Band of Sisters tells the story of a group of alumni from Smith College who are recruited to help bombed out villages in World War I France. This is a very different group of women-Kate who feels like she doesn't belong, Emmie who gives her whole heart to help everyone but is somewhat naïve, acerbic Julia-a skilled doctor and a host of other young women. All of them are definitely out of their depth taking on such a task mere miles from the frontlines but they soon find there is no challenge they can't meet. This book was a bit slow for me but I did end up liking it quite a bit. It is very character driven instead of led by action but that is ok! These spirited girls face a daunting challenge as they try to bring hope to people living in deplorable conditions and all while they are still just miles from the front lines. I soon became invested in these characters and what would happen to them. Interestingly enough with a few liberties taken here and there this is all based on a real life group of Smith women who went to France during the War. I liked it and I think historical fiction fans will like it too.

When charismatic alumna Betsy Rutherford delivers a rousing speech at the Smith College Club in April of 1917, looking for volunteers to help French civilians decimated by the German war machine, Kate Moran is too busy earning her living to even think of taking up the call. But when her former best friend Emmaline Van Alden reaches out and begs her to take the place of a girl who had to drop out, Kate reluctantly agrees to join the new Smith College Relief Unit. Four months later, Kate and seventeen other Smithies, including two trailblazing female doctors, set sail for France. The volunteers are armed with money, supplies, and good intentions—all of which immediately go astray. The chateau that was to be their headquarters is a half-burnt ruin. The villagers they meet are in desperate straits: women and children huddling in damp cellars, their crops destroyed and their wells poisoned. Despite constant shelling from the Germans, French bureaucracy, and the threat of being ousted by the British army, the Smith volunteers bring welcome aid—and hope—to the region. As they cope with the hardships and terrors of the war, Kate and her colleagues find themselves navigating old rivalries and new betrayals which threaten the very existence of the Unit.

I am familiar with this author but this is the first time I have read any of her books. The story is based on the actual Smith College Relief Unit, and the historical notes at the end are fascinating and tell how the author used available sources to write the book. She only writes about 15 of the girls in the Unit, as she said she did not want to overwhelm or confuse the reader. She did a good job of developing the characters throughout the book and describing the devastation of WWI in France. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Parnassus Book Staff Recommendation (March): At the height of World War I, a group of Smith College alumnae sailed to France. In a countryside decimated by war and under constant shelling by the Germans, the Smithies helped war-weary civilians rebuild shattered lives and homes. Based on a true story, Willig’s novel is a moving account of friendship, forgiveness, and self-discovery.

There are so many WWI or II-themed books out right now that I was worried this would just be another copycat story capitalizing on the trend. So I was very pleasantly surprised that the narrative captured my attention right from the start. Willig's research on the Smith College Relief Unit through letters, memoirs, and diaries unearthed a wealth of detail about this fascinating piece of history. The novel tells the story not only of how these women became closer through their work helping French villagers rebuild after the Germans destroyed their homes, but also about the hard work, determination, and persistence they showed in doing the work even when others encouraged them to retreat or do something easier. The three main characters - Kate, Emmie, and Julia - are well drawn so that the reader can understand their insecurities and their loyalty to each other. On the whole, I very much enjoyed this novel.

Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig is an inspirational WWI story featuring strong female characters! The title kind of gives that last bit away...

This book gives voice to the unsung heroes and forgotten stories of more than a dozen American women, The Smith College Women, who served in France during WWI aiding in recovery and rebuilding. The author's note at the end of the book is especially important and I wouldn't want you to miss it! It goes into fascinating detail about the history, Willig's research and the inspiration behind the characters and narrative. Almost all of this book is based on true events or recollections of true events. It's really special. 

The narrative is captivating, the context is historically accurate and very interesting, and the female drama is totally realistic! Put that many women together for a long period of time and there's bound to be drama - no matter what their purpose or cause is - there will be drama. But despite their differences, they are united in one thing and that is to help the victims of German terror. 

I am thoroughly impressed with Lauren Willig's skill at creating such a complex narrative with so many characters and keeping them all straight. Similarly, hats off to Julia Whelan for the superb narration and keeping all the characters uniquely expressed.

Thank you, NetGalley, William Morrow and Harper Audio, for a copy of this great book for review! 

I think I am going to go and read all of Willig's novels now...

Trigger warnings: war, poverty, attempted rape

Kate Moran didn't fit in with the other women from Smith College. They're from old aristocratic families and she was a scholarship recipient and the daughter of an immigrant. When her former roommate Emmeline "Emmie" Van Alden calls her and asks her to join an expedition to France at the last minute, French teacher Kate jumps at the opportunity. Her language skills and her ability to drive make her a desirable candidate for the mission.

The party of women includes a variety of professions -- social workers, nurses, doctors, a librarian, and French teacher Kate. The women's first task is to acquire supplies to bring to the villages including trucks, livestock, and other goods. The women find that they have more skills than they realize when they are required to assemble the trucks themselves.

The novel is interspersed with letters from the Smith ladies to their relatives in America. The women have to grapple with seeing injuries and poverty and become impoverished themselves as they use all their available money to help the villagers instead of buying luxuries like shampoo. Being close to the front lines is dangerous for the Smith women, especially when the front lines move inward towards their home base.

Lauren Willig conveys the difficulties of living in wartime as well as the emotional toll it takes on the women. She also deftly describes challenges the women's interpersonal relationships must overcome to continue working at the front.

Recommended for fans of historical fiction, women's fiction, and war fiction.

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

Band of Sisters: A Novel by Lauren Willig (subtitled The Women of Smith College Go to War) is a spellbinding World War I novel that focuses on the relief efforts of a small group of young women, graduates of Smith College, who travel to France to provide direct aid to villagers who have been devastated by the Germans. Women, children, and elderly men are living in cellars or bombed-out villages, trying to eke out an existence close to the front lines. Most have lost family members. Schools are gone. Livelihoods are gone. They are forgotten people in the midst of the ongoing fighting.

These women come in, set up schools, build simple houses, feed people, and provide them with the means to begin to rebuild their lives. They bring hope to the hopeless. There are a couple of doctors, an agriculturist, and a few teachers but, for the most part, they learn on the job what they need to know to get things done.

They settle in Grecourt, a bombed-out village in close proximity to the front. They live in constant low-level danger until the Germans overrun the lines and things become suddenly very dangerous. The women from Smith College then help to evacuate the villagers one step ahead of the advancing enemy.

Although the characters are fictional, they are inspired by real-life people and the episodes depicted have their basis in real historical events.

The beauty in this novel is how the women come together as a cohesive unit despite personality conflicts, differing backgrounds, and differing goals. It’s common in war stories to see men bonding under duress, but camaraderie like this among women is less often showcased. These women are hard-working, brave, and devoted to their cause, but also flawed, at times insecure, and very human. The novel passes the Bechdel test with flying colors. Although a romance does develop, it doesn’t dominate the plot.

Although fairly long at 524 pages, this is a quick-paced, engrossing read. Despite the horrors of war, which are not sugar-coated, it’s an uplifting tale. Highly recommended.

Even when trying to do good, sometimes you can’t get away from your past and the things that haunt you. I enjoyed learning about this unit of women from Smith who were brave enough to sail an ocean and help people they’ve never met. You have to wonder if that would happen these days.

I gave this book that I received as an ARC from NetGalley five stars. This is historical fiction at its best. Not only is it a thoroughly well written and researched book developed from the actual writings of the real Smith Unit, the story is an allegory of how men and women view the world. This is a war story written from a woman's point of view. Most war histories are what's important to men: battle lines, maps and military strategy. But after the men bomb everything, what happens to the survivors and the land that is left in the cruel wake of war?

In this case they are served by a group of recent college grads, a women's relief unit from Smith College who volunteer to go to the middle of the French countryside that has lost its tranquil gentility to the Kaiser's forces battling in World War I.

The women are based at the recently attacked Grecourt Chateau, complete with a moat- an anachronism to the area scorched by the Germans who terrorized the nearby villages. Here they discover the extent of the war damage and have to trudge through mud, walk miles to bring food and medicine to people, drive through treacherous roads near bombing and live daily with the threat of air raids and the encroaching battle front. These once debutantes shiver in makeshift barracks, comb lice from their hair, subsist on little food and go weeks without baths. They grow into a true unit despite personality conflicts and prejudices. And their service doesn't go unnoticed - they become world famous as journalists flock to their doors amazed that women can function in a dangerous war zone. The women do more than function though, they are beloved by the French community and they fall in love with their work and the people they serve.

There are so many parts of this story that touch your heart, including just a touch of romance. And the five stars go to Lauren Willig for tenderly writing the various personalities of the women and how they overcome their struggles and harness their unique perspectives to each find their unique niche of service. This is the first time that women are working as doctors, managing an aid effort, negotiating with bureaucracy and showing themselves not as frail females, but as colleagues to the men eventually.

One special story is when the women first arrive in France, their supplies are scattered due to the war. They are supposed to have three trucks all paid for and they discover that the trucks are still on the ship they came on. When they go to fetch them, they are in boxes unassembled. So the ladies learn how to put them together - and except for putting the cab on one the Ford trucks backwards, they all manage to work. I can't imagine having to put together an automobile from scratch because my life depended on it.

Another heart felt moment from the book is the children coming to Grecourt for the first time. The children stand stiff when the Smith women try to entertain them with games. For these young children, they have known war for three whole years and they have forgotten how to play. In working with these children, the women become heroes to them.

This book is a slow read because there is so much inspiration throughout that you want to savor it and reflect on it. Like so much of the World War I era, the real Smith Unit has been sort of forgotten. Congratulations to Lauren Willig for re-discovering the Smith Unit and we can honor them by reading and cherishing this book.

I absolutely loved Band of Sisters! As a fan of Lauren Willig for many years, including the books that she has co-written with another fave, Beatriz Williams, I have come to know and love her writing so much, and Band of Sisters was just as wonderful to read.

From the drama that unfolds to the carefully crafted research that went into the true Smith College women who made up the characters for this story, I really enjoyed this novel so much.

I was also gifted an audiobook copy and was so happy to find that Julia Whelan (one of my absolute favorite narrators) was the voice and narrator, which was the icing on the cake for me.

Well developed characters with a story of strength, romance, survival and grit, I highly recommend this to my fellow book loving friends.

*many thanks to William Morrow Netgalley and Harper audio for the gifted copies

This was a perfect book to kick off my Women's History Month with. A group of women and recent graduates of Smith College have joined the Smith College Relief Unit and set sail for France to assist in the height of World I. As the women work to help people in the French village they have been assigned things start to immediately go awry. The women will need to dig deep into themselves and struggle with their own hardships. This book had me wanting to google the Smith College Relief Unit. This fiction novel is based on real-life accounts of the women who set sail many years ago.

Wow! This was one of those books that I kept thinking about when I wasn't reading it and I kept trying to hide from my family so I could get in a little reading! Band of Sisters is a wonderful work of historical fiction, based on the true story of a group of Smith College graduates who volunteered to do relief work on the front lines of WWI France. 18 women, including two female Drs are part of this group and each chapter is told from the perspectives of two of the women: Kate and Emmine. The characters and their relationships were so detailed and the descriptions of living and working on a war zone were captivating. I felt like I was actually there. Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this wonderful novel.

Based on a real group of Smith college alumni, I read this whole book anticipating the author's note to find out what was real and what was fiction. So much of the things I was sure were fiction turned out to be based on the author's research and really happened! This book is about more than just a group of privileged American women going to provide relief to some poor French citizens in the wake of WWI, it is a book about loyalty, dedication, and not judging circumstances until you know all the facts.

I really enjoyed getting a glimpse into another part of history and getting to meet this real group of women through this compelling fictional tale.

Content Warning: WWI bombings and war related injuries, sexual assault

Classic fish out of water tale, a group of Smith College graduates, most of whom are from very wealthy families, band together to offer respite and help to struggling women and children in France during WWI. One of these grads, however, is a ‘charity case’ however much she may try to fit in and her struggles within the group as well as for the group, shape this tale. BAND OF SISTERS by author Lauren Willig has a huge cast of characters that often bogs down the plot. Otherwise, this tale is compelling and unusual; not the standard war story currently making the rounds. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Love Lauren Willig! Her research is impeccable, her prose is masterful (and yet easy to read!) and her stories just jump out of the page and live in your heart and mind way after finishing the book. I look forward to much more from Lauren in the future.

In recent years, the bookshelves have practically overflowed with stories set during the Second World War, but if your interest lies with World War I, you probably had a harder time finding something that appealed to you. Fortunately, author Lauren Willig is releasing the perfect novel to scratch that World War I itch. Band of Sisters is the story of a group of women, all graduates of Smith College, who travel to the French countryside to bring relief to the war-torn land.

Kate Moran, once a scholarship student at Smith College, is struggling to make her way in the world shortly after graduating, so when a former classmate writes to her, begging her to join a group of Smith graduates who want to make a difference in the war effort, she reluctantly agrees to travel to France to deliver much-needed supplies. She didn't always feel at home amidst the upper classes at Smith, but the few close friendships she forged helped to bridge the gap, and she's hoping for something similar in France. After all, they'll all be in the same boat, so the fact that she didn't grow up wealthy shouldn't pose a problem.

Of course, things don't go quite as smoothly as Kate imagined they would. There are numerous small conflicts that exist between various members of the group, and it's not long before Kate begins to doubt the efficacy of their relief mission. Their lodgings are barely habitable, the supplies they're supposed to deliver can't be found, and the overall deprivation of the countryside seems boundless. It will take every ounce of courage and fortitude the women can dredge up to keep them going through these dark times.

This novel is based on true events, and I thoroughly enjoyed this glimpse of world history. I had no idea how instrumental American women were in aiding the French during the First World War. It's clear the author did a great deal of research into these women and their various contributions. Each character is brought to vivid life, given distinct personalities and struggles, and I found myself thoroughly captivated by the story.

Some readers might be turned off by some of the in-fighting that goes on among the protagonists. There are a wide range of life experiences represented here, and they don't always gel well with one another. Still, I found Willig's depiction of these conflicts to be quite realistic, and I don't think the story would have been nearly as enjoyable if everyone had gotten along perfectly. Plus, when things get tough, all differences are put aside to ensure the safety of the group as a whole, and I appreciated the maturity shown during some of the more harrowing scenes.

Each chapter begins with an excerpt from a letter or a diary penned by one of the women. I loved this extra glimpse into the hearts and minds of characters who don't necessarily take center stage in the book. We see things from a few different perspectives, but it would be impossible to know every single character well, and these bits of writing go a long way toward filling in some gaps.

Parts of the novel proved difficult to read, but I'd say that's to be expected when dealing with a war story. Willig's descriptions aren't overly graphic, but neither does she shy away from the horrors of living through a war. The darkness is tempered by glimmers of hope, and this definitely helped me get through some of the bleaker chapters.

Band of Sisters might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed it from start to finish. I love when a book is able to transport me to another place and time as well as teaching me something along the way, and this one did that and a whole lot more.

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As a historian and Smith College alumna, I expected to like this book. I did not expect to become so enthralled that I stayed up until almost 2am on a work night following the characters through a particularly harrowing situation. This book tells the story of the Smith College Relief Unit, a group of Smith alumnae who provided humanitarian aid in the Somme region of France in the latter 2 years of WWI. It is well researched and gives the reader the feeling of following the author’s research by including letters written by the characters at the beginning of each chapter.
There is a fairly large cast of characters to follow, but the author does a wonderful job of giving each her own distinct personality. It was a joy to watch them evolve from a group of women who had simply attended the same college to a true Unit. The reader comes to cheer each of Unit’s triumphs and deeply sympathize with the many setbacks they faced.
This is a fantastic story of sisterhood, self-discovery, and perseverance, bringing to light the achievements of an extraordinary group of women.

Lauren Willig has written many novels including those in her Pink Carnation series. This title is based on true events; during WWI a unit of Smith College graduates traveled to France to offer aid and assistance. These real life volunteers are acknowledged at the beginning of the novel.

The book’s protagonist, Kate, was a scholarship student at Smith. This experience left her with an excellent education and some feelings of insecurity despite her friendship with the wealthy, Emmie. A few years after graduation, Emmie recruits Kate to be one of the fictional band of sisters of the title. These “sisters” include the married woman in charge of the volunteers, two female physicians and the other Smithies. Their experiences in France and the interrelationships of the characters form the basis for the story.

This book has an interesting premise and the story is well told. I especially enjoyed the letters that begin each chapter. My only quibble was that, at times, it was a bit difficult to differentiate the characters. Many, but not all, had a trait or relationship that helps the reader to keep track.

Willig includes information at the novel on her historical sources and the ways in which her own education led to the writing of this title.

Of note: I alternated between listening to the audio of this title and reading it. The audio was well produced and engaging. It is so nice to be able to follow a story by doing both. Also, I note the beautiful cover of the novel; it drew me in.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my ow

A huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this wonderful title in exchange for an honest review.

I fell in love with the characters in this book. The World War I setting was fascinating, and I love the fact that the author shaped the plot around actual events and people.

All of the Smith College alumni who volunteer for the unique rescue mission are either running from something or searching for something. Seeing their stories unfold as they find the strength to help those who are trapped and starving in the French countryside was riveting and unforgettable.

Kate has always struggled against the stigma of being poor. She has never felt she belonged anywhere. Her bookwormish habits growing up alienated her from her working class family, who were proud but struggled to understand her. Her less than illustrious background drove a wedge between she and her Smith classmates. When her best friend Emmie persuades her to join tye relief effort, she is excited to try her hand at making a difference.

Enmie has grown weary of the constant pressure to find a suitable husband from the rank and file. She has always felt awkward and insufficient in the eyes of her philanthropist mother, and sees the relief mission as a way to find her purpose.

These two main characters are surrounded by a robust supporting cast.

Pick this book up if you enjoy tightly woven stories that emphasize personal growth and the bonds of found sisterhood. Pick this book up if you are interested in women's liberation, and the impact World War I had on the lives of ordinary people.

A group of 18 Smith college alumni traverse to rural France during World War I to help the nearby small villages recover after the Germans have decimated their homes, their crops, and most of their lives.

I love Lauren Willig's stories, but Band of Sisters was not my favorite. Does it pass the Bechdel test? Yes, but it is a very, very slow story. I didn't really come to care about the characters until 70% of the way in.

The author's note at the end is very extensive and really explains how Willig came across her source material and how her fictionalized account differs from what really happens. I'm glad she told these courageous women's story, but I expect better, more, from her.