Cover Image: Dear Mrs. Bird

Dear Mrs. Bird

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Member Reviews

Charming, fun, wonderfully written. This is a fun story perfect for fans of the Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society with a sweet sense of humor.

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Spunky Emmy dreams of becoming a war correspondent. Living in London in 1940, she spends her days at work and her evenings manning the telephone for the Fire Brigade. When a newspaper posts an ad for a part-time position, Emmy knows her ship has come in!

Emmy secures the position but it isn't quite what she expected. In her excitement during the interview, she hadn't quite realized that she would be typing up replies for an advice column in a women's magazine. While not the journalistic dream she had hoped, Emmy does become interested in the lives of the women who write to Mrs. Henrietta Bird. So many broken hearts and difficulties faced by jilted girfriends or worried wives of enlisted men. Unfortunately, Mrs. Bird, ever prim and proper, deams most topics Unacceptable and instructs Emmy to cut up any correspondence that relates to any number of off-limit topics.

Day by day as Emmy opens letter after letter of women needing help, she decides to smuggle home a letter to answer herself. That sets into motion a chain of events that lead to the threat of termination. On the personal front, Emmy has had her ups and downs with romance, strained friendships, while being a witness to unspeakable tragedy during the bombings in London.

Readers will love Emmy's enthusiasm and willingness to do her part for the war effort. Emmy meets each new challenge in her life with humor and aplomb. Author A. J. Pearce has created an endearing heroine that readers will adore. I hated to reach the last page and sincerely hope there will be a sequel!

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of Dear Mrs. Bird from NetGalley for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received.

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I am late to the game but really enjoyed DEAR MRS. BIRD by A.J. Pearce. This novel follows Emmy, a twenty-something trying to break into the men’s world of journalism during the war. She ends up working for Henrietta Bird, who writes an advice column. Only Mrs. Bird doesn’t like anything unpleasant in her letters, so she doesn’t answer most of them. Emmy is compelled to step in and the novel is about what happens when she does. The book captures the uncertainty, the loss of innocence, and more through the letters that are discarded. I was also not familiar with the chaos of the air raids in London d during the war so there was a lot of description in this book that shocked me. The author does a good job of setting the scene as Emmy also volunteers at the Fire Station where folks call in the raids. There are definitely sad parts to this book and funny ones. The first part of this book read a little slow so I wasn’t sure what I thought of it but once I got familiar with all the characters, I enjoyed it and the last third of the book was read in one setting.

I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

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I received a digital ARC of Dear Mrs. Bird from Scribner on NetGalley. I’m grateful to Scribner for their generosity and am happy to post this honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis
Emmy Lake, is a small-town girl living in Blitz-sieged London who dreams of being a real journalist. For now, she’s got a respectable job at a law firm, an apartment with her best friend, and her volunteer work answering emergency calls for the Auxiliary Fire Service. She stumbles upon an advertisement for a job in the London Chronicle and promptly applies, visions of her life as a Lady War Correspondent traipsing through her daydreams. Except, the job isn’t with the London Chronicle, it’s with a failing women’s magazine, as a typist for Mrs. Henrietta Bird, an advice columnist who refuses to print answers to anything unpleasant. Emmy bucks up and settles in to her new role, only to find herself dismayed at Mrs. Bird’s refusal to respond to readers with real needs. So Emmy starts to write back. Both expected and unexpected mayhem ensue.

Tone & Writing
Dear Mrs. Bird was, for a book about World War II in which some truly awful things happen, surprisingly cheery in tone. It is rare to find a book about World War II that manages to keep a light tone while writing in an appropriate manner about grave topics. The writing here is charming but never flippant. It’s popular fiction but still flowed and wasn’t jarring like the Lilac Girls was for me.

It’s clear Pearce did her research on women’s magazines and WWII-era slang—indeed, it was the slang that by golly nearly put me over the top at first. It felt a little forced initially and contributed to Emmy seeming a bit too wide-eyed but that feeling dissipated after the first few chapters and I settled in to the language choices. Overall, the book is earnest and hopeful in a way that was reminiscent of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I wouldn’t go so far as to call them a read-alike but I do think someone who enjoys one will enjoy the other.

Emmy
Admittedly, I was a bit taken aback at how light Dear Mrs. Bird started off—Emmy wasn’t clicking with me in the first few chapters and a frivolous female lead in a book about World War II was the last thing I wanted to read. After a few chapters I got used to her and what seemed frivolous about Emmy revealed itself to be an almost-indefatigable optimism combined with a heightened sense of right and wrong. Men and women on the home-fronts of World War II were told to buck up and put on a good face—Emmy is what it looks like when a character takes that encouragement to heart, even as bombs literally fall around her. As the plot progressed, the book took surprisingly poignant turns that made me care deeply about her by the end.

There wasn’t much that I saw in Emmy that I really identified with—even when I’m trying to put on a good face, I can’t be that cheerful or earnest and I can’t see myself making some of the choices she made. With that said, she endeared herself to me and I started wanting the best for her. Though I don’t think Dear Mrs. Bird will become as iconic as Anne of Green Gables, in some ways Emmy reminded me of Anne in her optimism and wanting the best for those around her. Both are clearly intelligent and yet do some frightfully silly things in their quests to do the right thing. If you’re a reader who identifies with Anne (I used to think I was and have sadly had to accept that I’m far too cynical to be Anne. I’m probably Marilla. But I digress)…if you’re a reader who identifies with Anne, you will probably be able to settle in to Dear Mrs. Bird faster than I did because you may identify more quickly with Emmy. If you’re not an Emmy-Anne, Dear Mrs. Bird is still a delightful book. Anne won over Marilla and Emmy won me over.

Recommended
If All the Light We Cannot See is on one end of the WWII literature spectrum and The Nightengale somewhere in the middle, Dear Mrs. Bird is the opposite end from All The Light. The writing is light and the ending unambiguous and not soul-crushingly depressing. I recommend it for readers who enjoy more popular fiction or loved Guernsey.

Notes
Published: July 3, 2018 by Scribner (@scribnerbooks)
Author: A.J. Pearce (@ajpearcewrites)
Date read: July 1, 2018
Rating: 3 ½ stars

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Coming out of my re-reading of The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society, I remembered I had a copy of Dear Mrs. Bird which is touted as:

...a warm, funny, and enormously moving story for fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Unable to return to present-day reading, I dove right into another novel based on a plucky young woman in war-torn London.


The novel opens with Emmy Lake, aged 23, riding the bus home from volunteering as a telephone operator with the Auxiliary Fire Services. She is carrying her handbag, gas mask, and a prized onion for stew. But, most importantly she has seen an advertisement for a position at the London Evening Chronicle. Emmy dreams of becoming a journalist, and with the war on, she imagines herself reporting from dangerous locations. With great excitement she applies for the job and gets the position, only to discover she's actually working for the formidable Mrs. Bird who writes an advice column in the stodgy (and failing) Woman's Friend magazine.

Emmy has to sort the incoming letters discarding any that are deemed as off limits. Mrs. Bird refuses to even read letters contain any mention of premarital, marital, and/or extramarital relations. No political or religious activities or opinions - no Hitler. Mrs. Bird ignores pleas from women who are troubled by Unacceptable Topics, which includes just about everything except questions about cooking or skin care. Everyone else needs to take Brisk Walks and have a Cheerful Attitude.

Emmy, can't bear to see these heartbreaking letters so callously dismissed and decides to respond to a letter, then another, directly, without Mrs. Bird knowing. Okay, you're thinking, I know how this is going to end, how quaint -- it's just a matter of time before Emmy will be found out. Is that it?

Never fear, the author has given us much more. Through the first person narrative, the reader is immediately drawn into Emmy's world. The narrative alternates between her thoughts (almost like reading her journal) and her correspondence. Yes, she's young, full of hope, excitement -- with her emotions in capital letters -- so much is Important or Exciting.

There is humor, with chapter titles such as A Quandary over Next Steps, or A Rumour of Pineapple Chunks

And then there are Emmy's observations at once naive but also insightful:

My mother steadfastly referred to the war as This Silly Business, which made it sound like a mild fracas over a marmalade sponge.

Emmy and her friends are resilient and hard-working young people, making do with rationed food and altering hand-me-down clothing — they're just trying to get on with their lives, their jobs, friendships, going to dances, and love complications ~~ all with the nightly backdrop of bombs falling on their beloved London.

Noise was coming from everywhere at once, as if we were being eaten by the very sound itself

Dear Mrs. Bird also deals with some serious issues. The plight of women left behind in widowhood or with lost lovers, trying to rebuild their lives. We see how post traumatic stress collides with the British stiff upper lip. The loss of lives, rationing, and the weight of constant fear. And there's poor Emmy, in her volunteer fire service role, dispatching her male friends into bombed and burning buildings -- with tragic results.

Emmy is the most fully characterized with her guileless faults and strengths (she reminded me of Jane Austen's Emma) and we see a view of the London Blitz through the eyes of this young woman who wanted more out of life than society was willing to give her. Other characters could have been more fleshed out. Mrs. Bird was especially one-dimensional, I wanted to know her background and character a bit more.

But otherwise, this debut novel is just lovely -- inspiring and intelligent and will have you alternately giggling and crying.

A digital review copy was kindly provided by Scribner via Netgalley


Ms. Pearce was inspired to write this novel after obtaining a women's magazine from 1939. Interview with the author HERE

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Thank you to Netgally and Scribner for the ARC. This was a refreshing read about an ambitious girl, which was must needed after a slew of unreliable narrators in stacks of thrillers.

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What a charming book. I think I need more books like this in my repertoire. Set in London in the 40's during the war, this is a story of a girl who approached life with optimism even in the midst of some really awful things. Emmy Lake has dreams of becoming a war correspondent. She answers a newspaper ad for a part-time writer and unknowingly accepts before realizing that it is just typing responses for a women's magazine for Mrs. Bird, the grumpy old woman behind the advice column, "Henrietta Helps." As you can imagine, hilarity ensues and you will find yourself rooting for sweet Emmy.

This is a great debut novel. I love that the author got the inspiration for this story after she found an old women's magazine from 1939 and read the advice column inside. Back then, women would write in and ask for advice for everything, from cooking to their love lives. This is a really clever way of exploring that a little bit. It is a delightful little book that I would recommend for your next light read.

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What an enjoyable read! In the genre of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Lady Pettigrew’s Last Stand. A more perky and witty, yet sober novel on the times of the Blitz in London as seen through the eyes of a young woman, Emmeline, who dreamed of being a woman war correspondent who had an impact on the world but instead worked as a part-time assistant to a rather dowdy and rigid advice columnist. Emmy also worked as a volunteer for the local fire brigade on her off hours. Notwithstanding not doing what she yearned to do, Emmy did make an impact on the everyday lives of those surviving during the turbulent times of the war, sometimes with unforeseen consequences. The novel probably included every English colloquialism yet so delightful. The characters are all very well defined. This is a debut novel by Ms. Pearce and I look forward to her future works if anything like this. Righto!

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Delightful!

*Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

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Thank you Scribner Books and NetGalley for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Review: I can’t get over how cute this story was. Filled with examples of true friendship, love, & determination. I simply loved this one. Hard topics of WWII presented in a lighthearted way. Humor galore and the perfect mix of strength and vulnerability.

Emmeline (Emmy) Lake, determined to become a Lady War Correspondent, finds herself taking on the role of a typist for an advice columnist instead. As her journey continues, she is faced with the decision to either take a chance and help women she so desperately wants to help or obey Mrs. Bird, who often thought the writers represented “unpleasantness”.

I don’t want to spoil this wonderful book for anyone, so do yourself a favor and pick it up. You won’t be disappointed .

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Books that are about WWII are my jam. So, when I saw that this book was about 1940 London I had to see what it was about. Emmy and her friend Bunty live together and are trying to do their part during this difficult time. Emmy has aspiration of being a War Correspondent, she sees an advert in the paper and goes for an interview. Emmy unfortunately does not pay attention to what is being discussed in the interview and soon finds out she will be a typist for Harriet Bird's advice column. Very quickly Emmy becomes uncomfortable not addressing certain letters that Mrs. Bird deems "unpleasant" but Emmy feels need to be answered.

In those days as the young men went off to War many engaged themselves to the young women only to change their minds and leave others in compromising situations. It was an unsteady and fleeting time. I enjoyed the book. I knew right away what was going to happen and wanted a bit more depth about war. It was a good look into what life was like for young women and families during the time. 'Dear Mrs. Bird' is an entertaining light read that I enjoyed and would recommend.

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4.5 stars rounded up.
I’ve read many books about World War II. Dear Mrs. Bird offers a fresh tale on this fascinating time period.

A 1939 copy of a women’s magazine, especially its Problem Page inspired author A.J. Pearce to create a lively fictional account of London during the Blitz.

The boss, Mrs. Bird, is formidable and strict. She will not respond to Unpleasantness (Married Life, kissing, politics and religion) in her women’s magazine column. The novel, Dear Mrs. Bird, has it all: kissing, drama, deep friendship, humor, kindness, sorrow, spunk, well-drawn characters who elicit an emotional response.

Chapter titles (A Quandary over Next Steps, A Rumour of Pineapple Chunks) poke fun at an old style of writing, but there is nothing ‘fuddy-duddy’ about the sharp, witty writing. Clever descriptions add humor, “I’d managed to get hold of an onion, which was very good news for a stew.”

The British wore an attitude of Keep Calm, keep going. They didn’t over-analyze, they just did it. In Dear Mrs. Bird, Emmy Lake questions if glossing over the hard stuff is always helpful. She begins secretly answering magazine reader responses with caring and understanding. “How often did we say well done to our readers? How often did anyone ever tell women they were doing a good job? That they didn’t have to be made of steel all the time? That it was all right to feel a bit down?”

Emmy’s first-person narrative draws the reader like friends sharing a cup of tea. Chin-up Emily later admits, she kept telling herself to buck up but couldn’t. Her colleague's face "twisted itself into a determined imitation of an Everything Will Be Fine smile. I managed an equal imitation of one back.” I love when author’s say so much is with so little.

Well-researched details add dimension to the story without getting in the way – the girls wore white scarfs, so they wouldn’t get “flattened by a bus” walking to their flat during blackouts. London’s bombing/ fire scenes were sad and terrifying, (though not graphic).

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for granting access to an arc of this book for an honest review.

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This was a charming read. It was very much about “having pluck” and “putting on a brave face.” And lots of other very <i>forties</i> catch-phrases. It was one of the more lighthearted books I’ve read about World War II. And I don’t think it was unrealistic – as there was plenty of awful things happening – but truly the women were expected to just carry on so as not to bring down the boys. Don’t forget to put on your make-up ladies and fix your hair so your men will never know there’s something wrong!

Honestly it was a little <i>too</i> lighthearted for me. Air raids and a personal crisis and the main character hardly bats an eye. I am totally all for grinning and bearing it – but we are in her mind – she should have been feeling <i>something</i> even if she was still putting on that make-up and stuffing it way down deep. However, it picked up in the last half of the book, where I thought she showed more heart and feeling than she had in the first half.

<i>“I tried to take a deep breath and be British and brave, but it didn’t work, and instead, the tears began. Masses of them.”</i>

And I said thank God, Emmy! Finally! Because every once in a while you just have to stop with the brave face and admit that it’s all just too much! So all in all, it was a very sweet book – a bit predictable, but sweet – and I recommend it to fans of historical fiction looking for a pretty wholesome read.

Entertainment Value: 4
Characters: 3
Voice: 3
Plot: 3
Overall 3 stars

See all my reviews @ www.mamaneedsabook.blogspot.com
<Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!</i>

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“Dear Mrs. Bird” is a charming glimpse into the lives of the very young women who kept London alive and ticking during the Blitz. Its easy to remember this period with its Churchills and Hitlers, but the reality was people just trying to get on with their lives, hanging out with friends, building a career, and falling in love. “DMB” reminds us that if you were a young woman in London in wartime, you were patriotic, and hard-working for the allied cause, but you were still a young woman.

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December, 1940, World War II is looming large; Hitler and his Luftwaffe are dropping bombs on London every night wreaking destruction and mayhem. “The world has become ugly and mad.”

Told In the first person, Emmaline Lake, thinking she was interviewing for a job that would lead to her ultimate goal of becoming a war correspondent, accepts only to discover that she has once again rushed in without paying attention to the fine print. After all when she saw the announcement in the paper she was just “cock-a-hoop”. Ah, but the job isn’t with The Chronicle as she had thought, but with “Woman’s Friend”. She is to be a typist to “Henrietta Helps”, a Dear Abbey type who has pages of word she finds objectionable and therefore will also only answer the most generic letters with fatuous comments. Well, Emmy has hopes of being a journalist and her best friend Bunty thinks this is surely her first step and it is just going to be grand. “Things had really perked up.” Just delightful.

Unfortunately Emmy has a tendency to disregard the rules and takes matters a step or two out of bounds. She is risking her job, her friendships, everything, and it gets worse. She is thrown over by her fiancée Edmund, and if there is any comfort to be had, her mother reminds Emmy that “men are such fatheads”. Just delightful.

There is also a strong and important back story and tribute to those women in the Auxiliary Fire Service and the London firemen who responded to the calls of fires and collapsed buildings caused by the nightly bombings. Death and loss is not left out of the narrative, but strengthened by it. Well, that part is not delightful but told with sensitivity.

I loved this book; it made me laugh, sigh, gasp, shed a tear, and have hope. This would have been a great 1940’s movie.

Thank you Netgalley and Scribner for a copy.

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This was a fun and quick read. The editor was a colorful character and the job that the protagonist finds herself in and her conflict with it made for an interesting read.

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<i>When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” - Fred Rogers</i>

All in all, this is a story about the helpers of World War 2 - amongst all the atrocities, there was a bit of light in those who came to the rescue of others.

The author drew inspiration for the book after finding an advice column in a women’s magazine from 1939 (love this so much!). AJ Pearce has done some beautiful justice to the people who had to experience the atrocities of the terrible bombings in London and the emotions they must have faced and the questions they must have had.

This is as delightful a book you will find that has a setting of a war. The characters are absolutely charming, you’ll be rooting for them all. And the language is brilliant - I absolutely loved the dialogue between the characters.

Definitely recommend!

A huge thank you to Picador Books for an advance copy. This book is currently available!

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Emmy responds to an add for a job at a newspaper. She wants to be a war correspondent. Little does she know, the job is as far a way from the war as can be. She is an assistant to Mrs. Bird. Mrs. Bird is an advice columnist. Mrs. Bird is very strict and meticulous. She only answers certain letters. The rest she refuses to even consider. And she has a LONG list of taboo topics. Well! Emmy takes it on herself to answer some of these letters. You can guesss where this leads.

I love Emmy’s rebellious nature. She has plans to be good but then she just can’t. She tickles me to death. I love when she gives herself “a stern talking to!” She is a character after my own heart. She is not perfect. She is perfectly flawed!

This read is humorous but it has its shares of tragedy as well. Bunty and her fiancé are caught in a bombing and this will rip your heart out. Would I put this in the same class as The Lilac Girls? No. But, it is a very good read. Actually it is a great mix of humor and tragedy. You will be laughing one minute and crying the next. So LOOK OUT!

I received this novel from the publisher via Netgalley for a honest review.

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3.5-4 stars

Dear Mrs. Bird is a sweet, charming story; almost saccharine, but nevertheless lovely with a satisfying plot.

Recommended for readers who liked Letters from Sky by Jessica Brockmole, or As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner, or The Memory of Us by Camille de Maio. It's also reminiscent of shows like "Call the Midwife" and "Land Girls".

In London during WWII, Emmeline is a young woman longing for a career in journalism, and she unwittingly takes a job as a typist for a brash woman, Mrs. Bird, who writes an advice column for a ladies' magazine. Em takes it upon herself to respond to the "inappropriate" letters that Mrs. Bird refuses to answer, getting more and more daring and ultimately sneaking them into the magazine.

Em's self-appointed career as an advice columnist is only part of the story. This book raises some deeper issues regarding women's often overlooked trials during the war. Losing spouses either to combat or desertion, rationing, and the constant bombings throughout the city led to some unprecedented struggles with grief, guilt, and fear. The women left behind at home were told to "buck up" and put on a brave face for the men returning from the fight. They weren't allowed to feel the pain of their fears and sacrifices. Dear Mrs. Bird addresses this issue with finesse around an enchanting story.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Scribner for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

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DEAR MRS. BIRD by AJ Pearce is a new favorite for me, for LibraryReads reviewers and for Amazon which named it an Amazon Best book for July 2018. This work of historical fiction – set in 1940's London – is thoroughly charming and certainly heartwarming. Emmeline Lake is a young woman with hopes of becoming a War Correspondent, leading her to take an entry level job in publishing which surprisingly involves sorting through letters asking for help. The set-in-her-ways advice columnist, Mrs. Henrietta Bird, has strict rules about ignoring any Unpleasantness so numerous letters involving Affairs, the Change, and possible Pregnancies go unanswered in the Woman's Friend publication. Young Emmy is moved by the letter writers and secretly begins to respond. Simultaneously, Emmy volunteers some evenings at the local fire station and Pearce thereby recounts the horrific impact of the Nazi bombing raids on London. There's an element of chaste romance, too, for both Emmy and her best friend, Bunty, and their heroic beaus. Introspective and observant, Emmy is a spirited character, somehow both wise and naïve, who often needs to "be British and be brave." The Guardian's review calls DEAR MRS. BIRD "as hilarious as it is moving" and, like AJ Pearce, acknowledges the contributions made by women and girls during wartime. Definitely look for the debut novel if you enjoyed titles like Major Pettigrew's Last Stand or The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Links in live post:
http://libraryreads.org/july-2018-libraryreads/
https://www.amazon.com/b/?node=17143709011
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/apr/18/dear-mrs-bird-by-aj-pearce-review

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