A military base and the year 1962. The restrictions, the divisions of color demarcate every part of the women's lives. So many rules, written and unwritten and all equally humiliating to these women who strive to live within the rules, uphold their dignity and at the same time not endanger the jobs of their husbands who are totally beholden to the white folk (particularly the wives)

The story opened an aspect of life that was hitherto not even thinkable to me - the American women planned evacuation of their children, the Cuban women planned the same to send their children across the waters but this was the important part - without the knowledge of their husbands. Taking their children's lives into their hands they planned all this meticulously. Not that the husband's did not have their own secrets as well. All cocooned in their little worlds.

The story was intriguing, and revealing. People put together will not follow rules however much rules are in place and indiscretions and breaking of these rules will happen. Consequences always follow.

This story follows two groups of women, one in Cuba and one in America during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Brenda Sparks Prescott does a wonderful job setting the scene with her detailed descriptions. I enjoyed reading both the American's story and the Cuban's story as she went back and forth between the two countries. She explores everything women in war have to deal with: their husbands tempers, affairs, secrets they uncover, loss of family, but most important of all is the children they will protect no matter what. Brenda Sparks Prescott's meticulous character development is unparalleled and realistic. This book represents people of color and the extra difficulties and harshness they endured. If you love character driven books, this would be a great book for you to read.

Home Front Lines takes place during the Cuban Missile Crisis and has two main storylines that show the uneasiness of existence during that time. In the US, we meet some African American military wives on an Air Force base outside DC. They can sense the mounting tensions, even if their husbands cannot share any information with them. Feeling somewhat like sitting ducks, they take it upon themselves to create an evacuation plan for their children. At the same time, in Cuba, three sisters make the decision to send their children away without consulting their respective husbands. Two of them also end up on a search for their "missing" brother.
The characters are engaging and the stories held my attention throughout, but there was a separate piece that I thought would be developed more but didn't. There a few characters we were introduced to, like Hiroshima survivors and men on a Navy ship, that were given close attention but then seemingly forgotten as the plotlines involving the Air Force wives and Cuban sisters were brought to a close. I enjoyed the book so much that I wish the author had written more and followed that aspect of the story longer. The chapters about the Cubans sisters reminded me of Julia Alvarez's In the Time of Butterflies, a book that I love. Like Alvarez, Sparks Prescott does a great job of giving life to the sisters and their relational dynamics. There is some back story to the Air Force wives as well, which helped flesh them out as well, and it also shed light on the racial dynamics that they faced as part of the military. There is so much to this book, and I look forward to reading more from the author!