The Girls of Pearl Harbor
By

Soraya M. Lane

Becoming a part of history in a novel is one of the reasons I love historical fiction so much.  Ms. Lane has done an amazing job in taking me back into the historcal events of what happened at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese flew in and started bombing.  I know from history what took place but "living" this through the characters in this book had my heart pounding and my stomach churning with them.  I was in the thick of these events right along with these characters.

Three best friends plus one, embark on what they think will be the adventure "as the best time of our lives" in the US Army Nurse Corps.  This is the story of April and Grace, two sisters, and their best friend, Poppy.  Their "plus one" is a fireball of energy, Eva, and they fast become treasured friends with each other.   Their first assignment is based in Hawaii, a paradise that will never have it's pristine beauty and peaceful living disturbed.....until that fateful day and the vicious attack on December 7th. 

Ms. Lane's narrative of the attack is heart-stopping action that I felt I was experiencing right along with these characters.  I was in shock and unbelief right along with Grace as she was witnessing the horrific events.   The ear splitting blasts of gun fire, the stench of smoke and death, the ghastly sight of all those injured and dead bodies was so realistic.  I cried and wanted to scream along with the nurses as they ran for cover.  As the awful events of that attack start to settle down, there's unbelievable tragedy that made me cry so much.  "How did we go from having the time of our lives here to losing everything." 

Now that America has been pulled into the war, the nurses are faced with a new assignment.  They are going to work in Mateur, Tunisia.  I traveled along with them and when we stepped off the train, it was definitly a foreign country like none other.  "Grace's heart beat fast as she looked around, amazed all over again at how a regular girl from Oregon had somehow ended up on the other side of the world, in a place so different she couldn't have even imagined it in her wildest dreams."  The living conditions were such a challenge, not to mention the loosly termed "hospital" these nurses worked out of.  It was under almost impossible conditions for them.  The heart they had for helping the wounded and suffering soldiers was truly a sacrifice of love.  They gave their all and cared for each soldier with every breath they had.

There were also the personal stories of each character woven throughout this book.  Each one touched my heart and endeared them to me.  I became attached to them in ways that I didn't expect and pulled for them to fight their way through the horrific conditions, the heart breaking decisions, and the situations they encountered outside of the caretaking they put everything into.  I lived their stories in the words and pages of this fictional, but realistic account of what the nurses in the USANC endured.  I learned so much about their strength to complete their missions and of their love for their country and the patients they cared for.

I want to thank Lake Union, Netgalley, and Ms. Lane for the kindle copy of this historic read that took me back to this time and event.  I have a new found admiration for the nurses who served in this time in history.  I give it 5 plus thankful stars!