Band of Sisters is a beautifully written tale about a group of women willing to risk their lives to help complete strangers rebuild during a war. It wasn’t until the last third of the book that I got hit with almost every emotion an author could evoke. The first two thirds where a little slow building but it was needed for the characters development and to get the full effect once you figured out who was who and then got emotionally involved and attached to go through that last bit of the book. The writer did an excellent job on the characters and atmosphere. Lauren Willig really did her research and it show beautifully.

Julia Whelan did an astonishing job of bringing this story and characters to live with her narration. I loved listening to the audio.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher/author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

If you are a lover of Historical Fiction you will enjoy this one. I rated it a 3.5 because there were a lot of characters and often it was a tad hard to keep up with them and it never seemed like we were never going to hit the climax of the story. I really did like the story but didn’t love it as much as The Nightingale or the Alice Network but loved that this was based on a True Story.

I completed the audio version and after the novel was finished they placed the author’s note where she told us how she stumbled upon this subject and who some of the characters were based on. I always like to hear the connections and how they took their own letters and made it a work of fiction.

1917-18, ww1, family-dynamics, friendship, France, college-alumnae, discrimination, historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, perseverance*****

Can anyone whose country has never been invaded, occupied by force, and shelled repeatedly really be prepared for the reality other people are living through? In any century, in any war? Even rural folk would be stymied, but city women of a certain financial status and naivete? This well researched historical novel gives voice to the growth and strains a documented group of just such individuals volunteering as aid workers grew through. Told in the format of fiction with excerpts from letters home, this is one awesome book. The characters are depicted so well and completely by both author and narrator. My only complaint is that I (history geek) found it too riveting.
Voice actor Julia Whelan did a wonderful job with all the voices and really acted out the story and did not just read it. Her voice brings the characters to life with her inflections entirely suited the situations and characters.
I requested and received a free temporary audio copy from Harper Audio via NetGalley. Thank you!

This book follows a group of female American college students as they go overseas to join the war effort.

The relationships between these women grow as you read. Each woman matures and finds out just how quickly thoughts, ideas, and reality can change within months.

I really enjoyed how this book was based on real events with fictional characters. The author did an amazing job at making this feel very real to me. She made this story very effortless to follow and I enjoyed the great writing!

An exceptional story of a group of women from Smith College who head over seas to the front lines of WWI to offer relief and hope to the afflicted, war ravaged citizens of France. Women working near the front lines was unheard of and thought of by many to be insignificant work. But this group of courageous women humbly and boldly helped the French women and children rebuild their lives. The provided milk from cows, eventually eggs from hens since the first go round they accidentally bought all roosters; they rebuilt homes, schools, taught children to play again, offered medical services, and much more. The characters of this story are a shining light for heroism.
I had the privilege of listening to this audiobook from NetGalley. It was narrated by the very talented Julia Whelan and she did and exceptional job narrating and bringing each character to life through her voice!

This is a time period I knew little about and I can tell you I’m already diving down rabbit holes through the Smith Alumni Quarterly to read the actual letters of the Smith Women who were overseas doing their part for our country and for women! Women play a critical part in our history and I’m proud to know more about this small group of women. Though they were small they made a large impact for our nation & women’s history.

I have read quite a number of books by this author which I’ve loved and this was no exception. This is a fictional account of the true story of the Smith College Relief Unit, a group of Smith graduates who go to rural France during WW1 to help the villagers get back on their feet after German occupation and bombing. The book follows two main characters, Kate and Emmie, former roommates and best friends at Smith. Emmie is the daughter of a wealthy New York family, while Kate grew up poor with a single mother. Each girl comes with her own wounds and character flaws, and the book focuses almost as much on their relationship as it does their war efforts.

I thought the narrator for this was excellent. She did a fabulous job of using different voices and inflections for all the different characters which made it easier to follow along with the plot. Especially in a book with so many characters, it could be quite easy to mix people up, so I appreciated the narrator’s efforts to make sure that didn’t happen.

I thought the plot flowed well and the characters developed along with it without overtaking the plot. I had two main criticisms for the book. First, there’s one character, who I won’t name for the sake of spoilers, who I really felt deserved some comeuppance and didn’t get it. Second, the ending felt rather abrupt. We fast forward a number of months from the penultimate scene to the last one without explanation of what really happened in those in-between months. However, I suppose not very much of interest happened in those months so I suppose I appreciate the author trying to avoid the plot getting too repetitive.

Overall, another enjoyable read from the author. If you’ve enjoyed her other books, you’ll enjoy this one too.

I enjoyed the grit and bravery of this group of single women, graduates of Smith College, sent as aid workers just off the front lines of the battle near the Somme in World War 1. They were industrious and so helpful as they provided necessities and medical care to women and children left behind in war torn villages. I enjoyed their banter and the personalities portrayed by Willig as these women bonded and truly became a Band of Sisters. I received an ARC of this book, all opinions are my own.

Band of Sisters was a wonderful book centered around WWI - which in itself was a nice change from so many centered around WWII. What a treacherous war it was and the sharing of these ladies stories through it was enlightening. The narrator was great in the audiobook as well

Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig (Author), Julia Whelan (Narrator)

I have to praise the narration of this story because it was so good. Julia Whelan does snide, droll, and snarky to perfection and I have no idea if I would have read all of that into this story if I hadn't listened to the audio. Those inflections are so important to the characters. Knowing the hardships these women faced, I think their sense of humor and irony must have helped some of them push forward under impossible odds. 

This story is based on real life events that took place during WWI. In fact, many of the events have been gleaned from letters written by the women who were a part of the Smith College Relief Unit who volunteered to go to France to help villagers whose lives had been decimated by the German army. The group of eighteen women set up camp on the property of a bombed out chateau right behind the front lines. The women are helping villagers that live in the muddy, roofless basements of stables and houses. The people are sleeping in mud, have little to no food, ragged clothing, missing and dead family and friends, with sickness and injuries that haven't been treated. When the women signed up for this work they had no idea of the heartache and devastation that they would be facing. But most of the women set to work to do what they can for these people, with almost no resources and knowing that the British army doesn't want them there, just a few miles behind the front lines. 

We follow Kate, Emmie, and Julia most closely. Kate, who went to Smith on a scholarship and has always felt less than the other women because her mother scrubbed floors to support herself and her daughter. Six years ago a friend taught Kate to drive a vehicle and now she's with the group as a chauffeur, hoping she can figure out how to drive a truck, not knowing she and her companions will actually have to uncrate and put together the truck before she can ever drive it.  Perky, naïve, always optimistic, Emmie, who thinks that her only worth is that her mother is wealthy. Julia, Emmie's poor cousin, who has now worked her way to becoming a doctor, despite the fact that she is a woman. The subject matter is so serious but also very funny. Most of the events in the book really happened and the author learned about them through the letters the women wrote home, often asking that the letters not be shared with the public. Instead, many of the letters were passed on by proud family members, to be published, saving the events of this time for posterity. 

Most of the events in the book really happened and the author learned about them through these letters written by the Smith women. The mess, the muck, the life with chickens (or horror, roosters!), the refusing to leave the front lines because the women were determined to evacuate and help as many of the villagers that they could help, for as long as they could, all these things really happened and I felt like I was right there. As hard as it was to read this story, a part of me wanted to stay with these brave women. For that reason, I'll be doing a lot of research on them, because I want to learn more about the things that they accomplished. This is what I like about good historical fiction, when I can see history through the eyes of the people who lived it and then want to learn even more about that time in our history.

Thank you to Harper Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

I wanted to LOVE this book! Great story based on the real-life Smith College Relief Unit in 1917~ a group of Smith College alumnae who volunteered with French aid after the occupation by Germany. The history was fascinating, but I found myself wandering quite a bit while listening to the audio. At 15 hours, it's a long one that could have easily have been condensed. I also feel I didn't make a connection with any of the characters. However, I'm glad I read it and saw it through and interested in learning more about this. Would make a great movie.
The narration was well-done, I'm a big fan of Julia Whelan's audiobooks.
#BandofSisters #NetGalley

This was such a good listen. I totally enjoyed it. The narrators made you feel as if you were there with the Smith sisters. The Smith Sisters are a group of women that went to college at Smith College or there were still at the college. But this group of women went to France during the war and became a relief group. They endured terrible circumstances to survive and to keep the people they were trying to help alive. Whether you read this book or listen to it. The author does a great job to make You feel like you are there with these women in France during the war.

This audiobook, Band of Sisters, is incredibly narrated by award-winning Julia Whelan. She has done a remarkable job, as the voice of the many different women, leaders, military personnel, and children in the story! She handles the French language, geography, and dialect exquisitely! Whelan is the perfect choice of bringing this story to life! The suspense was overwhelming, and Whelan's voice added to the suspense!

Band of Sisters is a remarkable story of the devastating destruction in France during World War One and how a resilient group of American women assisted in rebuilding their war-ravaged communities. The story opens as an energetic group of 18 young women, Smith College Grads from the Classes of 1888 – 1914, have joined the Smith College Relief Unit in 1917. Its leader called for dedication and enthusiasm. In only a month from her appeal, the women set sail to France, all dressed in their staunch grey uniforms of many pockets. Their mission is to make a difference for humanity, helping children and women in the recovery efforts. From September 1917 until March 1918, the unit made its headquarters in Grécourt, a village in the Somme valley recently evacuated by the German army. They assisted many surrounding villages throughout the Somme Region. While there, they built a library, a school, a hospital, a store to sell needed items at subsided cost; planted trees and gardens; and provided medical services. As Germany returned to again destroy this area, in March 1918, the unit was forced to leave. Readers will be on the edge of their chair, as they read of the heroic efforts these women made to evacuate the villagers to safety, with bombs and shelling all around. Time and time again, they were forced to evacuate as the Germans came closer to them. After Armistice, many of the Smith College Relief Unit returned to Grecourt to help the French villagers again rebuild. The story has a good ending.

Through their struggles together, this group of different women with definitely different personalities slowly begins to form a tight circle of friendship and thus, Band of Sisters. Lauren Willig, historian and brilliant author, did extensive research to write this beautiful novel. Characters are based on real-life people, and the events are based on fact. Being a war story, there are several parts of this book that are grueling to read. This book reminds us of the ugliness of war.

Lauren states in the author's notes, that she was steadfast in meeting demanding publisher's deadlines, as the Covid 19 began to shut down everything! But she made it, and her brilliant novel will have readers wanting to learn more about the Smith College Relief Unit and its members. At this time in history, the Women's Suffrage Movement was in strong force. Mostly, women were expected to stay at home, keep house, feed, and care for the family. Therefore, a group of women heading out to help in the war reform movement was a plus for the suffrage movement!

Being a form of an epistolary novel, each chapter begins with a dated letter written home by one of the Band of Sisters or from someone to them. This allows readers to see what the women in the unit, its leaders, and others are thinking. I highly recommend this suspenseful book to lovers of history!

Band of Sisters (Audible Audio)
by Lauren Willig
This is an amazing tale that Lauren Willig found by chance in the informational search for Christmas Celebrations of France in World War I. The Smith College Relief Unit volunteers left America to help French civilians decimated by the German war machine. The Group of 18 women left with money and support and supplies within 8 miles of the front. The daily sound of war and battle punctuate the silence of the devastated region. The people they help barely have a roof over their combined heads, they have little else. The volunteers struggle in the cold, mud and devastation, to provide warmth, and comfort to the destitute villages in their care. Lauren Willig, uses the letters to make this inspirational story of hardship and triumph. These women on the cusp of suffrage, and independence face astonishing odds only to find their own strength. I marvel at how she brought the story to light, and invites her readers to learn more. We have lost so many stories, war left to statistics how many lost, how many bullets, not the cost in men, women, and children and their world devastated.
The reader has a remarkable way of making the story stand out, the voices she uses shows not only the differences in the characters, but the tone, and ideology behind the characters. Its an amazing story.

War is hell, we've seen proof in the news and movies. "Sisterhood" reflects the destruction and reconstruction of World War 1 from a non-traditional perspective. A group of well meaning Smith College graduates set sail from America and find themselves faced with the reality of trying to help French villagers and find that they are helpless as the people they are trying to help. Faced with the challenges of helping villagers rebuild after Nazi occupation and subsequent devastation, the Americaine Collegien find themselves fighting against deplorable conditions and each other.

"Sisterhood" is well researched for historical background. The narration is exceptional which helps to bring all of the characters' weaknesses and strengths to life throughout the story.

How do you form a Sisterhood of well meaning (for the most part) young American women in the French countryside while the American, French, and English troops battle with the Germans nearby? Willig found the recipe: Mix a poor little Rich Girl with a Florence Nightingale complex; one or two Mean Girls; a young woman with a chip on her shoulder, and an assortment of other women who had no idea what they were supposed to do but in typical American fashion do something anyway. Toss in occasional visits from male soldiers who patronize and question the "Smith Girls" abilities and you have the basis for an insightful and heart breaking story of the ravages of war. Seen through the eyes and the hearts of a differing personalities with various motives for going to France we learn that true Sisterhoods are created from adversity and pressure.

Like a diamond created from pressure, adversity, and time "Sisterhood" creates a diamond of a story of strength, loyalty, kindness, and Sisterhood.

See history through different eyes and read this book. I really hope it gets an option for a movie. This story needs to be seen not just listened to or read.

I loved this inspiring tale of strong women doing tough things! I appreciate that it never devolved into a sappy romance and that the men characters served a purpose but were definitely background - letting the women’s stories shine through.
One reason I love reading historical fiction is because they make me curious to learn about a part of history I usually don’t know a lot about . This is a perfect case in point.
This contingency of women who had all graduated from Smith College - mostly wealthy, all intelligent - fought a battle as important as the soldiers at the front line, yet they are not lauded in history books, nor included in classes taught. They saved lives and kept hope alive while a country was destroyed around its people.
All the characters were well-rounded and interesting and although they were clearly representatives (or amalgamations) of real woman, they weren’t stereotypes... each was unique and served a particular purpose. If they were “ stereotypical,” it was because the real-life woman was (hello, Maude).
The voice performer did a good job with the accents, again, without making anyone into a farce.
When I started the audiobook I was worried that it seemed very long, but I found myself invested in the characters and curious until the very end (thanks for the epilogue and historical notes!)
I’d love to share this book with students - especially some of the older teens who appreciate and look for stories with strong female leads. There were no shrinking violets here, and my scholars will love that!

I was very excited to receive an advanced audio copy of this book. Lauren Willig is an author has been on my watchlist for new books ever since I discovered the Pink Carnation series. Her books are interesting, engaging, and humorous and are some of my favorites.

Band of Sisters is the story of the Smith College alumnae who travel to France during WWI to assist in the rebuilding of the countryside after the first German invasion. Lots and lots of social working (which, as a social worker myself, I love). While it was interesting to learn of the trials and tribulations that faced this group of women, this novel fell a bit flat to me. Willig's humor was present, and was the saving grace of many of the middle chapters. As Willig indicated in the historical note at the end, many of the anecdotes of which she wrote were based on material she found from the actual Smith women, social work can get a bit tedious. While I did learn a great deal about something of which I was previously unaware, it was a bit of a slog to get through the meat of the book. It did pick up toward the end with the second wave of Germans, and it felt more like a typical Willig novel during those times.

Narrator Julia Whalen did an excellent job, per her usual.

Overall, this book is a solid 3.5 stars. Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for an advanced copy of this book.

#Band of Sisters
Thank you to #HarperAudio and #NetGalley for an advance audiobook copy for an honest review.

This HF book written by Lauren Willig was based on a true story. The tenacity and courage of the Smith College women who went to the Somme during WW I was remarkable. The events that happened in the book were based on letters sent home by the women. They went there to give humanitarian aid to displaced French families right at the Front.

I felt like I was right there with these realistic characters. I listened to the audiobook version. The narrator, Julia Whelan , did an amazing job with the voices. It was obvious who was speaking by her distinctive voice for each character.

It was heartening to see how these women showed their strength of character through immense hardship. It was very interesting to learn about the work of these young women.

This audiobook is a wonderful complement to the book. The narration is perfect. It matches the visuals I have of the characters perfectly. You know an audiobook is great when you forget what you are supposed to be doing while you listen to the book.


MY REVIEW OF THE BOOK:::::

Lauren Willig has skillfully written such an amazing story that I could have travelled in a time machine back to WWI and watched this group of young women become a Band of Sisters as they joined together and shared skills and resources to bring assistance, both physical and mental, to French citizens whose communities have been destroyed by the German war machine. Based on the real life Smith College Relief Unit that deployed 18 young women to a town near Somme that has been leveled leaving the people with no resources. These women would face conditions that would test us today, yet managed to provide the necessities with no access to any but the most basic communications and medical resources.

This book will pull you into the story. You will see these young women face the ravages of war before and after they arrive in France. You'll watch them grow from individuals into a team.....a band of sisters.

The author based her fictional characters on real events faced by the real Smith College Relief Unit during World War I, mostly in France. Having excerpts of diaries and letters at the beginning of each chapter enhanced the omniscient narrator with giving the experiences of multiple characters. It may appeal to fans of Maisie Dobbs. Even if you are not I recommend it.

Really really high quality historical fiction about a group of female college alumni who travel to France during the hight of WWI to do relief work. My favorite kind of historical fiction, where it is based on a real person or group of people. I loved the development of the women's friendship and themes of female empowerment.