The Saturday Evening Girls Club by Jane Healey was recommended to me in one of my Facebook author groups when I asked for books that were written around the World War I time period. I recently realized that I have spent much of my Historical Fiction reading in books based around World War II, and I am branching out. (Obviously not very much, because now I’m reading a bunch of books from that time period, but it’s progress.)
One of the first things I noticed about this book was its emphasis on the power and potential of women. This book clearly establishes that women can be successful and should be able to pursue the life they want. I did at times wonder how accurate some of the attitudes and actions of the main characters were. Many of the female characters are assertive, outspoken, and take some risks that I am not confident would have been so prevalent at the time. (Yes, I realize that at any time period one could find women who possessed these traits, but the book had a whole conglomerate of them.) Even though I question how realistic that idea is, I loved it. It made me feel empowered and inspired by how women were able to become successful on their own or perhaps with the assistance of others, often other powerful women.
I loved how the book emphasized that people’s dreams and happy endings can look different. (I’m also noticing that is a pattern in books I’ve read recently.)
I’ve seen other reviews on this book that had negative opinions about the book’s few historical inaccuracies. I don’t understand people who expect Historical Fiction to be 100% accurate. We are talking about fiction right? It’s not real… It’s a fake story inspired by real events. I like how the author used a real club and some of its real members to build an uplifting story. Also, it has several romances, and I’m a sucker for that stuff.
I feel no obligation to be consistent in how I give ratings on reviews, so this time I’m going to do it like a teacher. I would give this book a decent B-, maybe an 83% or so. I cared about the characters, and I find myself wanting to know more about them and how their stories end up after the book ends.
Dawn Ludlow 