I was delighted to receive a copy of Susie Orman’s new book We Came Here to Shine because I really loved her last book The Subway Girls. Susie does an incredible job of telling two parallel stories that are both so gripping and intriguing that you don’t mind going back and forth between the two. She introduces us to one character and then another, and in the middle they seamless flow together so that now their stories are intertwined. Beautiful story of two women trying to make their way in the world with the odds stacked against them, and finding friendship and themselves in the end.
Vivi Holden is about to get her big break as an actress in Hollywood. It’s the roll she’s been dreaming of and she cannot wait to get started! When Vivi is called into the office she finds out she has been let go and her role has being given to another more suitable actress. The good news is that they aren’t firing her; the bad news is that she has to move to New York and her performance will not be in a movie. Vivi will become the star of the World’s Fair Aquacade synchronized swimming show. Moving back to New York is not something she wants to do because she left there once and promised not to return. Vivi doesn’t know the first thing about synchronized swimming so how will she manage the leading role? Through sheer perseverance Vivi will put her all into this production because she has been promised a role back in Hollywood when the World’s Fair closes. Secrets from her past will find her and force her to make some difficult decisions.
Maxine Roth is a college student with a deep passion for journalism. For as long as she can remember she has always wanted to work for The New York Times. When her professor assigns each student to a different newspaper for a summer program Maxine crosses her fingers that she will get her first choice, The New York Times. Everyone knows that a summer internship can lead to a job offer if you do a good job, so Maxine is crushed to learn she’s been assigned to the pop up publication covering the World’s Fair. She is devastated she did not get placed at one of the big publications and crushed to learn she won’t even be writing articles but actually just assigned to tying up the Fairs brochures. Maxine’s new boss believes that journalism is best suited to a man and gives all the work to her fellow student. Maxine pleads with her boss to let her prove what she can do because she must submit an article with her name in the byline to be considered for a scholarship the following year. Her family is struggling finically and college may no longer be a possibility for her if she doesn’t get the scholarship.
Both women meet working at The World’s Fair and form a very tight bond that will see them through some hard times. Without ever knowing they needed someone to lean on they will quickly learn that they also don’t ever want to lose each other.

I was excited to read this book, as I loved Subway Girls by this author. I could not connect with the characters. I struggled until 50% and gave up.
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Thank you, Netgalley.
All opinions are my own.

Oh, my word!!! What a fun story!!!! We Came Here To Shine by Susie Orman Schnall is one of those books that you will have to read more than once. It is filled with hold your breath storylines, fantastic time period descriptions of clothing and lifestyles, plus realistic society issues that are still happening today. I just loved this book. Schnall gives each character, no matter how minor, an individual story, yet she manages to weave them together to create a book that you can't put down.
The story takes place in 1939 in New York during the World's Fair. I actually felt regret that i missed the Fair! Schnall's description of the Fair was so realistic and detailed. I appreciate the work she must have done to bring the Fair to life. The story does revolve around Vivi and Max, short for Maxine, who both work at the fair. But don't assume they are the only important people in the book. I don't think one person could be left out.
Vivi is a Hollywood starlet and Max is a journalism student. They are both driven, focused and have a plan for their future. But when plans don't go accordingly maybe each girl needs to think about a new future. Please don't miss adding this book to your reading pile. And make sure you place it at the top of that pile.
I voluntarily received a copy of this book from Netgalley.

The World’s Fair in New York City opened on April 30, 1939, and we meet two young woman a few weeks later as they start working at the Fair. Author Schnall, who gave us the inspiring story of The Subway Girls, has created another historical fiction novel that will satisfy your dreams as you visit a by gone era. I liked this book!

The World’s Fair was billed as the “Dawn of a New Day” and the “World of Tomorrow”. Yet for Hollywood ingenue actress Vivi Holden, and New York University journalism student Maxine “Max” Roth, the Fair is more of a roadblock on their routes to success. Vivi’s movie studio has lent her to star in Billy Rose’s swim spectacular Aquacade at the Fair. Vivi doesn’t see how leaving Hollywood will make her a film star. Max ends up working at the Fair as a summer intern on the daily Fair paper, a setback to her dreams of interning at The New York Times.

The third main character of the book is the World’s Fair itself. The book is filled with descriptions of the exhibits and events, big and small, from the visit of the King and Queen of England to babies in incubators! The Parachute Drop ride had me shaking my head. I hope to find an old film of this experience. The Fair adds brightness and hope to the book.

Viv and Max end up being friends and in the two months they are at the Fair, we get to know their strong points and weaknesses, as well as their secrets. Both young women are trying to find their own place in their world. And the place of women in 1939 challenges them. Their hearts tell them to be themselves, whether that is weak or confident, but they tend to rely on childish plots and pranks.

Looming over the hope and promise of the bright future that the Word Fair represents, is the coming War in Europe. I found the mix of history, stories and the Fair, and the lives of Viv and Max to be an all-around good story. I eagerly read this book and I thank Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital advance review copy. This is my honest review.

* An advanced copy was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

<b> Real Rating: 3.5 stars </b>

<I> We Came Here to Shine </I> follows two girls working at the World Fair in New York City: Maxine Roth, an aspiring reporter who's less than happy about her assignment at the Fair newspaper, and Vivi Holden, an aspiring actress who has a dark past in New York, and also performs in the show's Aquacade. The two girls meet and uncover sinister plots within the Fair...

All in all, I liked <I> We Came Here to Shine. </I> The characters were well-developed and more suited to a modern-day audience (Maxine). The plot followed a somewhat guessable line, but had enough twists and turns to keep me interested.

However, I disliked the quick solution to Vivi's BIG issue. It was so utterly convienent in an upsetting way.

At the end of the Depression, Maxine Roth is striving for a scholarship to finish her education at NYU so she can fulfil her dreams of becoming a journalist at The New York Times. Vivi Holden, an exquisite beauty under contract at WorldWide Films, is about to make her debut as a leading lady in Hollywood. Yet life intervenes for both of them, and instead they are consigned to working at the 1939 World Fair in New York where Max is relegated to typing listings at Today at the Fair and Vivi is to star in the Aquacade synchronized swimming show.

At the Fair, Max and Vivi form an unlikely friendship, as they strive to make their way in a world where men make the rules. As in The Subway Girls, the story focuses on the women and their ambitions, and while love interests factor in, the novel is about what women have to overcome in the sexist world of the not-so-distant past.

Part of the magic of this novel is the thrilling backdrop of the Fair, which is described in such vivid detail that it’s easy to picture, and the exhibition becomes a character, making the novel even richer. I truly appreciated the surprising turns the story took. Fans of Beatriz Williams and Taylor Jenkins Reid will devour this book.

We Came Here to Sine by Susie Orman Schnall was a highly anticipated 2020 read for me. I love historical fiction novels that focus on relationships between women and the search for equality.

While this book had a wonderful premise, I struggled to fully connect with the characters and really wished for more details into the time and place that this book occurred. While I did learn about some of the aspects of the 1939 World's Fair I was left feeling like I needed more to really set the scene of this novel.

I appreciated the focus on strong women but did come away wishing the storyline felt more layered and nuanced. While the character development was al little lacking for me, I did enjoy this theme of female friendship and this was an easy weekend read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to net galley and st martins for an early copy of this book! 5 stars! An amazing historical fiction about the lives of two young women in the late 1930s and how poorly working women were regarded. Both characters are experiencing discrimination in their respective work places, while dealing with family drama + romances. I was hooked the entire time and really didn’t want to put this down.

I expect to love every piece of historical fiction that I read; that sets the bar high before I even read the first word. This was a good story but it was a bit too simple to rate it higher than 3 stars. There were a number of scenes that didn't feel real to me; in those cases the dialogue was stilted or unnecessarily extended. I did like the two main characters but I would have liked them to have been a bit more developed. I enjoy this author's writing and will definitely want to read her next book but if you haven't read her books yet, I'd recommend The Subway Girls over this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an early release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Cindy

I loved everything about this book. The characters, the time period, the plot. It is so wonderfully done, it has you rooting for the character to succeed and get back to her dream.

We Came Here to Shine by Susie Orman Schnall is a fabulous and delightful historical fiction novel that takes place in Queens, NY the summer of 1939 during the World’s Fair.

The book alternates between two main female characters in their early 20s: Vivi and Max. I really enjoyed not only the alternating chapters and viewpoints, but also the chapters that intertwined both women. The way that the viewpoints and dialogue was set up was quite ingenious.

I loved both characters. Both women were at a point in their lives in May of 1939 were they were both a crossroads on what they thought they wanted and where they wanted to go in life, and what was actually in store for them and what they truly needed. I loved the transformation that both experienced, not only with their friendship, but also in themselves. Max and Vivi both realized that even though the cards are stacked against them as young women in the 30s, they were able to work together and with their friends and loved ones and were able to triumph and find love, acceptance, friendship, purpose, and reach their goals in the end.
I loved how realistic and flawed both women were and that they both had complicated pasts, however were able to use those barriers towards finding their paths forward. Both women complimented each other well and brought out the best in one another.

I loved the timeline chosen and also the backdrop of the World’s Fair. It was so unique and I learned so much about a huge event that I knew so very little about. It was amazing. I literally felt as if I was there from the author’s descriptions. Excellent.

I also loved the twists and turns that were scattered throughout the story, and I really, really liked the ending. Was it perfect? No. And that is ok. I wouldn’t have wanted it to be any different.

Truly memorable and a wonderful read.

5/5 stars enthusiastically

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Griffin for this excellent ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

The New York World's Fair of 1939 comes to life for readers in Susie Orman Schnall's novel WE CAME HERE TO SHINE. I'm familiar with the iconic pavilions and graphics from this "ode to the future" but this book took me into the heart of the '39 Fair through the experiences of two young women working there.

I am drawn to stories about the limited choices available to women in the early 20th Century, but this story put us a generation forward when women WERE presented with opportunities, but they were often thwarted, stifled or undermined.

The protagonists' characters were a bit familiar---one featured strictly based on her physical attributes, and the other a bit too scrappy or feisty--. But, they were engaging and the book was a satisfying light read with friendship and "girl power" winning the day in the end. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Netgalley provided me a complimentary copy of this book in return for a candid review.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Griffin for this ARC. This was was definitely my kind of book! Exceptional read, I did not want this book to end.
Life and its twists and turns. How a conversation, a reaction, an encounter can change your life trajectory. How resilient women must be —HAD to be, back in 1939, in order to have a career and live their dream outside the home. This was a marvellous story of two young ladies who overcame a world ran by men thanks to their boldness and unexpected friendship. Loved loved loved it!

We Came Here to Shine, by Susie Orman Schnall, is a treat to any and all of us who grew up watching old Esther Williams movies on a Sunday afternoon. I wanted to be that girl, and that is why I chose this book. Growing up in NY, although years after the 1939 World's Fair, sealed my interest in everything this book had to offer, and more!

The story begins with two girls, from vastly different worlds, as they collide on the scene of the opening of the World's Fair, NY, 1939. That is not their only change, but so begins adventure and a coming of age story carrying them straight into the world of woman and career. One girl is an actress, pursuing better roles than that of a dancing swimmer, and one is a student journalist seeking a breaking internship with the Times. And so it goes, when neither gets the jobs of their dreams, but quite likely the jobs that provide just the right amount of growth and challenge, we find that their characters and ambitions flourish, as an enduring and endearing friendship develops.

What an exciting time for women in history. Women were beginning to be considered as equals, but were they really? Are they even now? Our two girls find out the hard way that people are not always who they claim to be, nor can they be taken at their word. Trust comes hard, but lucky for them friendship came easily. I was proud to see both girls overcome differences and and self seeking ambitions to put their heads together and do what was right for women and equality.

A wonderful historical fiction with the perfect balance of the two.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read We Came Here to Shine in return for my honest review.

I am likely in the minority when I say that this was an 'okay' read.

It intrigued me enough to start it, and to finish it. But during the time I was reading it, I found myself skipping pages to get to the next section of the book, because I was getting tired of the same old, repetitive scenario playing out. Max wants to get ahead... gets shot down. Vivi wants to get ahead... gets shot down. And again and again and again.

For some this will be a fantastic read, it just wasn't a favorite of mine.

I must admit that I don't have much knowledge of the 1939 World's Fair. Reading this book was my first real introduction to the event, and it left me hungry to learn more about what must have been an epic undertaking. While I did feel that the characters lacked a bit of depth that would have made this novel truly great, I was distracted enough by the setting to not mind at all. This book is a great read for anyone who loves (or wants to learn more about) this period in American history.

I received this book for free in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Searching for friendship and equality, these two heroines are brought together at the World's Fair. The descriptions of the fair and the character development is exquisite.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of We Came Here to Shine in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely LOVED Schnall's earlier book Subway Girls and was a little disappointed in this, but still enjoyed it. I wished there was a little more about the 1939 World's Fair, I felt the Fair was just the backdrop to the story but wanted more history and to feel the fair more and how the summer of 1939 really was,

I enjoyed reading about the friendships and strong women speaking out for what they believed in!

What a great read! This book is captivating from start to finish! The setting is 1939 at the Worlds Fair in Queens, NY. Max and Vivi are two very different girls whose worlds collide at the fair. Max is an aspiring journalist trying to gain both experience and bylines at the fairs daily dispatch. Vivi is an actress banished from Hollywood to Star in an Aquacade Show. Each girl is determined to make something of and assert themselves at a time when women’s role in society is still the cliche housewife. Together they learn and grow over a summer of self discovery and challenges.

This book is a real page turner and I could have easily read in a day if life and work didn’t get in the way. It’s easy to fall in love with Max & Vivi and their aspirations. They learn to be strong and stand up for themselves in the most unexpected ways. I love how the author details the World’s Fair! I actually found myself googling it to learn more. I would love to see a sequel to this book. I’d love to see where the girls are 10 years later and on the other side of WWII.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St Martins Griffin for the advanced copy. It was a pleasure to read!

I enjoyed the character development throughout the book and they way the author depicted the struggles of young women, both personally and professionally. I had not read much about the Worlds Fair of ‘39 so was interested in all aspects of this time in history.