever feeling too dense or ever info-dumping. reading about this movement was utterly inspiring and very powerful, even though i had a few complaints. it was informative, it made me think, and it made me very grateful to all these women for fighting this battle for us. it was crazy to read this book as a girl living in 2019, knowing that the level of injustice women faced in this book was accepted as the norm. though, it was also incredibly inspiring to recognise just the amount of change that has occurred over the past hundred years, and made me genuinely hopeful for a future society where men and women may have complete and total equality.
the characters were likeable enough, but weren't anything special for me. two of the main characters never interacted with the other main character, which was a little odd and i felt the story would have benefited if their stories had somehow intertwined. neither storyline felt like it was done full justice and often felt like they were two separate ones. a lot in this book just felt underdeveloped. the characters, the relationships, and the plot lines were all rushed in order to make this book fit four years, making for a patchy read that didn't feel complete.
nell has grown up in poverty and hardship in a large family. she is hard and strong and stubborn in a world that teaches women to be soft and weak and passive. she is also implied to be trans, and it was really great to see that representation in this novel. i liked nell well enough, but she sometimes had a the habit of aggravating me slightly. may, in complete contrast, has grown up fairly wealthy with her mother. her and her mother are both pacificts, quakers, suffragists, and feminists, and both have long campaigned for equality and peace. may is also incredibly stubborn, set in her belief that she is always right. may is a character that a lot of people found annoying, but who i quite liked. i appreciated her character growth and development throughout the book too. the inclusion of two gay suffragettes made my heart incredibly happy, even if their romance was a little too insta-love for my liking. it wasn't my favourite f/f romance out there, but it was very heart warming to see two seemingly unlikely people come together and find comfort and acceptance with one another.
evelyn was a character that i had mixed feelings on. i liked her well enough at the beginning, but i wasn't quite sure by the end. i think my main problem with evelyn was that i couldn't really get a grasp of who she was or what she believed in. this made sense, as evelyn herself seemed to have problems with figuring it out herself. however, it did make it hard to form any kind of connection to her or understand her on a deep level. even her involvement in the suffragette movement felt forced and like something she wasn't entirely sure she believed in. i never felt that she had a strong belief in the cause. evelyn felt like someone who wanted to rebel against the corrupt system more to satisfy her rebellious whims rather than for an actual belief in the cause. during the second half of the book, all thoughts of the suffragettes were pushed aside to make room for a romance that i wasn't even sure if evelyn wanted. even all of her suffering in the prison and everything that came before that was basically hindered invalid, because she almost immediately apologised for and regretted all of it. she ended the book as the housewife that she previously never wanted to be, and that anticlimactic ending for her left a bitterness in my mouth. all of her fights and struggles for freedom were for nothing, and she was left to live out the rest of her days minding over teddy. i had just hoped for more for her. (i would like to note that i have nothing against housewives. my problem lies in the fact that evelyn previously explicitly and frequently stated that she never wanted to be a housewife). she was someone i enjoyed reading about at the start, but not so much towards the end as her focus turned to being a housewife rather than fighting for independence.
as mentioned earlier, although i had hoped that the focus would be on the suffragette movement rather than on the war, i was very pleased the with the discussions of war that the book brought up. it showed the impact that ww1 had on women, men, children, suffragettes, the wealthy, and the poor. it accurately and honestly showed the damage of war and the impact it had on everyone, not pulling any punches on the harshness of war. the conversations on violence and peace were also very well done, exploring both viewpoints effectively.
sadly, i was hoping for more diversity in a book that i would have expected a lot of diversity in already. the f/f relationship representation was great, but i don't recall any active poc characters in the whole book. it was fabulously diverse in it's representation of the lgbtq community and class differences, but severely lacked in the representation of poc characters. the book would have greatly benefited if it had represented all women in the movement, not only white women. the portrayal of a woc and the struggles she would have faced would have truly increased the impact of the book. i also noticed a definite lack of female friendships in a book that i would have expected to be filled with them, which was disappointing too. another complaint of mine was that i would have hoped for there to have been more on page action, rather than being told second-hand what things the suffragettes had done.
things a bright girl can do was an important and powerful book that provided a much needed insight into the fight women went through in order to get the right to vote. it wasn't perfect, but it was moving and insightful. although the ending was quite anticlimactic and slightly disappointing, i can forgive the book because it had a very powerful first half. i enjoyed my time reading this book and would recommend it to anyone looking to gain more knowledge on the suffragette movement!
the book did an amazing job of familiarising me with the suffragette movement and the lead up to the great war. it gave me a sense of what it may have been to be part of the fight for an independent and free life, and also provided a much needed insight into the part women played in the war. however, overall i was simply hoping for a little more from it.
the emotional power of the novel never really it the mark. this may have been due to the multiple perspectives, because it often felt that the author had to dilute the story slightly to make room for everyone's story. the book was still very impactful, but just not at the level i was hoping for. i also felt that too much of the focus was on the war rather than on the suffragette movement. i realise that this is how things were historically, but the fact that the book focused so much on the war took away a lot of the impact on women's rights it was meant to have. the suffragette theme was lost halfway through and didn't seem to be found again, which was incredibly frustrating because it was very strong in the first portion of the book.
but although this book wasn't perfect, it was a book that was needed. books following the suffragette movement intended for young adults are severely lacking, and i am very glad i read this. it was extremely informative without ever feeling too dense or ever info-dumping. reading about this movement was utterly inspiring and very powerful, even though i had a few complaints. it was informative, it made me think, and it made me very grateful to all these women for fighting this battle for us. it was crazy to read this book as a girl living in 2019, knowing that the level of injustice women faced in this book was accepted as the norm. though, it was also incredibly inspiring to recognise just the amount of change that has occurred over the past hundred years, and made me genuinely hopeful for a future society where men and women may have complete and total equality.
the characters were likeable enough, but weren't anything special for me. two of the main characters never interacted with the other main character, which was a little odd and i felt the story would have benefited if their stories had somehow intertwined. neither storyline felt like it was done full justice and often felt like they were two separate ones. a lot in this book just felt underdeveloped. the characters, the relationships, and the plot lines were all rushed in order to make this book fit four years, making for a patchy read that didn't feel complete.
nell has grown up in poverty and hardship in a large family. she is hard and strong and stubborn in a world that teaches women to be soft and weak and passive. she is also implied to be trans, and it was really great to see that representation in this novel. i liked nell well enough, but she sometimes had a the habit of aggravating me slightly. may, in complete contrast, has grown up fairly wealthy with her mother. her and her mother are both pacificts, quakers, suffragists, and feminists, and both have long campaigned for equality and peace. may is also incredibly stubborn, set in her belief that she is always right. may is a character that a lot of people found annoying, but who i quite liked. i appreciated her character growth and development throughout the book too. the inclusion of two gay suffragettes made my heart incredibly happy, even if their romance was a little too insta-love for my liking. it wasn't my favourite f/f romance out there, but it was very heart warming to see two seemingly unlikely people come together and find comfort and acceptance with one another.
evelyn was a character that i had mixed feelings on. i liked her well enough at the beginning, but i wasn't quite sure by the end. i think my main problem with evelyn was that i couldn't really get a grasp of who she was or what she believed in. this made sense, as evelyn herself seemed to have problems with figuring it out herself. however, it did make it hard to form any kind of connection to her or understand her on a deep level. even her involvement in the suffragette movement felt forced and like something she wasn't entirely sure she believed in. i never felt that she had a strong belief in the cause. evelyn felt like someone who wanted to rebel against the corrupt system more to satisfy her rebellious whims rather than for an actual belief in the cause. during the second half of the book, all thoughts of the suffragettes were pushed aside to make room for a romance that i wasn't even sure if evelyn wanted. even all of her suffering in the prison and everything that came before that was basically hindered invalid, because she almost immediately apologised for and regretted all of it. she ended the book as the housewife that she previously never wanted to be, and that anticlimactic ending for her left a bitterness in my mouth. all of her fights and struggles for freedom were for nothing, and she was left to live out the rest of her days minding over teddy. i had just hoped for more for her. (i would like to note that i have nothing against housewives. my problem lies in the fact that evelyn previously explicitly and frequently stated that she never wanted to be a housewife). she was someone i enjoyed reading about at the start, but not so much towards the end as her focus turned to being a housewife rather than fighting for independence.
as mentioned earlier, although i had hoped that the focus would be on the suffragette movement rather than on the war, i was very pleased the with the discussions of war that the book brought up. it showed the impact that ww1 had on women, men, children, suffragettes, the wealthy, and the poor. it accurately and honestly showed the damage of war and the impact it had on everyone, not pulling any punches on the harshness of war. the conversations on violence and peace were also very well done, exploring both viewpoints effectively.
sadly, i was hoping for more diversity in a book that i would have expected a lot of diversity in already. the f/f relationship representation was great, but i don't recall any active poc characters in the whole book. it was fabulously diverse in it's representation of the lgbtq community and class differences, but severely lacked in the representation of poc characters. the book would have greatly benefited if it had represented all women in the movement, not only white women. the portrayal of a woc and the struggles she would have faced would have truly increased the impact of the book. i also noticed a definite lack of female friendships in a book that i would have expected to be filled with them, which was disappointing too. another complaint of mine was that i would have hoped for there to have been more on page action, rather than being told second-hand what things the suffragettes had done.
things a bright girl can do was an important and powerful book that provided a much needed insight into the fight women went through in order to get the right to vote. it wasn't perfect, but it was moving and insightful. although the ending was quite anticlimactic and slightly disappointing, i can forgive the book because it had a very powerful first half. i enjoyed my time reading this book and would recommend it to anyone looking to gain more knowledge on the suffragette movement!
katypotaty0908's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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? Yes
5.0
genstrong's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Surprisingly delightful. I enjoyed reading this as an adult. Funny, clever and heart warming. It felt historically accurate while relating to a contemporary reader.
bookish_redpanda15's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
booksandlemonsquash's review
3.0
I liked lots of things about this book, the characters are interesting, you learn about the timeline without it being preachy and the relationships are good. However. It felt like two stories, the two threads don't interact. Evelyn and Teddy is probably my least favourite, but I love the stuff with her indignation and her family at the start, and all the stuff towards the end - it does an excellent job of portraying the war and is really poignant. I wanted to know what they did next though especially in relation to Teddy. (Wow that's a hard one to discuss without spoilers!) I much preferred the tale of May and Nell, or more specifically, Nell. May is a naive and self involved so and so half the time! Nell is excellent, and the story of her family and her relationships would have been great for me on their own. While not perfect, I really liked her character and her growth. I loved her early interactions with May and her discoveries about herself toward the end. I think I'd have quite liked her story, with May as a side character, more fleshed out as the book on its own. A good read, but nothing stellar for me sadly, it's a bit let down by telling two stories that are only related by timeline and therefore don't interact enough to be relevant.
elliejmatthews's review
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
titanic's review against another edition
2.0
[ 2.5 stars ] SPOILERS?
i’m not a fan of historical fiction, so why i picked this up i have no clue.
but i truly dislike may; the nerve of her asking nell (the girl she supposedly loves) to not take the only job she could get during a time of war when her family is freezing & starving, because she doesn’t want her making bombs because she’s a quaker and then getting mad when she does take the job. disgusting. death to may and the higher class, hmph.
also lov u teddy, mwah!
i’m not a fan of historical fiction, so why i picked this up i have no clue.
but i truly dislike may; the nerve of her asking nell (the girl she supposedly loves) to not take the only job she could get during a time of war when her family is freezing & starving, because she doesn’t want her making bombs because she’s a quaker and then getting mad when she does take the job. disgusting. death to may and the higher class, hmph.
also lov u teddy, mwah!
doctorsophie's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
libbygmo's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0