Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles
Reviewed By: Rebecca Cox, Business Manager
Genre: Fiction
Suggested Age: Adults
What is This Book About? Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade highlights the efforts of librarian Jessie “Kit” Carson to bring children’s literature to the devastated French communities during World War I. The story is told through a dual perspective of Kit in 1918 and Wendy Peterson, an aspiring writer and New York Public Library employee as she stumbles across information about Kit and the CARDs – the American Committee for Devastated France founded by millionaire Anne Morgan. The book follows Kit’s journey in France in tandem with Wendy’s of trying to discover what became of Kit in the wake of the war. The characters are based on real people who were apart of the international group of women who helped to rebuild French communities.
My Review: I could not put this book down! I’m not always a fan of the dual perspective narration but the way that the stories weave together as Wendy is attempting to track down what happened to Kit was masterful. Even though this is historical fiction, it told a powerful story of the women who stepped up to rebuild communities and care for women and children during and after World War I. It spoke of loss, of love, and of the strength that it takes to move on in the face of devastation, both personal and global. A must-read all the way to the author’s note where she details the real life people, places and events that inspired her narrative.
Three Words that Describe this Book: Inspiring, Historical, Compelling
Give this a try if you like… The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles, The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan, The Lost Book of Bonn by Brianna Labuskes
Rating: 5/5
