A review by theyarnling
When We Had Wings: A Story of the Angels of Bataan by Kristina McMorris, Susan Meissner, Ariel Lawhon

4.5

 

When We Had Wings by Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris and Susan Meissner 

Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld 

 

Overall 4.5 

Spice 0 

 

·       Angels of Bataan 

·       First American Female POWs 

·       Engaging and Emotional 

·       Intense But Not Overly Graphic 

·       Greatest Generation 

·       Multi-POV 

·       Diverse 

 

BIG thank you to Harper Muse and NetGalley for the Audio ARC of When We Had Wings by Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris and Susan Meissner, Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld 

 

This brilliantly written story is about the nurses who endured capture during the Japanese Occupation of the Philippians. I appreciated the multiple POVs, particularly the story of Filipina nurse Lita Capel. It can be easy to focus only on the American experience of World War II however the addition of Lita keeps the story diverse and engaging. This book could have also delved into the depressing and horrific quite easily however it stays hopeful and though intense it is not overly graphic. I appreciate the push in publishing recently of these little-known stories of the women of WWII.  The narrator has a  Huskey Mid-Atlantic Accent perfect for Historical Fiction however it was hard to differentiate the multiple POVs as the narrator didn't change up her cadence or dramatization. I think this book would have benefitted from having multiple Narrators