As the war continued to ravage Europe, on the English home front, women stepped up to take over men’s jobs freeing them to go fight. But it wasn’t easy and often women had to stand up for themselves as they worked to keep the country running.
(This is part 2 of the Emmy Lake reviews. For Part 1, click here.)
Overview
Following the events of Dear Mrs. Bird, Emmy Lake’s life is almost perfect. She’s now a writer for Woman’s Friend’s advice column, renamed Yours Cheerfully and she has a boyfriend that she’s madly in love with.
But when the Ministry of Information begins asking women’s magazines to start running articles to boost number of women doing war work, Emmy job as a journalist becomes all the more important as she dives into the stories of female workers.
When she meets a single mother who works at one of the munitions factories she must choose between the truth and what the Ministry wants printed.
My Thoughts
Wow! I enjoyed this one just as much as the first one.
This book didn’t focus as much on the advice column as the previous book did. Instead, it focuses on the Ministry of Information’s call for articles about the benefits of female war workers and how amazing it is to be one. But, as in the previous book, Pearce takes a look at women’s rights through the lens of wartime.
Emmy doesn’t just except the ministry’s word about female workers. She befriends a female factory worker named Anne who shows her the good and bad of being a woman in that environment. Through Emmy’s friendship with Anne, we get to see a part World War II that while often spoken about, is not often delved into.
Although the main focus of the book was the war work articles, I loved that Emmy is now writing for the advice column. She has such a natural penchant for being sympathetic and giving advice that is not only helpful, but honest.
Final Thoughts and Rating
Overall, I enjoyed Yours Cheerfully as much as I enjoyed Dear Mrs. Bird. Pearce has a wonderful writing style that is absolutely a joy to read.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Would I Recommend This Book: Yes!
Wonderful review. Thank you for sharing.