Home Front Girls

by Rosie Goodwin

Dotty, Lucy and Annabelle all turn up for work at Coventry's department store Owen Owens at the time war is declared. Dotty has never known a life outside of the orphanage where she grew up. Lucy is the sole carer of her little sister; she's head of the home now that her brother has gone to war. So she seeks out a job at Owen Owens. Annabelle has led a life of privilege but everyone's having to pinch the pennies at the moment. The well-off are no exception, much to Annabelle's annoyance.

The three young women are brought together on their first day at Owen Owens. As the trials and devastating effects of war come to bear on the three women, their bond deepens. With disaster at every turn, they're going to need each other...

Genres: Historical Fiction, World War II, Audiobook, Fiction, Friendship, Historical, British Literature

448 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2013

About the author

Before becoming a writer, I was a Placement Support Worker and foster carer, and worked in the social services department after completing a teacher training course. Many children have joined my family over the years. I still live in Nuneaton, where many of my books are set, with my husband, Trevor, and our beloved dogs.

I was thrilled to discover that I'd become one of the top 250 most-borrowed library authors in the UK, and would like to thank all of you who have taken out my books over the last few years! I love meeting my readers and am always pleased to hear from you. I hope you will all continue to get in touch and please do sign up for my newsletter!

Reviews

[Alyson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I severely disliked this book but I'm too disgusted with it to form much in the way of coherent paragraphs, so here are the notes I scribbled down after finishing:

Goodwin's writing has been described as "simple and light." I'd go so far as to say that I read more challenging composition in elementary school. This book often reads as if it were meant to be read aloud to five-year-olds. As my reading switched from "this is kinda crap" to full-on Hate Read, I began to mentally over-exaggerate the writing in my head to the "Oh, golly, gosh!" levels one might use when narrating to preschoolers, AND IT WORKED.

Author changes POV within paragraphs. We'll read how Lucy's feeling and then suddenly it's all "Meanwhile, Annabelle was thinking..." in the next sentence.

There is no story here. There's playing with paper dolls in a wartime setting.

Feels very "this happened, then this happened, then this happened, then Dotty sighed".

You either get proper English that doesn't read how real people talk, or "cor, luvvie!" dialectical nonsense. There is no reason to do this; phrasing, sentence structure, and pacing can form distinctive voices without relying on phonetic spellings. Which leads to: nobody in this book has a distinctive voice, except the "cor, luvvie!" folks. Anyone that speaks in proper English sounds exactly like everyone else that speaks in proper English. I'd think the upper class girl would speak very differently from the working class orphan in this particular place and time, but apparently I'd be wrong.

Where's the slang that would place this in the proper time period?

Annabelle = selfish asshole (whose mother is embarrassed by her! Mum, you should've felt embarrassed 10 years ago and worked to fix it then, rather than ignoring how horrible your kid is); Lucy = so. boring. oh. my. god. (and her "secret" is guessable from early chapters); Dotty = oh, look, The Little Princess and Little Orphan Annie had a baby, and it was Dotty.

WHY IS THIS SO BORING? This is COVENTRY during WII. This is so flat. Read some Connie Willis for intense wartime novels that feel immersive and immediate.

Creeeeepy focus on whether or not female characters are "very attractive."

Repetitive sentences. Like, the EXACT SAME sentences. Who edited this?

Did you know the author did research? I know she did because she awkwardly shoves information into text, making weird segues within paragraphs that literally have nothing to do with what's going on in the scene. Characters spit out unrealistic sentences that nonetheless tell me What The Author Learned During Her Research.

Oh god, near the end characters start reflecting on what's gone on in their lives since the start of the war. They are literally summarizing the story. I know what happened! I know what Dotty and Lucy and Annabelle used to be like! I read it already!

Yes, let's shove some lesbianism in, with completely accepting friends and family. In 1945. Sure. Oh, and the women are lesbian because they've both been horribly abused by men earlier in life. Because that's totally how one becomes lesbian and isn't at all offensive.

[Ronni Parks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story of true friendship and how life, love, and loss only serve to strengthen those bonds. Loved it

[Nicola Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming and heartbreaking.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Home Front Girls tells the story of three girls brought together during the war. Dotty hasn’t known a life outside of the orphanage she grew up in, while Lucy is the head of her house after her brother is called to fight in the war, leaving Lucy not only to take care of her younger sister but to support the family financially too. In contrast, Annabelle has lead a much more privileged life than Dotty or Lucy. But with the war coming, these three girls find themselves starting work at a department store, Owen Owen, and learning just how valuable support and friendship is in times of war.

I thouroughly enjoyed Home Front Girls! I started this on a morning and I was instantly taken in by the three girls and their situations. I became so involved in their stories and what they were going through that I raced through the book because I was constantly wanting to know what would happen next to the girls, what information would be discovered and what choices they would make.

The three girls were so very well-written, even though they each had different personalities it was easy to get to know them, and in only a short time I felt as though I had known these girls for my whole life. They were so realistic, their situations were real and the setting was so life-like that at times I felt as though I had been transported back in time and was standing in Owen Owen with them watching the scenes involved in front of me. I didn’t have a favourite out of the three girls as I liked each character fir different reasons. I particularly liked learning about their background stories, their fears, their hopes, and the men they spoke about who were away with the war.

My favourite part about Home Front Girls was the friendship between Dotty, Lucy and Annabelle. I liked that at first they were strangers to each other, but as they each started their jobs and the war grew closer, that they turned to each other for support, friendship and company. I enjoyed reading about their time together and watching the bond between them grow and strengthen as time went on. I loved that they looked out for each other, that they were strong for each other and that they went ahead in life together and united.

The descriptions and the setting were outstanding. Rosie Goodwin really brought to life the reality of living through war and how it affected not only the physical surroundings but the lives of the people living there too. The scenes about what was happening in Coventry were very emotional and heart-breaking, and I really felt for the characters in the book, I wanted to reach out to them all. As I became more emotionally involved in the scenes I had a stringer desire to read on as I genuinely cared about the characters and I wanted to know what would happen to them.

Home Front Girls is a gripping, moving and emotional story of war and the devastating effects it has on a community and the real people that had to face life and do their best to get through it together. It is compelling to read as the story explores war, love, family, secrets, tragedy, hopes and fears. But in particular, Home Front Girls focuses on three girls who form an unlikely friendship and the incredible bond between them.

[Sally Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to reading this book, the subject matter is the sort I like to read. I was rather disappointed in the way the author wrote the book, it seemed a childish way of writing to me and the story was rather predictable (even though I didn't finish it) compared to other novels i've read about the 2nd world war this was rather depressing and incredibly far fetched - I read for 2 hours on a bus today and in that space of time 5 characters in the book died and 1 character completely lost her house - at that point it got too depressing for me (I know the war was depressing but this is supposed to be light reading!!!!) so I decided to stop reading at page 253 and move on to a Miss Read book as they are much more cheerful. I'm hoping some of the reviews have spoilers as it would be interesting to know if my predictions are right!!!

[Laura Pugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple but engaging tale of three young women living in Coventry, whose lives change dramatically during the duration of the second world war. It was a bit too predictable in parts, but I still enjoyed it. Somehow this novel manages to be both a light read with an encouraging story of friendship and survival, and simultaneously heart-breaking in its realistic portrayal of how the war devastated (and took) the lives of so many.

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

My idea of bliss is to lose myself in the pages of a good book. Really enjoyed this story. Recommended.

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a lovely and heartwarming read! I loved getting to know the girls, Lucy, Dotty and Annabelle and seeing them grow throughout the duration of the book. Striking up friendships, learning to navigate a new world and grow from their pasts and secrets. It was the very best of wartime books and I really enjoyed it.

There were plenty of plot twists and turns and enough to keep you interested and turning pages with ease. It almost felt like two books in one and I could have kept reading forever. It was fab.

[Debfiddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dotty, Lucy and Annabelle all turn up for work at Coventry's department store Owen Owens at the time war is declared. Dotty has never known a life outside of the orphanage where she grew up. Lucy is the sole carer of her little sister; she's head of the home now that her brother has gone to war. So she seeks out a job at Owen Owens. Annabelle has led a life of privilege but everyone's having to pinch the pennies at the moment. The well-off are no exception, much to Annabelle's annoyance.

The three young women are brought together on their first day at Owen Owens. As the trials and devastating effects of war come to bear on the three women, their bond deepens. With disaster at every turn, they're going to need each other

Annabelle finds out on her 21st birthday that she was adopted. That puts a hole in her self absorbed opinion of herself. After a while, she joins a nursing core, learns somethings about life (like how much she loves her mother whom she has kept at arms length) and ends up tending Lucy's brother and falls in love with him.
Daisy, is a writer, Annabelle's mother sends one of her stories to a magazine and they want to publish it. She falls in love with Robert the owner, thinks he's too upper class for her. Finds out during the worse German blitz against Coventry that the woman who had worked at the orphanage all her life and shown her such care was really her mother and that her mother had taken and given the baby away. So her mother had found where she was placed and went to work there so she could be near her baby.
Lucy's "sister" Mary, is really her baby, caused by the rape and incest by her father. Her father was a bully and a violent man who mistreated his sickly wife and was raping his daughter whom became pregnant. After Lucy had the baby, who they said was her sister, the father tried to rape her again and ended up being killed by Lucy, her mother was arrested though cause she said she did and she ended up mental and in a hospital until she died 6 years later. Lucy and her brother (whom Annabelle ends up with) moved and hide the story. Mary was killed by a stray bomb being dropped as the German Luftwaffe was returning from one of their bombings of England.

[Anne Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the beginning of WWII, three girls start working at a large department store on Coventry. Coming from different backgrounds, they seem unlikely friends. Annabelle is the spoilt daughter of middle-class parents who resents the fact that she has to work at all, Dotty, a shy quiet girl brought up in an orphanage and Lucy who, with older brother Joel, cares for young sister Mary. Throughout the tribulations the war brings, the three girls stand by each other. All of them are warm-hearted and supportive although initially Annabelle’s attitude was irritating. Thankfully, she redeems herself. I thought too that some of the background details were a little suspect. A couple of times a record player is mentioned. I was a child in the 1940s/early 1950s, and we certainly didn’t have record players. We had a gramophone, one of the wind-up ones, with brittle 78rpm records. And, after Dunkirk, the author seems to infer that soldiers were still being injured in battles in Europe. This was not the case. After Dunkirk, there were no British troops in Europe until D-day, though there was fighting in North Africa and Italy.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate an author simply spinning a tale for the sake of enjoyment and entertainment for the reader. For me, that sums up well this novel, HOME FRONT GIRLS. Set in England during the war years, Rosie warmly describes the friendship of the three friends, Dotty, Lucy, and Annabelle. They meet through their jobs in a department store in Coventry and their friendship blossoms throughout the novel. Add to this foundation of the novel, the secondary characters, the secrets of the girls, and the story of World War II England, and for me, this was a winning combination.
So it was not some highly hyped novel.- Rosie Goodwin is one of the top 100 circulated authors in the UK. She provided, for me, a delightful period piece with characters I actually cared about during the reading. I will miss living in their world and I can not say that about every book I read..

[Hayley Treasure · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just finished reading this book and i think I could read it all over again straight away. There are bits where you can easily guess what's going to happen but there are even more bits where you are surprised! This book made me smile and cry! It is a book that draws you in and you cannot put it down. I genuinly went to bed worrying about the characters until I picked it up the next day. This book also taught me an awful lot and brought me a new respect for those involved in wartime and what they had to cope with. I will still laugh at my grandad going on about his bloody tin bath when he was a kid though! Good read!!! Recommended!!! XxX

[Lisa G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an easy read that doesn't demand much from the reader. There are a couple twists and turns and surprises but nothing complicated as such. If you are looking for a book that is light and fluffy set during WWII then this is for you. It is extremely simple in its presentation and its dialogue is not in any way challenging or thought provoking. It tells a nice story of friendship during a very difficult time. The criticism below is warranted if you expect too much from this book...which you shouldn't. If you like war time stories, if you like light banter and feelgood endings and need a nice summer read, this is a book for you :)

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a marvelous story, precisely what I needed to listen to while I was sick and in bed for a couple of days and it hurt my eyes to read.

There was tremendous character development in every character from the three unexpected friends to the family and friends of each, with the dramatic backdrop of several years of WWII. The story had lots of ups and downs, as everyone faced life and death challenges, and some surprising secrets of the past, and lots of growing up, and. some sweet romancing too.

(Note: The last two minutes of the epilogue caught me off guard...)

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an exciting book. Set in the West Midlands throughout WW2 and focusing on the lives of 3 young women from very different backgrounds who are bought together due to the war. I could not put this down, it kept my attention from start to finish. Loved that it gave out tiny clues about the characters lives all through the story but gave nothing away until the end. It was brilliantly written and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, it took me about 2 weeks to finish it. Can't wait to read more of Rosie Goodwin's books.

[Pat Gerber-Relf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Three girls meet at the beginning of the second world war in Coventry, England. I knew that Coventry was heavily bombed during that war and that set a background to the story. I was expecting a sort of light entertainment, nothing really out of this world, but was pleasantly surprised. Somehow the book got me and I even got a little emotional at the end. I would recommend this, a very nice read.

[Melinda Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had saved this book for a while because I was really looking forward to reading it, unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations. I felt the composition was a little on the basic side and there was so much that could have been explored but the author fell back on rather bland "secrets" that you saw a mile away. That's ok, but I just wish more had been done with the era, rationing, complexities that were significant at the time. An enjoyable read, but just not what I wanted.

[Barenakedmummy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read many a Catherine Cookson in my youth (my mum loved her) this is a book in the same ilk. Following three girls as they work in a department store and coming from different back grounds the story follows their lives through Coventry during the second world war. This book made me laugh and cry.

[📚Linda Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book and the reader was fabulous. Home Front Girls was an enjoyable and satisfying read for sure. I liked the human interest stories set against the back drop of the WWII bombings of England. The characters were well developed, but the plot was predictable which is probably why it was a satisfying read.

[Jackie White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy reading war time saga - three girls meet when they start working together at the beginning of WW2 & the book follows their lives through to the end of the war.

Quite lovely predictable in places but enjoyable & you don't have to concentrate too much on the story - would be a good book for the sunbed !

[Elliott Rodgers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning Read

This is the second of Rosie Goodwin's books I've read (Steel band was the other). I read Home Front Girls in one sitting. It's filled with both happiness and heartbreak and I found it impossible to put down. So well written so well with historical detail that you are there with Dotty, Lucy and Anabella.

I'm off to buy my third Rosie Goodwin book.

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will (hopefully) get time to write a review for this thoroughly engaging read soon. I adored it though, and while I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, I did not want it to end.

One thing I will say is that I hope one day Rosie may consider a sequel, I think she's definitely left the door open... :)

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the 1940's and we meet 3 girls with completely different lives, starting work in a Department Store. A beautiful story which will keep you wanting to read. Once I started it, I struggled to get on with daily life as I wanted to know what happened next.

[Tiffany Chevis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the most complex or well-written book, but it is heartwarming in its simplicity and creates an emotional and realistic account of life during the war, from an almost outside London perspective.

[Jane Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

One or two surprises in the book but otherwise very predictable. As one of a generation not to have experienced wartime, I found some interesting insights into coping with the problems and how to get pleasure during war. Enjoyable read.

[Dee]

I enjoy historical fiction - especially stories set in WWII England - and this fit the bill admirably! A few editing "glitches" were only minor distractions from an enjoyable "feel good" story with lots of happy endings - perfect beach or airplane reading!!

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read

[Amy Holson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh I loved this book, not my usual read but it made me want to read more books on world war II. Was sad when it had finished.

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite book of the year. It's my home town, and I recognised all of the places, and have shopped many times in Owen Owen. Loved the characters and the storyline.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed listening to it it was a bit too fluffy and predicable.