A huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher fot an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. 

This was a fascinating glimpse into the infuriatingly chauvinistic world of academia. When her husband dies unexpectedly, Virginia must navigate a treacherous path. Her education and skills have been devalued and marginalized by the establishment because of her gender, and she must now emphasize them in a world that wants to placate her with a dusty corner or a new husband. 

She finds support where she least expected it, and becomes embroiled in the nascent Women's Rights Movement. I loved seeing her idea of feminism evolving.

Rounding up from 3.5. A very good book, although not the kind I usually read. Surprisingly kept my interest, when I've been dropping books left and right in these Interesting Times. Definitely recommend for fiction and history buffs.

From the cover, the title and the very first chapter and intro paragraph below, there was so much about this book that appealed to me: the title - just what was the wrong kind of woman? the setting - small academic college in New Hampshire, timeframe - early 1970s and, this sad intro - starts with a death......

Chapter One

November 1970

Westfield, New Hampshire

Oliver died the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the air heavy with snow that hadn't fallen yet.  His last words to Virginia were, "Tacks, Ginny? Do we have any tacks?"

Yes, Virginia Desmarais, has just lost her husband Oliver unexpectedly, while he was out hanging Christmas lights. Now at 39, she is left to raise the couple's 14 year old daughter Rebecca.

Both Oliver and Virginia taught at Clarendon College, a private men's school. She, however, did not have her PhD, making her feel somewhat inferior. It was the 1970's, a changing time in this country, especially for women. A single mother teaching at a private college certainly was not the norm. Her struggle to fit in set against societies expectations at that time felt compelling. Virginia does have four single women known as the Gang of Four on her side, this was the same group of women who Oliver had criticized privately before his death. It is these same women who serve as Virginia's anchors when she needs support the most.

I loved the flashbacks to the 1960s and 1970s and all that "in" and pressing during those years. I do feel bad that I just didn't love this book more. Unfortunately, this book made for some painfully slow reading.  The story seemed directionless at times, some of the flashbacks just seemed out of place and didn't fit and, alternating narrators also felt confusing at times.  Overall, this one just did not work well for me.

https://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-wrong-kind-of-woman-sarah-mccraw.html

This book, although it is advertised as a novel (which it is) is actually a slice of time.  The characters, the college background, and the events in the plot are actually representational of real people, a real campus, and real events that were similar to those that happened.  If this book was being used for a book discussion might be: if Oliver had not died, would Virginia ever have been "awakened', finished a dissertation, and then led a women's group at a formerly men's college?  For those younger than us, who remember this time period (with nostalgia, I admit), it gives those readers an idea of what led to an overhaul of academia to the open campuses we have now.

I love stories set in the sixties and seventies, and I’m from New England, where this one takes place. Sounded like a perfect fit for me. Turns out, I’m not the right kind of woman to read The Wrong Kind of Woman.

A great thing I can tell you is that the author captures the feel of the era, particularly in regards to women’s roles in academia.

The rest didn’t work for me.

Pacing is slow throughout, at times bordering on stagnant.

We have multiple narrators, which I usually enjoy, but here the switches are sudden and unclear. Often I’d read a paragraph or two before realizing we’d switched to a new narrator.

Along with that, timeline jumps are also unclear. We’d move to a later time in the day, the next day, or maybe many days ahead, without any indications, leaving us to reorient ourselves in the story.

Within this murky content, we also have characters reliving memories, but these scenes aren’t always clearly flashbacks, so this jolts us out of the moment as we try to figure out, again, where we are in the story.

And, finally, I wanted more complexities and depth. I didn’t feel the intensity of emotions this story should have elicited.

But this is just my opinion. Some readers have loved this book, as you might.

This book follows 3 narrators living in New England in the 1970s. Virginia is a newly widowed mother of one, who let go of her career aspirations to take care of her family. After losing her husband, she needs to find a job and is drawn in by the successful women around her who want to take some sort of action against the gender discrimination that keeps them from thriving. Her daughter Rebecca, the next narrator is a young teenage girl trying to find her way, while not being embarrassed by her mother's actions. Sam, is a college student who gets caught up with the wrong crowd and is willing to do almost anything to be accepted.

I found this book quite slow. I found it hard to read and so was glad it wasn't too long. It is a book about life so there aren't many peaks and valleys and not much excitement. The characters were relatable, just trying to get through life, while being accepted by their peers. 

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about women's rights, the 70s. or enjoys reading about the human condition.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the eGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Virginia Desmarais’ world is altered when her husband dies of a heart attack while stringing Christmas lights. It shocks Virginia and her daughter, Rebecca as they helplessly watch him collapsing on the front lawn. Virginia has devoted most of her life to raising her thirteen-year-old daughter while supporting her husband's career as a college professor. Virginia must embark on a new chapter in her life while she seeks employment to support her family. It is a tough transition since few worthwhile jobs are available to women in the 1970’s.

Virginia also becomes reacquainted with four women that were on the faculty with her husband at the college. This group was built on long-standing friendships and they include her into their social world.  Virginia appreciates their friendships along with their philosophical ideas for a women’s movement at the college.  At the same time, Rebecca is having difficulty accepting life without her father and how her mother is giving her less attention. Tensions in both the town and at the college begin to rise when protests for change build around the country.

The Wrong Kind Of Woman is a debut novel by Sarah McCraw Crow. This book is about a woman faced with unexpected change and trying to forge a new path for herself. This was a thought-provoking book and I look forward to future works from this author.

Set against the turbulent landscape of the early 1970's, Sarah McCraw Crow has penned a thought-provoking debut novel about vividly portrayed, complex characters searching for their place in a changing world. Choosing a college campus for her setting was inspired as it provides a microcosm of what was happening across the United States at the time. It also allows for an organic intersection of characters that may not have so easily happened were it not for the classes and activities that naturally occur on campuses. 

Virginia is a product of her upbringing. Setting aside her own dreams when she married, she's spent the past several years supporting her husband as he pursues his academic goals and mothering their daughter. But suddenly, she's a 39-year-old widow in a patriarchal society on the cusp of upheaval. Where does she belong? How does she move forward without her husband? Who are her allies? With a 13-year-old daughter to protect and her financial security in the hands of men fighting to maintain the status quo, will she once again sacrifice herself for others or, this time, will she finally find her own voice? I found the character of Virginia very compelling and her journey, both insightful and realistic. 

Sam is another character I found compelling. A brilliant but socially awkward college student struggling with the dissolution of his parents' marriage and his father's subsequent remarriage and new baby, his Jewish religion in a small, predominantly Christian school, and his internal struggles with his sexuality, he was ripe for the picking by those who did not have his best interests at heart. 

And then there's Virginia's daughter, also is an interesting character, dealing with her father's death, the upheaval of her home life, confusing changes in her mother, and the hormonal challenges of most young teen girls. I have a feeling the author has, at some point, probably lived with a 13-year-old girl.  

The secondary cast of characters, especially the Gang of Four, highlight the hope, frustration, fear, and dedication of the women of this time who put everything on the line to fight for equality, and in many cases, basic human rights. They are fully developed characters who bring authenticity to the story.

I was a 19-year-old college sophomore in 1970, living with riots, sit-ins, campus streets occupied by armed National Guard, a National uneasiness, and, among females, growing frustration with a woman's place in society. It was a time of confusion, a time of upheaval, a time when a courageous segment of our female population began to take a stand, and a time that Sarah McCraw Crow has indelibly captured in The Wrong Kind of Woman. 

*Advance copy received for fair and unbiased review

It’s almost hard to believe this is a debut novel—Crow’s writing is strong and her characters are very well drawn. The book is told from three main perspectives: Virginia, who is suddenly widowed at the beginning of the story; her 13-year-old daughter Rebecca, who loses her father right at the confusing time of adolescence; and college student Sam, who was a student of Virginia’s husband and is dealing with his own confused feelings after the death. I thought it was an interesting choice to have a male perspective in a book primarily about women, but it definitely works.

The Wrong Kind of Woman is set in New England in the 1970s, against the backdrop of The Vietnam War and the continued struggle for equal rights. Virginia has lived mainly in the shadow of her husband, but when she finds herself a widow and single mother, she has to decide between doing what she wants with her life or continuing to try to fit into the gender roles expected of her. Rebecca and Sam have their own confusion and rebelliousness to work through, and the lives of these characters keep intersecting in interesting ways.

Virginia’s story resonated with me the most, but I loved all three perspectives. This is a quiet, slow-building story that doesn’t race to any dramatic conclusions, but rather feels more organic and human in the way things unfold. With anti-war, feminist, and LGBT themes all happening at a male-only college in the 70s, there’s plenty to think about without a lot of action. A well-written, thought-provoking look at a volatile time in American history.

Somewhat quiet but very well-written novel set in a fictional all male college Clarendon in New Hampshire in the early 1970s, which I guess now qualifies as historical fiction as it is nearly 50 years ago. The book is told from multiple perspectives and with the through line being not just that they are all in the same place, but about the search for identity in a tumultuous time of protests. Virginia is a woman trying to figure out who she is after the unexpected death of her husband, a professor at Clarendon; her daughter Rebecca is trying to figure out her identity in the same way many teenagers struggle with it; Sam is a student at Clarendon who doesn’t quite fit in; and there are just a few bits from the perspective of Louise, one of only a handful of female professors at Clarendon.

As I was born in 1980 but  I always wanted to be a bonafide hippie from the ’70s, I love to read books such a The Wrong Kind of Women that gives me an insight into what life may have been different if I had been born a decade earlier.

 

The husband of Virginia drops dead from an arynusim, and from there, the story takes us through different plot lines to show how each deals with that aftermath.

I was sad to realize that when I studied feminism in college, I had not thought about it since that alone is a huge privileged view. In The Wrong Kind of woman, the Author Sarah McCgrow, aims to take us all back in time for the second wave of Feminism. Since I was not yet born, I have to take it in good faith that what I have heard about that Era of feminism is that I liked this book because everything feels like it really could happen. It felt very authentic.

The book The Wrong Kind of women is so slooow at the beginning. To be honest with you, I was about to DNF the whole book, then I got to the middle part, and I am so glad that I did not give up…

I have no idea WHY I do not think of a boys-only College. It nugs my feminist side that boys maybe received a better education than I did. I can see how the whole scene is set up what the author is doing. At first, it seems like 6 different stories in one book, but all of the loose ends are tied up nicely at the end.

‘The Wrong Kind of Women’ is an intelligent and decisive novel- not to mention beautifully written. Sarah McCraw Crow captures the tension between society’s expectations of women and the growth of women’s ambition in a rocky period in history perfectly. Despite being set in the 70’s, the issues woven through the narrative still feel incredibly relevant today, which was actually quite unsettling. Crow’s storytelling is beautiful and compelling, and parts of the novel really resonated with me.
So many topics are touched upon throughout the novel, which really deepened the story. Virginia’s grief does tend to take centre stage, but it opens both us and her up to a lot of vastly different issues. As Virginia tries to adapt to life as a widow her eyes are opened to the complexities of being a woman without a husband, and the myriad of issues women are facing. But ‘The Wrong Kind of Woman’ isn’t just a novel about grief; Crow also focuses on Virginia’s relationships, both with her teenage daughter, who is experiencing her own struggles, and with the women around her. And, woven throughout these emerging relationships, are topics like politics, gender roles, women’s rights, and co-ed education, all of which really emphasise the shifting of both Virginia’s world, and 1970’s America in general.
Sarah McCraw Crow is an exceptional writer, and this is shown most clearly through her characters. They feel so real and relatable; their interwoven stories are raw and vulnerable. I loved the various perspectives of Virginia, Rebecca, and Sam, as each of their narratives portrayed a different issue- all of which still feel prevalent today.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book. It is the 1970s and women are starting to ask for equal rights, colleges are beginning to go co-ed, and sometimes violent demonstrations are occurring. I found the action a little hard to follow and couldn't really get into any of the characters. Nonetheless, interesting points are made.

I could not get into the story. We dove head first into the loss of the father figure without context of the family. It was disorienting and I was unable to connect to the story from there.

*** Blog Tour ***

The most intriguing thought of The Wrong Kind of Woman by Sarah McCraw Crow is captured in its title. So many for so long have labeled the choices of women as "wrong". Looking around me today, it amazes me how far we have come and yet how frequently, these same conversations are taking place today. I wish the book had delivered this statement in a stronger way and in the context of a stronger story, but it is a reminder of an important statement nevertheless. 

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2020/11/the-wrong-kind-of-woman.html 

Reviewed for NetGalley and a publisher's blog tour.

This was a little slow to get going for me, and be aware that the overall pace is slow and steady throughout. I am here for stories about women that change the norms, that challenge the patriarchy, and are able to effect change, that part of the story resonated with me very much. Rebecca and Virginia resonated with me the most, as they were trying to find their way as individuals but yet trying to find their new relationship as a daughter and a mother moving forward without a father. I couldn't imagine doing that during this time period, and they both handled it as I would expect.

I have to admit I'm really getting tired of books that use continuous alternating viewpoints without announcing the change!  I seem to lose a few minutes every couple pages to determine who it is that's doing the talking.

I lived through the 70's and thought I would be able to relate to this book but aside from a few aspects, I really couldn't.  The characters weren't especially interesting to me and the whole feminist emphasis felt artificial to me.  I'm sure many will disagree with me - and that's ok - but for me this book was just ok.

I found this book to be moving and thought-provoking. Set in the late '60s and early 70's we met Virginia a woman who has lost her husband and is trying to find her way. 

this story takes us to bake to a time when women's places were thought to be in the home raising kids and cooking. So to see Virginia struggle with her identity was heartbreaking. She struggled with whom the world thought she should be and whom she wanted to be. As we follow her journey her life is interwoven with 2 other women. 

I loved the alternating perspective and getting to known the other characters. I was captivated by Virginia's story as I could relate to her. As someone who is trying to find her way in this world but society keeps telling me I can't do the things I want to do to health issues. I really bonded with the character. 

This is a powerful story of self-discovery and one many can relate to living in this time of a pandemic and having to rediscover who we are.

Just before Christmas in 1970, Oliver Desmarais dies suddenly leaving his wife Virginia and daughter Rebecca to mourn and rebuild their lives. Virginia, not knowing where she fits anymore after losing her job, embarks on new friendships with four interesting women from the college her husband worked for. These women are forward thinkers, trying to make a change in a male dominated world. With political unrest, social injustice, and women’s rights, can Virginia be the role model she needs to be for her daughter and help the women make the change that the world so desperately needs?

This was a powerful novel of self discovery. The reader gets to witness the 1970’s through the eyes of not only Virginia, but also her daughter Rebecca and Sam, a student of Oliver’s. Three different people all emerging to becoming something from the loss they suffered. This story also has many similarities to the changes we are all facing today amidst the pandemic and the world we now live in. Thank you so much to the author Sara McCraw Crow, HarperCollins Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book to review. It was riveting! All opinions expressed for this review are unbiased and entirely my own.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.