Hi Everyone,
Today I want to share with you a wonderful book I read and really enjoyed. You will have probably noticed I now label each review post with whatever genre it is. I hope this makes it easier to find and clearer to see what might appeal to you. This book actually was shortlisted for the Carnegie Award 2019, which is interesting seeing as I read nearly all of the 2020 ones.
Things A Bright Girl Can Do is set before and during WW1. It is about three fictional suffragettes who each have different struggles. On one hand you have Nell, a tomboy girl from a poor background who meets May, a pacifist and proud suffragist. A romance develops between them. Then completely separately, you have Evelyn from a more upper class social position. She goes against her parents to fight for her education with the suffragettes. She wants to go to university and have more of a future than becoming a housewife. She goes to extreme lengths to get what she sets her heart on. But all their dreams are crushed with the arrival of war.
My favourite was probably May as she had very interesting views and ideas.
The one thing I would have wanted would be for Evelyn to meet Nell and May and for them to become friends. But overall it was engaging, inspiring and really eye-opening to the thoughts and feelings of those at the time. I loved seeing their different perspectives on war and what it meant to them not only as individuals but also and most importantly women. Their families also all have very different outlooks on the world and that's just fascinating.
There were a few writing issues that didn't quite flow or work for me and I did find it hard to remember who each of the characters were at the start but once I got into it, it was fine.
I would recommend if you want to learn more about the suffragettes and that general time period. I found it really engrossing and I think anyone can enjoy it.
I'll be back soon with another review!
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