jmatkinson1 's review for:

The Eights by Joanna Miller
5.0
emotional hopeful informative medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

1920 and as the country recovers from the War, Oxford is accepting the first female students who will gain degrees.  For four of them billeted together at St Hugh's it is the chance to break away - Otto, a socialite desperate to escape convention, Beatrice, the daughter of a famous mother wanting to be herself, Dora, suffering devastating loss and Marianne, a clever girl with secrets.  Over their first year the girls find friendship in the face of adversity and prejudice.
Superficially, this is a pleasant enough historical fiction novel but it does have a lot of hidden depth.  The characters are not too stereotypical but act as great vehicles for bigger themes to be explored and the setting is cleverly placed to hit radical changes in society.  Overall a very promising novel.