Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig

Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig – Audio

Book Blurb:

A scholarship girl from Brooklyn, Kate Moran thought she found a place among Smith’s Mayflower descendants, only to have her illusions dashed the summer after graduation. When charismatic alumna Betsy Rutherford delivers a rousing speech at the Smith College Club in April of 1917, looking for volunteers to help French civilians decimated by the German war machine, Kate is too busy earning her living to even think of taking up the call. But when her former best friend Emmeline Van Alden reaches out and begs her to take the place of a girl who had to drop out, Kate reluctantly agrees to join the new Smith College Relief Unit.
Four months later, Kate and seventeen other Smithies, including two trailblazing female doctors, set sail for France. The volunteers are armed with money, supplies, and good intentions—all of which immediately go astray. The chateau that was to be their headquarters is a half-burnt ruin. The villagers they meet are in desperate straits: women and children huddling in damp cellars, their crops destroyed and their wells poisoned. Despite constant shelling from the Germans, French bureaucracy, and the threat of being ousted by the British army, the Smith volunteers bring welcome aid—and hope—to the region. But can they survive their own differences? As they cope with the hardships and terrors of the war, Kate and her colleagues find themselves navigating old rivalries and new betrayals which threaten the very existence of the Unit.

My Review: 4 stars

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Band of Sisters was the perfect blend of friendship, courage, goodwill and sisterhood. Who knew, if not for Lauren Willig, that the women of Smith College had formed a corps to aid the French people who have been ravaged by the war.

The story focuses on a handful of the women in the group in which each of them is facing their own emotional demons. Whether it’s a loved one they left behind, insecurities about themselves, fears for their safety or relationships that were stunted, they all come together to serve a greater purpose. These women went through immense trials and tribulations that Willig serves up with exquisite detail which allows it all to come alive in the reader’s imagination. From their uniforms, the sleeping arrangements, the chickens (not the hens), the parties, the patients, the French civilians and the romances that ensued, these women went through hell and back.

The two main characters, Kate and Emmie, were expertly drawn and grew leaps and bounds as the book progressed. They found a way to overcome their issues with one another through good communication and understanding. I listened to this book, and it was performed by one my favorite narrators, Julia Whelan. Her voice isn’t just smooth as silk, but she’s also a master of expression. She brought so much to the life to the characters.