Subway Girls by Susie Orman Schnall has been an enlightening look at a little known piece of history. The story is backdropped against the struggles of women involved in an ad campaign for New York Subway system. Organized as a pageant with obvious objectification of the Miss Subways women that would be infuriating today, it examines the struggles of Charlotte who strives to get into an advertising firm even if only in the typing pool. A common thread develops between the present day and the Miss Subways when we see that both women were so independent and had their own obstacles to their future. I am sitting blocks away from Ellen’s Stardust Diner as I finish this book and can not wait to go glimpse these posters on display! I highly recommend this book. I was given an ARC of this book but all opinions are my own.

I love historical fiction. Books that immerse me in a different time are one of the pleasures of reading! The Subway Girls, by Susie Orman Schnall, brings Post WWII New York to life with colorful characters, and impressive details of fashion and how people lived.

What I Liked:
Setting:

New York in 1948 was still a city getting over WWII. Most families were still struggling, and women had limited choices in life. The pressure to finish high school and then quickly marry and make babies was intense. Reading about the oppression Charlotte endured was, at times, infuriating!!! Although she was twenty-one years old, her father had complete control over her life. He could dictate whether or not she went to college, if she could get a job, and what activities she could do.

The story also takes place in the present, with Olivia, an advertising executive, trying to land a big account with the New York Subway system. I liked how the book showed the frantic pace of life in present-day New York. Everything is focused on work, and success. It's as if the pendulum has swung completely the other way from 1948!

Characters:

Charlotte is ambitious, rebellious, but also kind and thoughtful. When I envision her, I think of my own aunt who was a very independent woman (but in the 1950's). Although she is a very serious person, she still is very interested in how she presents herself, taking great care in her appearance. This is perfect, as she enters this beauty contest.

Olivia is the present-day main character. She is a thoroughly modern, no-nonsense kind of woman.
Even though work is her main focus, she is often drawn into her parent's marital drama. I thought it was a bit of a cliche that she was in love with her boss. But I liked that she wasn't too love-struck to notice that she was being used.

Story:

The story of the Miss Subways contest was really fascinating. Yes, it was totally sexist when we look back on it, but this was a real-life beauty contest held in New York City in order to encourage people to ride the subway.

The modern story of Olivia trying to land the advertising account for the New York Subways was fun. There was a lot of tension. Would she get the account? Was someone trying to sabotage her efforts?

What I Was Mixed About:
Story:

I also found some of the twists in the story to be rather unbelievable. I cannot say too much about this without giving away spoilers, but I think Charlotte was AMAZINGLY forgiving. What she does for a person she barely knows was kind of unbelievable.

However, I did find that the ending redeemed this by not being too tidy. Things don't resolve quickly for the characters. I liked Charlotte didn't throw in the towel and surrender (as I had expected her to).

What I Didn't Like:
Character:

Given the times, I found Charlotte's ambition to work as an advertising executive somewhat unrealistic. I'm sure women had such dreams in those days of breaking down those glass ceilings. But Charlotte seemed surprised that she was getting so much resistance from advertising agencies. I think she should have expected this.

If you love historical fiction like I do, please read The Subway Girls by Susie Orman Schnall. The story follows two women in two different time periods, with a common interest. The Miss Subway Beauty Contest.
In 1949 Charlotte is a very ambitious student at Hunter College and is hoping to get her first job in the typing pool .Her dream job is to work for J.Walter Thompson in advertising. Every time Charlotte receives mail, she's hoping it's a job opportunity, but so far every letter states "We are unable to offer you...". Her very strict and straight forward father informs Charlotte that as soon as school is finished, he needs her to come work for him at the family business, and this is the worst news for Charlotte, who has so many dreams of having a fulfilling career. A letter comes in the mail, and Charlotte is hoping it's a job offer, and it is in a way, it's a letter congratulating her for being a finalist in The Miss Subway Beauty Contest. Charlotte is in shock. She remembers her friend Sam asking her permission to submit her photo for the contest, but never did she dream she would get picked. At first she thinks the whole thing is silly. What are the chances she'll win? Her father will never allow her to enter. If Charlotte can win the contest all her problems will be solved. J.Walter Thompson will want to hire her, and her father's shop will gain business by being seen on her poster.
Fast forward to current day and we meet advertising executive Olivia. Olivia is struggling to land a new account, and her job depends on it. The Osborne Agency isn't doing well, and they just lost the Green Goddess account to J.Walter Thompson. Olivia needs to find a way to get a new account, and fast. Olivia meets her friend James out at the bar, and while she's waiting for him she strikes up a conversation with a very nice man, and after one too many drinks, becomes very open and honest about her life and work issues. Imagine her surprise when she gets to work the next day, and finds out the man she was speaking to is Jack Haldon, the chief marketing officer at the MTA! Jack was so impressed with Olivia that he called to offer The Osborne Agency the opportunity to pitch their ideas. The other companies were 6 weeks ahead of them, so they must work quick. Her boss breaks the staff into two teams, and they must come up with an idea that will win the account with only 2 weeks left. Olivia knows if she doesn't come up with an idea to not only get them the account, but to beat out Thomas, her fellow employee, that she can pack her bags and start looking for a new job. Olivia comes up with two ideas, but her favorite is bringing back an old campaign for The Miss Subway beauty contest. They can recreate the contest and bring back the posters of the girls that use to hang on the subway. Through a stroke of luck Olivia finds out her neighbor was a winner of this contest, and this helps her with the come up with ideas to pitch the idea.
I loved both women's stories equally, and found the transition from one to the other to flow so easily. I was invested in both stories, and really enjoyed reading how this contest changes the lives of two women for the better. Both women have a love story, but I can't give away all the stories! Enjoy

This book was a fun summer read. I enjoyed reading about a topic I had never heard of. The Subways Girl campaign in the NYC subway sounds super intriguing. In Charlotte's narration the life of a woman in 1949 is so different and I was reminded how much things have changed. I liked seeing Charlotte work hard to support her father's store and find a job in the career she wanted. I also liked Olivia's character in present day, but didn't love her storyline as much as I had hoped. Overall a book I will recommend to others and I enjoyed reading.

This is a wonderfully executed book with parallel narratives. The two stories intertwine in just the right ways to create tension and make it hard to put the book down! The character development was great.

I want to thank netgalley and the author for an advanced copy of this book! I loved this story it was a quick read and a light read , sometimes I need that after so many mystery’s and thrillers. The story takes place in 2018 with the character Olivia who works in advertising and 1949 and the character Charlotte, who is attending college for advertising and struggling to find her place in a mans word who think woman need to be at home in the kitchen and taking care of children. Olivia is trying to find an idea for her advertising job she comes up with bringing back the subway girls like they did in 1949 , which showed posters of young beaufil intelligent woman who are trying to beak into the working world and they had a new subway girl for each month! Well Charlotte who ends up being Olivia’s neighbors won a subway girl in 1949 and decides to help Olivia bring back the subway girls and help her. I loved the back and forth stories about how both Charlotte in 1949 and Olivia 2018 both have the same struggles In the workforce and the love and struggles they have . I especially loved charlottes story that takes place around the 1949 time period and the struggles she had not just being a subway girl and her personal life! I recommend this book as a light reader and you will fall in love with the characters as well!

The Subway Girls by Susie Orman Schnall

This historical novel set in New York City has been based on the real life Subway Girls competition that that took place between 1941-1976. The author heard about this on a radio broadcast of NPR. She was so fascinated by the story she read "Meet Miss Subways: New York's Beauty Queens 1941-1976 written by Fiona Gardner and Amy Zimmer, Seapoint Books 2013.

This story was absolutely fascinating although the two main character's Charlotte and Olivia are fictional. The writing was vivid and descriptive. This is a story that I will buy the book when it is published because I enjoyed it so much. Charlotte and Olivia characterizations are richly developed. Both are independent, strong women who each face the struggles of trying to find balance in the disparities in a world where men are still paid higher salaries than women for doing the same job in some cases.

Charlotte's story time line is set in 1941 where she wants to work in an advertising agency after she graduates from college. She doesn't stand a chance as becoming a copywriter or an account executive. Her only option is becoming a typist. Her younger brother Harry, who was the favorite child has passed away, so Charlotte's father expects her to work in the family owned Hardware store. Charlotte has a steady boyfriend that wants to marry her.

Olivia's character takes place in 2018 where she also works for an advertising agency but she reflects how far women have come in the work place as she competes with a man who steals her idea to pitch an ad campaign, I really admired both Charlotte and Olivia. I was hooked from the very first page to the last and read this gem of a novel in one sitting.

In 1941 women were not considered to have careers and hire nannies while raising families. While reading I was transported to simpler times where there was no cell phones and it was nostalgic for me when somebody had to make a phone call they looked for a phone booth. Each chapter jumps back in forth in time alternating between 1941 and 2018.

Charlotte devises a plan by entering in a contest held by a modeling agency to win a contest that features a poster of the winner on the inside of each subway car. She hopes if she wins it will bring free publicity and breath life into her father's hardware store which is losing business. She thinks that is the only way she can get a job as a typist as her father expects her to work in his store. Her father forbids her to enter the contest.

This book explores themes of family, relationships, romance, adoption, alcoholism, abuse, love, friendship and the interesting Miss Subway girls. It is a kind and gentle story with quiet writing. It is refreshing to read about a part of history that is largely unknown that is timeless. I really think the author did a great job with making both protagonist's background story converge so seamlessly.
I highly recommend this novel to all who enjoy great storytelling and learning about historical events.

Thank you to Net Galley, Susie Orman Schnall and St. Martins Press for providing me with my digital copy for a fair and honest review.

The Subway Girls was another fantastic book by Susie Orman Schnall. It's a dual time line novel about life in NYC in 1949 and present day. Despite the 70 years between the two main character's lives, their struggles are surprisingly similar.

In 1949, Charlotte dreams of a job in advertising which is only a man's job at the time. Her friends encourage her to enter the Miss Subway contest. This contest picked one young lady every month to have her picture shown in all the subway cars in NYC. The resulting fallout from the award changes Charlotte's life forever. In current time, Olivia is working at a start up advertising agency. As she struggles to save her job, she comes up with a new advertising campaign for the city that focuses on the Miss Subway contests years earlier. Will this campaign succeed and save her job and her struggling agency?

The story of both of these women are interesting and I loved the way that the author brought their stories together. Despite the 70 years between their lives, both women fought the fights that women have always faced in the work world - discrimination and how to balance work and life and still be happy in both areas. I thought that this was an excellent book with a great message.

I read an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This book was a miss for me. The first part I enjoyed. I liked the history of the Subway Girls, but half way it turned into a saccharine romance novel. I like books that jump between past and present, but I didn't care for the present character. Thanks Netgalley for the book in exchange for an honest opinion. I would give this 2.5 stars.

I loved this book. It was an effortless read that pulled me in from page one. Its refreshing to read something that has two leading women. The differentiator was that they were from two different times. I felt they would somehow intersect and couldn’t put the book down because I wanted to find out when and how.
This book portrays the strength and challenges for women at any age and and different times in history. I would recommend it for anyone wanting an uplifting, effortless, intreging read.

The Subway Girls follows the lives of Charlotte from March 3, 1949 through July 11, 1949 and that of Olivia from March 1, 2018 to March 16, 2018 as viewed through the eyes of Mrs. Glasser, Miss Subways of July 1, 1949.

Miss Subways was essentially a beauty competition of young women from the greater NYC area run by the New York Subways Advertising Company. Up to 1,400 copies of photos of the monthly winners adorned the advertising wall in subway cars in order to draw the eyes of male riders to that wall. Though the method of choosing Miss Subways varied over the years, she was always a local resident, girl-next-door wholesome in appearance, and a New York City Subway user in real life. It was a very successful ad campaign that ran from 1941 through 1976. Around 200 women held the title of Miss Subways over the run of this program.

Both women we encounter in The Subway Girls were avid feminists and well educated for their time, both were radically independent and insistent that women in general and certainly they themselves should be able to pursue their chosen careers even if it meant sacrificing the idea of marriage and children. Both women were already in a relationship with their life love, so they knew what that sacrifice would involve.

This was an interesting novel. I enjoyed the look into the minds of both Charlotte and Olivia, and the details of both NYC and the family interactions and neighborhoods of these ladies.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Susie Orman Schnall and St. Martin's Press, Griffin in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

I loved this! A captivating story based off true bits of history. Some parts were your typical cheesy quick novel storyline but overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend.

This is a mildly interesting double historical narrative but overall lacks depth and developed characters. A good easy read for my commute though.

I've become a huge fan of historical fiction the past couple of years and The Subway Girls did not disappoint! This was a beautifully written, compelling story. The Subway Girls features past and present timelines. In 1949, we have Charlotte. Charlotte is attempting to break out of the stereotypical female mold and break into the advertising world. Charlotte is attempting to become one of the glamorous Subway Girls to gain traction in her endeavor and get her out of working in the family business. This was a part of history that was new to me and I loved learning about it! The Subway Girls was an ad campaign in the 1940's that featured beautiful, glamorous posters of girls as the featured Subways Girl of the month. Becoming a Subways Girl was considered a badge of honor and fame during that time. In the present timeline, we have Olivia. Olivia currently works in advertising and is attempting to save her career and company. While doing research to pitch ideas to the NYC Subways account, she stumbles across the Miss Subways Girl ad campaign. This was a beautifully written, interesting, and captivating read. With excellent character development, a little scandal, and the glamorous era of the 1940's, The Subway Girls was an excellent read. For me, this was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars (rounded up from 4.5). Thank you @stmartinspress for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

The Subways Girls is a story about two young women, Charlotte in 1949 and Olivia in 2018.

Charlotte is a young, beautiful college student that longs for a career in advertising. Charlotte is given the opportunity to become the monthly Subway Girl. Each month a new girl has her picture displayed in the New York Subway. Charlotte faces many struggles with her father and her boyfriend. Charlotte receives many job rejects, but she never lost her goal of working in advertising. The closest she can hope for is a job in the typing pool. Like many women in the 40's she is expected to give up her career and marry and raise a family.
Olivia is a advertising executive in a small and struggling agency. She has her share of problems with male colleague. Her newest client is the New York Subway and creates an ad campaign to win a big account and save her job and the agency. She learns about the Subway Girls from the 1940's to 1970's and wants to present a new ad using the past Subway Girls.

Author Susie Orman Schnall has written a feminist book. It is lighthearted and entertaining.
Love the way the author crafted a book with two timelines and intertwined the two stories.

Thank you Netgalley and St.Martin Press the opportunity to read and review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I am a bit torn by this book. On one hand, it is an interesting look back at New York City post WWII, as young women attempt to continue marching into the work force following WWII. In 1949, Charlotte wants a career before marriage, is attempting to complete a college degree, and is fighting to be chosen Miss Subways as part of an ad campaign that she believes could help save her father's business. At times, Charlotte is a feminist, and at other times she acquiesces to the rules of the day, making some statements about men and life which made me nauseous, but however made sense historically. However, the story of today (Olivia as an ad campaign exec, trying to win the business of the NYC subway system) is more problematic for me. She waffles between being a badass and being just a wimp; in love with her boss, it colors the story in a frustrating way for me, challenging her ability to be seen as competent employee and to deal with the blatant sexual harassment from another employee. An interesting read, but ultimately too predictable with a lack of characters I could truly cheer for and an abundance of cliched writing that just was not my style.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the free review copy. All opinions are my own.
I devoured this book in one day. I found the Miss Subways competition so interesting. Before reading this, I had never heard of this competition, and I love it when I learn something new while reading great fiction.
I really enjoyed how this story was just enough drama, but it was never too much, even though there was a bit going on. This book's main characters are both strong, courageous women, and I found their fears to be relatable. I liked that the pacing of the novel was just right, so they actually had time in the book to make decisions. Nothing in this novel felt rushed.

I wanted to like this book but it just wasn’t as good as the books it was compared to. Yes, the characters are somewhat intriguing and there were some twists that shook off the predictability... but otherwise it was lacking something.

4.5 stars and the only reason not 5 stars is that I didn't want the book to end. I want to hear more about Charlotte and Sam's story not to mention Olivia and Ben's.

This is my first book by this author and it won't be my last. Any book that can get me to forgo sleep, is a good book. :-) I stayed up 90 minutes past my bedtime and hated to stop with only 45 minutes left. If I hadn't had work today, I would have not stopped last night.

This was a great parallel story that intertwined and brought the stories together. I hope that there is a sequel so we can find out what happens to Olivia and Ben. Fingers crossed.

I received an ARC of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

I loved this! I didn't know about this long ago ad campaign and it was just charming. I loved the alternating stories and found both women so delightful. Great for fans of Mad Men or anyone wanting to know more about NYC in the 1940s. Thank you to Net Galley for the advance copy, I highly recommend this one!