So it turns out, after consulting with Google, that women actually did serve in combat during WWII. I liked this second book in the trilogy better than the first one, which continued to follow the army careers of Rio Richlin (blue collar soldier), Frangie Marr (black medic), and Rainy Schulterman (Jewish intelligence officer.) In the last book, they met in Northern Africa, here they meet in Sicily and Italy on their separate missions. Author Grant continues to develop his characters, but especially Rio, who is promoted against her wishes into a leadership role because she is a natural, but has doubts. Rainy gets tapped to obtain key intelligence information by smuggling an unstable Mafioso back to his famiglia. My favorite scene is when they are reunited in England to get their deserved Silver Stars, and while drinking in a bar, a couple of make GIs start spouting some racist crap about Frangie and Rio smashes one of them face first into a table. ( )

I feel like I’m the only one that doesn’t like Michael Grant’s books as they go on. This book felt like a lot happened but resulted in nothing. It’s kind of the same way I felt about the Gone books too.

Rio, Frangie, and Rainy had new missions and assignments to complete. Rio grows up but goes through a change of morals that shake her up. Frangie struggles with being taken seriously as a medic because of her blackness and female-ness. Rainy is given a super secret mission that could help win a battle but kill her in the process. It just took so long to get to the point that by the time I did I was bored and ready to move on.

If Grant could get someone to help him come up with better titles to his books that don’t make me have false expectations, that would be great. Or maybe I’m just the only person who doesn’t feel satisfied until I know where a book gets its title from. ( )

I didn't review this when I rated it because I really didn't know what to say. Or, rather, I knew what I wanted to say, but not if I would be able to do so.

This was not the book that I should have been reading in the aftermath of the election. One wouldn't normally think that an alternative history written for the young adult audience would be anything other than escapism. However, in Grant's alternate world, the only difference is that women were allowed to serve on the front lines of World War II. That's it. That's the only difference. So this is a war novel, with all of the violence and death and despair that such novels normally entail. But, even with women serving alongside men on the front lines, Grant doesn't lessen or sugarcoat the sexism and it's fugging (Grant's alternative to one of my favorite words, employed in an attempt to keep the novel clean enough to get past the censors) depressing to read and to recognize as things still being said and done today, and even glorified by a certain DJT and his supporters. And, as bad as the sexism is, the racism is far worse and this Grant did tone down quite a bit. Racism, sexism, war—there was as much about this book that made it feel as much like it might be about the future as it was about the past and it hit me hard.

This is a strong novel about strong women but, had I read it at a different time, it would likely not have had as great an emotional impact as it did. Just more proof, if any were needed, that books are different for different readers, and even for the same reader at different times. I don't know that this was the book I should have been reading at this time, but maybe it was the book I needed to read. It reminded me that things often get worse before they get better and even during the darkest times, there are moments of joy to be found. And even though the story of Frangie, Rio, and Rainy hasn't reached that point in the future just yet, even Hitler was eventually defeated.

(And, please, don't comment on this review if you just want to argue politics. This is about the book and the emotional reaction I had to it in light of the recent election. If you can frame your political discussion in terms of this book and your reaction to it, fine. If not, this is not the place.) ( )