This was a slow starter for me. I wanted to be invested in the story, because it is based on the real Smith College Relief Unit (SCRU) during World War I, and those stories are important to be told. Too often, women’s contributions are erased, and so I was 1) Glad to see this book existed and 2) Really wanted to enjoy reading it, not slog through it.

I ended up putting it down for a little while and read a couple other books, including an ARC I had a short turn around on. I discovered that while I was reading the library book I picked up after the ARC, that I was really interested in what was going to happen. I was itching to pick it back up, which is the exact mood I like to be in when I’m reading something!

The relief efforts of the SCRU were incredible. In the author’s note at the back, Lauren Willig states that all of the events that happened to her fictionalized version did indeed happen to the real SCRU, and very few things were fictionalized. I ended up really enjoying this, and I think it would make a great book club read.