 “In The Call of the Wrens, Jenni L. Walsh shines light on courageous women whose feats during two world wars remain relatively unknown…I’d recommend this book to history buffs and fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale. Walsh really captures the intensity of war, transporting the reader back in time and driving home the anxiety and uncertainty of the era, but also the fortitude and sacrifice of the men and women who dared to join the fight.”
In The Call of the Wrens, Jenni L. Walsh shines light on courageous women whose feats during two world wars remain relatively unknown. While the story’s protagonists are fictional, the ladies who served in Women’s Royal Naval Service – or Wrens – were not. They were brave and selfless women who risked everything when their country asked. The novel follows Marion, an orphan aged out of state-sponsored care, through World War I as she joins the Wrens and then finds herself on the outskirts of the war, training and delivering carrier pigeons by motorbike as she moves ever closer to the battlefront. Likewise, we are introduced to Evelyn, well off in society but who shuns a life of finishing school and serving a husband. Against her parents’ wishes, she runs off to join the sisterhood during World War II and becomes a dispatch rider. Both women show remarkable courage and resolve, their stories slowly weaving together in alternating timelines until at last they converge. The Call of the Wrens features some of my favorite tropes of found family, underappreciated history, and slow burn romances. Most of all, it features strong women coming into their own. Walsh’s novel builds slowly at first, but the pace quickly kicks up as Marion and Evelyn become aware of their own strengths and motivations as they find themselves drawn closer to the action of the war. I’d recommend this book to history buffs and fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale. Walsh really captures the intensity of war, transporting the reader back in time and driving home the anxiety and uncertainty of the era, but also the fortitude and sacrifice of the men and women who dared to join the fight. Reviewed By: Sara Kruszka Review posted on Nashville Book Review on November 2, 2022 at https://nashvillebookreview.com/product/the-call-of-the-wrens/  Issue: October 1, 2022
The Call of the Wrens. By Jenni L. Walsh Nov. 2022. 400p. Harper Muse, paper, $17.99 (9781400233885) Walsh (Side by Side, 2018) follows two English women, Marion and Evelyn, showing how they became involved with the Women’s Royal Naval Service, more commonly known as the Wrens. The reader is introduced to Marion at the start of WWII, when her friend Sara comes to meet with her and persuade her to rejoin the Wrens for the coming war, continuing the work she had done in WWI. Her history gradually unfolds over the course of the book, taking several twists and turns until her connection with Evelyn is finally revealed. Evelyn has been protected and coddled her entire life owing to a physical disability and her posh upbringing. She finds ways to act out and be rebellious, but it isn’t until Churchill declares war that Evelyn finds a way to slip out of her mother’s grasp by joining the Wrens. This well-written, straightforward book will be of interest to readers curious about the types of work available to English women who wanted to aid in war efforts during both world wars. — Rebecca Gerber Thank you to BookBub for including The Call of the Wrens on this great list of "15 Must-Read Historical Mysteries Coming Out this Year"!  See the full list posted on BookBub on August 18, 2022: https://www.bookbub.com/blog/historical-mysteries-2022 Thank you to She Reads for including The Call of the Wrens on this great list of "Best Historical Fiction Coming in Fall 2022"!  See the full She Reads list posted on August 4, 2022: https://shereads.com/best-historical-fiction-coming-in-fall-2022/
Thank you to Thoughts from a Page for including The Call of the Wrens on this list of "Most Anticipated Historical Fiction for July through December of 2o22"!  See the full list posted by Thoughts from a Page: https://www.thoughtsfromapage.com/blog/most-anticipated-historical-fiction-for-july-through-december-of-2022/
 I'm so thrilled that I Am Defiance has been nominated for the 2022-2023 Junior Tome It List! To see the full list, please click here.
So pleased for such a wonderful review from Kirkus for Over and Out, releasing March 1, 2022.  On the day she was born, Aug. 13, 1961, a wall went up that separated Sophie Ziegel from her family’s past.
Now 12, Sophie and her best friend, Katarina, daydream about escaping East Germany’s oppressive government by crossing the Berlin Wall into freedom in West Berlin. An aspiring scientist, Sophie knows the government will dictate her future as they did for Monika, her 18-year-old babysitter who dreamed of teaching school but has been directed to become a pharmacist instead. Complaining about her assignment lands Monika under the watchful eye of the Stasi, or secret police. Villainous agent Herr Becker threatens to put Sophie’s wheelchair-using mother in an institution if she doesn’t spy on Monika. Braving the “death strip” filled with trip wires, dogs, and armed guards that separates East from West seems like the only option. A surprise encounter with visitors from West Berlin along with Sophie’s Inventor’s Box of scavenged items lead to a high-stakes escape plan. Filled with adrenaline-inducing action and inspired by true stories, this novel evokes the perils of life in East Berlin and the risks some took in search of something better. The ingenuity Sophie and Katarina display in overcoming obstacles is compelling, and the no-win situation Sophie finds herself in rings painfully true. Page-turning action and dangerous intrigue fuel this Cold War–era novel. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 8-12) First reviewed on Kirkus Reviews site on December 15, 2021 https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jenni-l-walsh/over-and-out/ Thank you to Hasty Book List for including The Call of the Wrens on this great list of "My Most-Anticipated Historical Novels of 2022"!  See the full list on Hasty Book List posted on December 12, 2021: https://bookshop.org/contributors/jenni-l-walsh
 I'm very excited to announce that Over and Out has been chosen as a Spring 2022 Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!
The Junior Library Guild has a reputation for a keen literary sense; and for selecting books that go on to become award-winners. Find out more about JLG on their website, www.juniorlibraryguild.com.  From its enticing cover to the turn of the last page, this novel is engrossing. A fabulously entertaining story about a remarkable woman who just wanted to be herself.
WRITTEN BY JENNI L. WALSH REVIEW BY FIONA ALISON From its enticing cover to the turn of the last page, this novel is engrossing. Alongside other historical women way ahead of their time, Simone Jules was the first female professional croupier. Her tale dabbles in love and revenge, but her game of choice? Vingt-et-un, which she introduced to the West in 1849. After a family tragedy overtakes her life, Simone arrives in San Francisco, determined to reinvent herself, no longer a daughter or twin sister or fiancée. The miners flock to her table to spend their gold. Simone is striking, intoxicating, with a feminine allure, made even more so by her silky French accent, which she uses to advantage. She is well-mannered, intelligent, and business-savvy. She never allows a client to touch her. Her gambling houses are respectable—no cussing, no brawling—and she doesn’t hire girls! After another tragedy, she joins a mule train for a few years, reinvents herself as Eleanor Dumont, and sets up Madame Dumont’s with her own hard-earned money. Until the inevitable happens and the miners move on again, drawn to the seductive whispers of gold. Simone is a drifter, a very successful one, a survivor with the will to overcome anything life throws at her. She sets up in many places from San Francisco to Kootenay, always dealing vingt-et-un, her specialty. We experience her wanderings, her hardships, and loneliness with her. The commotion and cacophony of noise in a place being built from the ground up and the subsequent quiet of the foothills are exactingly rendered. Many memorable characters come and go, but what stands out is Simone’s autonomy, her self-reliance, her freedom to go where she likes and do what she likes. A fabulously entertaining story about a remarkable woman who just wanted to be herself. First published on the HNS Website (May 6, 2021): https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/a-betting-woman-a-novel-of-madame-moustache/ |
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