Not at all well written and was nothing like I was hoping or expecting., Very disappointing,

I've never really been a fan of historical fiction before so I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this story but I was engrossed from the very start. It was absolutely fascinating reading the two storylines from such an important time in history, especially the changes in women's lives. I think we take the advances in women's rights for granted far too much and the battle that one character had to have just to be allowed to go to university really hit home and made me think. Beautifully, sensitively written, I would recommend this to any modern teen or grown woman, I'm sure they would love it and also learn stuff too!

I wasn't sure how to begin this review as even though I really enjoyed this book, I did struggle with it a bit; whether that was because of the difficult subject matter or because I generally struggle with historical fiction I'm not sure. Even though it is fiction, I actually came out with a better understanding of the emancipation of women in 1900s Britain and I loved every second of it.

So much goes on in this book; as well as following three characters on their journey for the emancipation of women, we get to see the impact of WW1 on the different social classes and respective neighbourhoods that the girls live in. The book spans the period of five years - four of those being during the course of the war - and it is so immersive throughout that you actually feel as though you are there with each of the heroines. I especially enjoyed reading the earlier part of the book where we see Evelyn campaigning with the Suffragettes as this was where my eyes were opened the most; I knew the bare bones of the campaigns from high school history but reading the techniques that were deployed in prison was harrowing to say the least.

I was a bit worried going into this that I would have a difficult time keeping track of the three heroines separate storylines (especially as as far as I could tell, neither Nell or May actually met Evelyn) but I was pleasantly surprised. If I am being honest, I would have liked another POV to have been added. We see in Nell’s POV that the East End was culturally diverse and I would have loved to have seen this period of British history through a woman that wasn't white but that is the only gripe I have with the books as whole.

I cannot recommend this book enough. If nothing else, read it for the gay suffragettes (there is the argument that Nell could be trans too, at the very least genderqueer). Please just read it. It is one of my favourite books I have read so far in 2017 which is something I never thought I would say about a historical novel!

This is just a wonderful book. I loved reading about the struggles, especially for women, they experienced at that time. It's unlike any book I've read before.

I loved this book, it blended so many of the books for adults about this era (Vera Brittain, Pat Barker etc) into a moving story about how three teenagers dealt with WW1 and learned about themselves. Lots of plot strands but all cleverly written and like so many in 1918 and end happened just maybe not the happy ever after one...