Front Lines

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: World War Two reimagined had females been allowed to enlist, with a nice blend of suspense, terror, wit, and diverse characters.

Opening Sentence: 1942

The Review:

Rio Richlin is from a small town, eager to do her part in the war her sister died for. Rainy has goals of revenge on her mind, and aims to be at the top of the intelligence forces. Then there is Frankie, an African American girl aiming to be a medic and bring home enough money for her family to eat. All three enlist in the army. All three have no idea of what they’re in for.

One of the things that I love about book blogging is the fact that I get introduced to genres that I otherwise never would’ve read. I started Dark Faerie show more Tales two years ago, I used to only read sci-fi and dystopian novels. I would get worried when I saw genres like contemporary and historical fiction because they weren’t what I was be interested in, but now they’re some of my favorite books to read. I love it when authors put their own personal twist on historical events that happened years ago. Front Lines is no exception to this trend. It’s such a cool idea to reinvent World War II with girls enlisted, and although I felt like the end was a tad bit rushed, the diverse array of characters and depth to the novel made for a book that I don’t think you should miss.

We have a cast of exceptional characters that I liked for different reasons. My favorite chapters to read were probably from the view of a Rainy, A Jewish girl who enlisted – she wants personal revenge against Hitler for the crimes he is committing. Since she was in the intelligence sector of the army, she got a broader view of the war as a whole than the girls in the field. Rio Richlin is from a small town, and her sister died in the war when she was drafted. Her death showed her how much she longed to do her part. Before, her biggest struggle was her crush on Strand, a dreamy boy from back home, but now her surprising talent for shooting got her and her best friend in the front lines. Finally, we have Frankie, who is fighting more than one discrimination; she is African-American, and wishes to be a medic. All of these characters had personal goals and fears. I loved how we got to see three strong females who are not afraid to prove their worth!

The tone of this book seem to accurately convey the horrors of the war. Of course, I have never experienced being in the army in a major war, but I’d imagine it would be just as horrific, if not more, as the author illustrates. The extra element of girls enlisting does not diminish from the terrifying situations that the troops find themselves in. There is a word/acronym introduced to the reader, FUBAR, that is army slang – it stands for “fucked up beyond all recognition” – and it was certainly appropriate in many scenes. How did I survive through 16 years of life without knowing about FUBAR?

Altogether, I found this book to be another interesting and unique title to add to the shelves of my historical fiction collection. I love the characters, and the little bit of romance that was thrown in; the only complaint I have is the end. It seemed rushed and after watching our characters march through the grueling start of their army life, I hated how so much time was skipped to the worst battle of the war. Then, it was merely skimmed over. (UPDATE: apparently its from a series. So hopefully these scenes will be elaborated on.) Despite this, I really was interested and I’m always surprised by how much history I am able to learn by reading historical fiction books. History is, after all, my favorite subject at school – I’m in Advanced Placement World and it’s the greatest thing, but I haven’t even got to World War Two yet! (We’re barely past the Islamic and Mongol empires and leading into European constitutional states) So at least now I have some background. A good novel!

Notable Scene:

She takes a single deep breath before stepping directly into the men’s latrine.

The shrieks and cries have a strangely non-masculine sound. Naked men twist away or cover themselves with whatever comes easily to hand, sometimes pulling a still clothed buddy in front of them in a soapy, steamy panic.

“Where is Private Geer?” Rio demands. “I am here for his apology.”

FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Front Lines. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. show less

The tweak to history in this book is so minor it may as well not be called alternate history, but for the women of this world, it would change things massively. Michael Grant sticks as close to history as possible, with battles and training and societal prejudices all coming from history. And it's good. It's educational and horrifying at the same time.

All the characters in this book were very three-dimensional. That there were three viewpoint characters made it rather hard to keep track of some side characters, but the POV characters were all unique in their own ways. The character development - oh god. Grant does not hold back on the horrors of war. All three characters react in different ways to combat. There's desperation, there's show more fear, there's hardening and there's forgetting. It's a very realistic reaction.

Because I thought this was a standalone, I thought that the training dragged on for far too long - but now I see that it's going to be a series, which I am quite excited for.

Present tense took a while to get used to, and it definitely works better in the wartime section than the training section. During the wartime section, present tense provides the feeling of being there and portrays the action and fear and terror as immediate and helps get into the mind of the characters. The training section ... not so much.

One thing I disliked was the censorship of "fuck" because it got distracting seeing "fug" all over the place. It's a gritty story about war. People expect profanity in this situation and the lack of it is more jarring. Just use "fuck" the rest of the story is gory enough. show less

This is a case of right book, wrong reader. I love the premise: what if women had been subject to the draft when the United States entered the Second World War? But I couldn’t get into the book. I renewed it twice from the library, meaning I had it out for nine weeks, and I still couldn’t get more than a third of the way through.

I should maybe have clued in that I wouldn’t really gel with this book when the blurb said that it was recommended for people who liked Code Name Verity and The Book Thief. I haven’t read Verity and bailed on The Book Thief as well. So if you liked those books, you’ll probably have much better luck with this one.

And even though I personally didn’t get along with it, I would certainly suggest it to my show more friends with teens who are interested in stories featuring women. I appreciate that it exists—it’s just not for me. show less

First off, I did enjoy this book, I did enjoy the characters, and I will probably read the other books in this series. That said, I felt like it was really long and drawn out in some parts. And it was very graphic...so graphic I was surprised this was considered a teen book, but teens need to know what war was like too, so on that hand I get it. I would recommend this book. 4 out of 5 stars.

Once upon a time after the Gone series, Michael Grant was on my short list of *please gouge my eyes out if I ever pick up any of his books ever again* but this book has me reconsidering that. I'm pleased to say that my eraser is hovering over that name on the list as I write this review.

It's World War II and in this Alternate Universe, both men and women can serve in the military. The narrarator is one of three young women that have signed up to serve their country Rio Richlin, Frangie Marr, and Rainy Schulterman all of which went to war of their own free will. She starts the book telling their stories in hopes to preserve the memory of her fallen friends though we are never told which one didn't make it out of the war. One joins in show more hopes to escape the life she had before, the other help her family in the economic crisis, and lastly to fight for justice and rid the world of Nazis. Each one has a story that differs enough from the other that I didn't feel like I was reading the same story but with a different name attached. The only one that I felt was a little weaker than the other two was Rainy's story but it could be that I didn't feel an instant connection to her character. Because she was supposed to be a clever and hyper-perceptive I felt that she came across as too much of a know-it-all but her background wasn't as rich as Rio's and Frangie's so I didn't feel anything for her whenever I got to a chapter telling her part of the story.

There wasn't much action in terms of fighting or strategy which made it very much a character driven story. Eventually two of the stories are interwoven but I won't spoil that or how it happens. I really liked this idea and hope to pick up the sequel.

One thing I really hated about the Gone series was how after the third installment the books just felt the same but with a different title. I also hated how much I ended up hating the main characters because of stupid choices they made that felt so out of the blue with what I had read before. Hopefully, this series isn't one of those that is going to be dragged out until it becomes unbearable. show less

FRONT LINES: SHE’s Fighting for her Country by Michael Grant
This novel is alternative fiction that takes place just before and during World War II. The premise is that girls as well as boys must register for the draft at age 18 and serve in combat if called up. The two female leads are both only 17, but lie about their ages and join up when America is attacked at Pearl Harbor. They both expect to serve in “safe” secretarial type units and are surprised and chagrined when they discover they will serve in combat units. The novel covers their experiences training and then in combat in North Africa.
The author shows quickly that he is NOT a female in the early sections of the book. The women’s actions and attitudes just don’t ring show more true, especially considering the time period is the 1940’s. He gets better when the “action” becomes actual action in war zones. The male members of the unit are both sexist and accepting of women in combat. Although the book is more than 500 pages, only the first few actions of the unit are covered in any depth. The end of the war is quickly summed up in a few foreshadows strewn throughout and then in a final few pages. The very green female sergeant who imbeds herself in a combat action with no battle training and in relative defiance of her superiors is patently unrealistic.
Because the aftereffects on both the men and women in the unit and those at home are not covered the book cannot be considered a foreshadowing of today’s “women in combat” initiatives. The first part of the book drags a bit, but the later war scenes are quite good.
3 of 5 stars show less

An alternate history where women were able to fight in WW2. Follows the lives of 3 enlisted female soldiers - Rainy, a jewish woman who puts herself in for the intelligence corp and comes up against male prejudice so has to prove she is smart enough. Rio - a white foot soldier who enlists after her sister is killed in the Navy in action. And finally Frangie - a black American woman who must confront both sexism and racism in order to fight and earn money for her poverty stricken family.

Comment : Grant alternates between the characters in each chapter but I like how the timeline means that sometimes one character like Rio will have 3 chapters in a row dedicated to her. I think Grant has probably tones down the sexism that WOULD have show more occurred at that time - the male soldiers seem very subdued and I honestly don't think that female and male would have shared barracks. That being said, this is a fascinating look at what might have happened and the consequences.

First in a series, I will be purchasing the others. show less