OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Girl With a Star Spangled Heart" by Elaine Fields Smith.]

Historical narratives can have a way of transporting a reader to a very real place in another time. Such is the case in Girl With a Star Spangled Heart: Based on a True Story of Character and Courage by author Elaine Fields Smith. Using historical research and gathering her family’s memories, the author put together a fictionalized account based on the life of her mother, Betty.

As the crisis of World War II is looming from overseas, Betty Nugen is a young woman in rural West Virginia. With daily duties on her family’s farm, Betty has been living a relatively simple life of hard work with the people she loves. Still, she has an interest in aviation and a growing desire to see and experience more of the world. She’s yet carrying this desire on the fateful day she hears the news: the Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor. International battle has taken to the skies, the United States is now entering the war, and Betty eventually comes to a decision. She’s going to serve her country through joining the WAC—the Women’s Army Corps.

The author adds touches of humor to this straightforward but heartfelt account. The heroine is uncomplicated but unconventional at the same time, choosing not to get married as soon as others think she should. It’s interesting to see how, although some men in her hometown don’t believe “a pretty thing” should worry so much about what’s happening over in Germany, Betty still concerns herself with crucial details of the war. Through Betty’s circumstances, the author effectively illustrates how wartime impacts the nation’s perspectives and opportunities for women.

Now, while the reading is easy overall, it can be a bit difficult to follow sometimes, since the narrator doesn’t always identify who’s speaking during the dialogue. For instance, if two male characters are having a conversation, “he” might say something, but it’s unclear which “he” the narrator is referring to. Also, the writing style feels awkward and choppy in places. The transitions between scenes and moods don’t always have a smooth flow, and some of the switches between different characters’ points of view are quite sudden.

What’s more, because Betty’s service in the Women’s Army Air Corps is so important, I would have liked to see more time given to show what that service entailed. There are no explanations about Betty’s training or duties while she’s in boot camp. Then, while the story highlights events during much of her free time as a WAC, it seems that most of her actual service takes place in the background somewhere. However, my biggest concern with the book is the number of errors in it. Of course, it’s not uncommon to find a few errors in a published work, but in this case, I ran into errors rather frequently: misused or missing punctuation, capitalization mistakes, run-on sentences, and more.

Nevertheless, even with its flaws, this heartwarming and patriotic account is a credit to Americana and has the potential to inspire many. Therefore, I give Girl With a Star Spangled Heart a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. I’d recommend it to fans of simply-told historical fiction, particularly those interested in U.S. history and World War II.

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Girl With a Star Spangled Heart
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I can't think of a time that I have read something in the Historical Fiction genre, and this sounds like a good first! Thanks for the lovely review!

klbradley wrote:I can't think of a time that I have read something in the Historical Fiction genre, and this sounds like a good first! Thanks for the lovely review!

Oh, you're welcome! Historical fiction is one of my longtime favorites.

Another great, thoughtful review! It sounds like the author did a good job of honoring her mother's service through writing this book. I wonder why she decided to fictionalize the story. Maybe she was afraid she might get a small detail wrong.

bookowlie wrote:Another great, thoughtful review! It sounds like the author did a good job of honoring her mother's service through writing this book. I wonder why she decided to fictionalize the story. Maybe she was afraid she might get a small detail wrong.

Thanks, Owlie! I've also wondered about the facts vs. the fiction, if maybe the author's creative license came in for some of the minor characters or maybe to fill in some blanks her family's memories didn't. I don't know, but I imagine this material would've made a nice biography as well.

I enjoy books about WW2, and I may give this one a try. Thank you for a well-done review!

MsMartha wrote:I enjoy books about WW2, and I may give this one a try. Thank you for a well-done review!

Thank you and you're welcome. If you do check it out, I hope you enjoy it! I've read my share of WWII novels over the years, and even so, this book gave me a couple new points to think about.

Thanks for the review. I love to read historical fiction, and although WWII is not usually the era that I choose, this sounds like it would be interesting.

barb429 wrote:Thanks for the review. I love to read historical fiction, and although WWII is not usually the era that I choose, this sounds like it would be interesting.

You're welcome. I think what attracted me to this one was the fact that the heroine is the author's mother. As a writer, I imagine that would be an interesting challenge.

People often forget that women served their country in earlier wars. It's good to see a story that showcases women in such roles.

CatInTheHat wrote:People often forget that women served their country in earlier wars. It's good to see a story that showcases women in such roles.

Yes! It can be easy nowadays to take things like this for granted and to forget the people who did it before, or who did it first.

I'd been hearing and learning about WWII for quite a while before I ever heard much about the women who joined up to serve. That is, I'd hear a lot about the women who stepped up to take on men's roles at work while the men were gone, and women who served as war nurses and whatnot, but it wasn't until later that I heard about women actually joining the service.

Historical Fiction is one of my favorites. This sounds like a book I would certainly enjoy. Very important to hear about the other side of war.

beeholman wrote:Historical Fiction is one of my favorites. This sounds like a book I would certainly enjoy. Very important to hear about the other side of war.

Historical fiction is one of my longtime favorite genres, too. And with so many WWI and II books out there, I appreciate it when a book shows me a different side or view of the events than I've seen before.

It sounds really promising and for a self-declared feminist like myself, joining the WAC sounds inspiring and exciting. Too bad, though, about the flaws of the book. Great job on the review.

kimmyschemy06 wrote:It sounds really promising and for a self-declared feminist like myself, joining the WAC sounds inspiring and exciting. Too bad, though, about the flaws of the book. Great job on the review.

Yes, how exciting it must have been!