I'll Be Seeing You

Karen Triplett does a great job in creating this great historical fiction plot. I enjoyed getting to know each woman and what was going on with them in this novel. They all felt like they were real people and enjoyed getting to know them.

Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This was an interesting story about five young women attending college in Washington state in the early 1960’s, this was an era of the beginning of unrest about Vietnam, hippies, drugs, premarital sex, birth control, and women’s rights. The story focused on each of the women individually and as a group. I enjoyed this story although at times it was difficult to follow each individual story and keep it all straight.

It took me a while to get into the rhythm of this author’s writing style, but once I did become engaged, I could not put the book down. Perhaps it is because the cultural events of this time (1963-1967) are imbedded in my own personal remembrances. There are some challenges in tracking the intermingling stories of five women protagonists as their bond of friendship develops on the University of Washington campus. At times the transitions felt abrupt with the storyline missing depth, skipping over some aspects that would have enriched the character development. Nonetheless, I found the book a fascinating exploration of the evolving women’s movement; the turmoil of the civil rights movement; the disillusionment of the assassination of JFK; the heartbreaking impact of the Vietnam War; and the altruism of the Peace Corps – all viewed through the viewpoints of these women as they mature from naïve freshman to young adults on the cusp of their careers. Although it is a work of fiction, it also has the quality of a memoir based on the author’s own experience as a UW student and the extensive research documented in the end notes.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

Karen Triplett’s novel I’ll Be Seeing You follows five women attending at the University of Washington from 1963 to 1967. Each chapter focuses on one woman individually and incorporates parts of their story with others as a group. We see their friendship form and each woman grow as individuals. This is a time where the world was changing: Vietnam war, protests, equal rights, fashion, drugs, premarital sex, birth control, and women’s rights. Triplett navigates all these “current events” well into the storylines of these career-oriented young women. The limitations and expectations placed on women in the early sixties and the cultural events of that time were well portrayed.

Triplett has a nice way of telling a story, at times with all the characters it might have been confusing, and she did not always let you into what they were feeling, but you had an inclination. I foresee some great books coming our way from Triplett 

Thank you @netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'll Be Seeing You by Karen Triplett is set during the turbulent 60s. Five women become friends at the University of Washington and experience the biggest events of the era: the assassination of JFK, the Vietnam War, the fight for the ERA, the introduction of The Pill, civil rights protests. It was a fascinating look back at US history and a great nook. Highly recommend!