The Call of the Wrens
| Modern Age |
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 The Call of the Wrens
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World History > Modern Age > WWI
The Call of the Wrens introduces the little-known story of the daring women who rode through war-torn Europe carrying secrets on their shoulders.
An orphan who spent her youth without a true home, Marion Hoxton found in the Great War something other than destruction. She discovered a chance to belong. As a member of the Women’s Royal Naval Service—the Wrens—Marion gained sisters. She found purpose in her work as a motorcycle dispatch rider assigned to train and deliver carrier pigeons to the front line. And despite the constant threat of danger, she and her childhood friend Eddie began to dream of a future together. Until the battle that changed everything.
Now twenty years later, another war has broken out across Europe, calling Marion to return to the fight. Meanwhile others, like twenty-year-old society girl Evelyn Fairchild, hear the call for the first time. For Evelyn, serving in the war is a way to prove herself after a childhood fraught with surgeries and limitations from a disability. The re-formation of the Wrens as World War II rages is the perfect opportunity to make a difference in the world at seventy miles per hour.
Told in alternating narratives that converge in a single life-changing moment, The Call of the Wrens is a vivid, emotional saga of love, secrets, and resilience—and the knowledge that the future will always belong to the brave souls who fight for it.
Emily's Review
I will admit that it wasn't until around 60ish percent of the way through the book that I realized Marion's perspective was during WWI. I only skimmed the synopsis (as per usual), so the twist in this story made me gasp. It had me sit down and reassess the entire book, and I kind of loved that.
This is a story about creating a family. I adored both the leads and thought they were very well written. I knew that women helped with the war effort in a variety of ways, but this was the first time I'd ever heard of the Wrens. I enjoyed learning more about this part of the war and what these women did to help the Allied powers win.
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