Review by Booklist Review
Chiaverini (The Women's March, 2021) casts well-deserved light on a little-known group: the women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, these "switchboard soldiers" responded to General Pershing's call for telephone operators to serve near the front lines, connecting calls between military commanders and troops in the field. Women had not yet been given the right to vote, let alone enlist, but the speed and efficiency of the American "hello girls'' far outpaced that of their male military counterparts. Chiaverini seamlessly blends fact and fiction as she illuminates the experiences of these heroic women, many of whom served near the front lines during key Allied offensives, through the perspectives of Grace Banker, a real-life AT & T switchboard instructor who earned a Distinguished Service Medal for her work in the Signal Corps, and her fictional colleagues Valerie DeSmedt and Marie Miossec. In addition to German bombs, the women also contended with the spreading influenza pandemic and rampant sexism. While they were not officially recognized as military veterans until more than 60 years after their service, the women of the Signal Corps paved the way for future generations of women. Chiaverini's many readers will appreciate her latest strong female characters as will fans of Jennifer Egan's Manhattan Beach (2017).
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Chiaverini's enchanting latest (after The Women's March) highlights the heroic efforts of a group of women who helped the U.S. war effort during WWI. After the U.S. joins the war in 1917, General Pershing discovers there's a lack of adequate phone service in Europe. The Army then recruits French-and-English-speaking American women as telephone operators to serve in France in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, including Barnard-educated telephone operator Grace Banker, talented French vocalist Marie Miossec, and Belgian-born Valerie DeSmedt from Los Angeles. After undergoing training in New York, the women travel to France by ship, encountering the dangerous waters patrolled by German U-boats. Marie, who met a soldier on the train to New York, keeps writing to him, holding out hope that they may reunite after the war ends. As the women work tirelessly to ensure lines of communication remain open, they discover the meaning of true friendship and the resilience needed to live in sparse quarters while working long hours in less than ideal circumstances. Chiaverini brings her singular characters to life, including real historical figures, as they become united in the quest to serve their country. Fans of historical fiction will be captivated. Agent: Maria Massie, Massie & McQuilkin Literary. (July)
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Review by Library Journal Review
So much new information is packed into this story that becomes the best kind of history lesson. In 1917, Marie in Cincinnati, Grace in New York City, and Vivian in Los Angeles are all young women working a switchboard at their local telephone company. When the U.S. Army Signal Corps sends out a call for experienced operators fluent in French, they were among the few able to pass rigorous enlistment examinations. Once deployed, the women found themselves widely dispersed and facing unique challenges, but always connected. Chiaverini (Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters; "Elm Creek Quilts" series) makes it easy to identify with and care about these women who come from three regions of the United States and have differing familial and cultural backgrounds but share the motivation of patriotism for multiple countries. The dangers of war are neatly integrated into daily lives and geographic locations, and Chiaverini also addresses gender and race inequities and the insidious dangers of the spread of influenza on overseas troop transport. VERDICT Offer supplemental resources for further exploration of these groundbreaking women, and how they were treated after the end of World War I, to keep avid history readers engaged.--Stacey Hayman
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A historical tale focuses on three women whose key roles as telephone operators helped lead the Allies to victory in World War I. Chiaverini's latest opens with Gen. John Pershing's 1918 call to arms for the "young women of America" to enroll in the American Expeditionary Forces in France. It was no secret that the most talented telephone operators at the time were female--the job required nimbleness, steady nerves, and a "smile in her voice"--and who better to translate French and English phone commands than American "hello girls"? New Jersey resident Grace Banker feels called to enlist on account of her French studies at Barnard, and her strong sense of patriotic duty soon promotes her to chief operator of the Signal Corps' First Unit to France. Valerie DeSmedt, a Los Angeles resident, hopes to honor her hometown of Brussels, which recently bore the kaiser's devastating onslaught. French singer Marie Miossec has only been in America for two years because of her father's transfer to the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and she dashes a career in opera in order to aid the two countries she calls home. These three women, along with their fellow "switchboard soldiers," embark on a harrowing journey to France in wartime, experiencing the dangers of U-boats, outbreaks of the Spanish flu, and sexism: "You're a fine soldier, for a girl." Chiaverini weaves the intersecting threads of these brave women's lives together, highlighting their deep sense of pride and duty: "I might have said something about wanting to slap the kaiser," says one operator named Cora, "and since the army wouldn't let me carry a rifle, I'd fight the Germans with the telephone." Grace, Marie, and Valerie are strong characters, and their tender romantic relationships fit neatly among details of their war efforts. While a bit overlong and fraught with extraneous day-to-day minutiae, Chiaverini's story will strike a chord with history buffs, and many will be surprised that such an essential crew of soldiers went virtually unrecognized after the war. An eye-opening and detailed novel about remarkable female soldiers. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
