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passionatereader78's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is an inspirational read. It will evoke many emotions. I love the writing style. I love that the chapters rotate between the sisters and you experience the war from both of their points of view. The sisters are inspiring in this book. Ruth wants to be a doctor but her father has repeatedly told her women are nurses and men are doctors. Elise is a great mechanic even if she is only allowed to work on her father's car. When John a family friend stops by on his way to deploy to France he enlightens Ruth. He tells her medical schools are accepting women to be trained to become doctors. Elise and Ruth's father becomes enraged at Ruth's ambition. The sisters decide to join John in France and help with the war efforts. Ruth believes she will be accepted to medical school if she can gain some experience in the war. Elise can be an ambulance driver and mechanic. The sisters believe they will be together and can protect each other. They don't realize how much destruction and pain the war will bring.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, War, Violence, Gun violence, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Car accident, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Pregnancy
karaklos's review
2.0
When I saw Sisters of the Great War, a WWI book in a sea of WWII books, I was immediately interested. Ruth and Elise, two American sisters decide to volunteer to serve in the war as a nurse and ambulance driver.
The girls are quickly thrown into the thick of things and immediately question whether they made the right decision. The descriptions of the battlefield hospitals, their living conditions, and the constant threat of being bombed were done quite well. The piling up of severed limbs and doctors making decisions on who to save and who to let go were extremely difficult to read. Much of the book contains rather grisly descriptions (which I guess is to be expected) but is not my cup of tea. I wanted to know more about the historical aspects of the time we were in and to see more relationship development within the medical unit.
As a nurse, Ruth is able to assist with surgeries and becomes adept at performing them on her own. I had a hard time believing she would be allowed to do this and that she was capable of it. I felt like we were told “Ruth is a capable surgeon now” without seeing how she got there. I needed to see her mind at work while she learned how to perform surgeries.
I do not generally enjoy romance in books unless they are well-developed and subtle. In this case, the two love stories were front and center to the story but were not developed very well. I had zero interest in either one.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The girls are quickly thrown into the thick of things and immediately question whether they made the right decision. The descriptions of the battlefield hospitals, their living conditions, and the constant threat of being bombed were done quite well. The piling up of severed limbs and doctors making decisions on who to save and who to let go were extremely difficult to read. Much of the book contains rather grisly descriptions (which I guess is to be expected) but is not my cup of tea. I wanted to know more about the historical aspects of the time we were in and to see more relationship development within the medical unit.
As a nurse, Ruth is able to assist with surgeries and becomes adept at performing them on her own. I had a hard time believing she would be allowed to do this and that she was capable of it. I felt like we were told “Ruth is a capable surgeon now” without seeing how she got there. I needed to see her mind at work while she learned how to perform surgeries.
I do not generally enjoy romance in books unless they are well-developed and subtle. In this case, the two love stories were front and center to the story but were not developed very well. I had zero interest in either one.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
staceyhopkins's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-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
4.5
kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
Sisters of the Great War by Suzanne Feldman is a powerful novel that highlights the dangerous jobs undertaken by women during World War I.
In 1914, sisters Ruth and Elise Duncan live with their widowed father and grandfather in Baltimore. Both young women have unconventional choices for their careers. Elise is mechanically inclined and her physician father indulges her by allowing her to work on his car. During her childhood, Ruth tagged along father to his medical practice and she wants to follow in his footsteps. Her dream is dashed by his insistence women are nurses not doctors. The sisters’ grandfather introduces them to John Doweling, the son of a British family friend. As World War I intensifies, John completes medical school early in order to join the military. As Ruth contemplates her future, she and Elise volunteer to work at the temporary hospital in Ypres, Belgium. Close to the brutal fighting, Ruth and Elise’s lives are forever altered by their experiences.
Ruth is bitterly disappointed at her father’s decree that she become a nurse. Meeting John is transformational in more than one way and she yearns for the opportunity to pursue her career aspiration. Ruth can never seem to please her father, so after an angry encounter, she sets her plans in motion to work as a nurse in Ypres. But nothing in her life can prepare for the conditions she finds at the field hospital. Terrified yet committed, Ruth’s aptitude for surgery is put to use as wounded soldiers pour into the operating room. She and John are reunited and their friendship soon turns much deeper.
Elise’s interest in working on cars is unorthodox yet she cannot give up doing what she loves. She will not allow Ruth to go to Ypres on her own and they set off on their journey together. Elise has never really experienced any type of hardship so she is shocked at the conditions she finds upon her arrival. She is a hard worker and her fellow ambulance drivers soon come to rely on her mechanical abilities. Elise forms a close friendship with fellow driver Hera Montraine and the two are soon inseparable.
Sisters of the Great War is a riveting novel that is incredibly fascinating. The sisters' anguish, the unbearable conditions and heartrending decisions play out against the vivid backdrop of the hospital and raging battles at the front. Ruth and Elise and well-developed characters that grow and evolve during their transformational years during World War I. Suzanne Feldman’s meticulous research results in an educational and unforgettable novel about women who volunteered to fill precarious jobs during the Great War.
Sisters of the Great War by Suzanne Feldman is a powerful novel that highlights the dangerous jobs undertaken by women during World War I.
In 1914, sisters Ruth and Elise Duncan live with their widowed father and grandfather in Baltimore. Both young women have unconventional choices for their careers. Elise is mechanically inclined and her physician father indulges her by allowing her to work on his car. During her childhood, Ruth tagged along father to his medical practice and she wants to follow in his footsteps. Her dream is dashed by his insistence women are nurses not doctors. The sisters’ grandfather introduces them to John Doweling, the son of a British family friend. As World War I intensifies, John completes medical school early in order to join the military. As Ruth contemplates her future, she and Elise volunteer to work at the temporary hospital in Ypres, Belgium. Close to the brutal fighting, Ruth and Elise’s lives are forever altered by their experiences.
Ruth is bitterly disappointed at her father’s decree that she become a nurse. Meeting John is transformational in more than one way and she yearns for the opportunity to pursue her career aspiration. Ruth can never seem to please her father, so after an angry encounter, she sets her plans in motion to work as a nurse in Ypres. But nothing in her life can prepare for the conditions she finds at the field hospital. Terrified yet committed, Ruth’s aptitude for surgery is put to use as wounded soldiers pour into the operating room. She and John are reunited and their friendship soon turns much deeper.
Elise’s interest in working on cars is unorthodox yet she cannot give up doing what she loves. She will not allow Ruth to go to Ypres on her own and they set off on their journey together. Elise has never really experienced any type of hardship so she is shocked at the conditions she finds upon her arrival. She is a hard worker and her fellow ambulance drivers soon come to rely on her mechanical abilities. Elise forms a close friendship with fellow driver Hera Montraine and the two are soon inseparable.
Sisters of the Great War is a riveting novel that is incredibly fascinating. The sisters' anguish, the unbearable conditions and heartrending decisions play out against the vivid backdrop of the hospital and raging battles at the front. Ruth and Elise and well-developed characters that grow and evolve during their transformational years during World War I. Suzanne Feldman’s meticulous research results in an educational and unforgettable novel about women who volunteered to fill precarious jobs during the Great War.
309804490's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
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
latisha's review against another edition
3.0
The WLW storyline felt like such an afterthought, gave us absolutely nothing. What a disappointment.
sab_rose's review against another edition
2.0
What I am going to say about this book might confuse people but.....the ending was too happy.
It was too much of running into the sunset and everyone lived happily ever after. Yawn
I was fixin' to give this book at least 4 stars but then the ending hit and it was such a disappointment. Don't get me wrong, I love stories that end happily but this one was unrealistic.
It was too much of running into the sunset and everyone lived happily ever after. Yawn
I was fixin' to give this book at least 4 stars but then the ending hit and it was such a disappointment. Don't get me wrong, I love stories that end happily but this one was unrealistic.
Spoiler
You mean to tell me that Elise and Hera go on to live their best life in love and live in France in the 1900s? Come on. As much as I would loved that, how realistic is that?lilaclicoricetissie's review
4.0
Sisters of the Great War is the story of Ruth and Elise Duncan, two sisters who enlist in the army during WWI. They have their reasons to do so, whether it’s pursuing a dream or escaping from their father’s oppressive household; what awaits them in Ypres, though, has nothing to do with ideals, morals, or the need to do the right thing.
[Keep reading @ Bookshelves & Teacups]
[Keep reading @ Bookshelves & Teacups]
erinelizabeth8857's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
ari_reading_'s review
4.0
3.5 to 4 stars
A page turner and interesting. I always want to learn and read more about The Great War.
Ruth was annoying, especially when it came to John.
Queer representation is so rare in time periods like this, so I was surprised it was included.
A page turner and interesting. I always want to learn and read more about The Great War.
Ruth was annoying, especially when it came to John.
Queer representation is so rare in time periods like this, so I was surprised it was included.