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Playing Army
". . . a captivating read that serves as a reminder of what has changed and what hasn't for women in the military." -Daria Sommers, Writer/Filmmaker, Lioness
" . . . a page-turner that kept me hooked from the beginning." -Daniella Mestyanek Young, author, Uncultured
"Whether readers are officers, enlisted, or civilians, this is a nuanced, realistic narrative guaranteed to generate leadership insights, ethics discussions, and professional empathy." -Randy Brown, author, Twelve O'clock Leadership Lessons from Old War Movies & New Poems
Can you really fake it till you make it? Lieutenant Minerva Mills is about to find out.
It's 1995 and the Army units of Fort Stewart, Georgia, are gearing up to deploy to Bosnia. But Min has no intention of going to war-torn Eastern Europe. Her father disappeared in Vietnam and-longing for some connection to him-she's determined to go on a long-promised tour to Asia. The colonel will only release her on two she ensures the rag-tag Headquarters Company is ready for the peacekeeping mission and she gets her weight within Army regs.
Min only has one summer to kick everyone's butts into shape, but the harder she plays Army, the more the soldiers-and her body-rebel. If she can't even get the other women on her side, much less lose those eight lousy pounds, she'll never have another chance to stand where her father once stood in Vietnam. The colonel may sweep her along to Bosnia or throw her out of the Army altogether. Or Min may be forced to conclude that no amount of faking it will ever be enough to make it and, as was true for her father, the Army is an impossible space for her to occupy.
" . . . a page-turner that kept me hooked from the beginning." -Daniella Mestyanek Young, author, Uncultured
"Whether readers are officers, enlisted, or civilians, this is a nuanced, realistic narrative guaranteed to generate leadership insights, ethics discussions, and professional empathy." -Randy Brown, author, Twelve O'clock Leadership Lessons from Old War Movies & New Poems
Can you really fake it till you make it? Lieutenant Minerva Mills is about to find out.
It's 1995 and the Army units of Fort Stewart, Georgia, are gearing up to deploy to Bosnia. But Min has no intention of going to war-torn Eastern Europe. Her father disappeared in Vietnam and-longing for some connection to him-she's determined to go on a long-promised tour to Asia. The colonel will only release her on two she ensures the rag-tag Headquarters Company is ready for the peacekeeping mission and she gets her weight within Army regs.
Min only has one summer to kick everyone's butts into shape, but the harder she plays Army, the more the soldiers-and her body-rebel. If she can't even get the other women on her side, much less lose those eight lousy pounds, she'll never have another chance to stand where her father once stood in Vietnam. The colonel may sweep her along to Bosnia or throw her out of the Army altogether. Or Min may be forced to conclude that no amount of faking it will ever be enough to make it and, as was true for her father, the Army is an impossible space for her to occupy.
294 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 25, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
June 29, 2024
#historicalfiction
In her character-driven book PLAYING ARMY, Nancy Stroer explores a military service in the US Army from an unusual angle, that is, through the eyes of a woman. Lieutenant Minerva Mills is a young woman who finds it hard to reconcile with the fact that her father, lost during the Vietnam War, didn't want a child. That pain had shaped her career and relationships and enabled her to see through the pretense of order, prevalent between the ranks. With the help of the nuanced prose of the author, readers follow all the ups and downs of Mill's struggle to accept herself as she is, while 'playing army:' doing what you are told even if it contradicts the common sense.
Aside from the main idea aka a personal quest for oneself, the author touches such topics as misogyny, inequality, dysfunctional family dynamics, and eating disorders. These topics do not sharply manifest themselves but are intricately woven into the narrative, bits here and there, to show their power over the heroine's life. They constitute a part of the intertwined, complicated world the author created. The book could easily be a memoir because of how attentive the author is to details in the matters of language and military rules. Every side character of PLAYING ARMY has his/her personality and struggles; every side character could be taken out of the story to become a basis for another book.
The narrative takes place in 1995 before the American intervention in the Yugoslavian conflict as well, through Mills's father, during the Vietnam War. In this respect, the author yet again chose a surprising approach: as Mills states in a conversation with a Vietnam vet, nobody wants to see 'the soul', preoccupied with the conflict's outer side like dates, battles, equipment, etc. Mills convinces us to take a closer look at soldiers' feelings, weaknesses, and individual reasons to draft, as they play a far greater role in wars than the country's technical superiority.
Perhaps, in hopes of showing other points of view than Mills's, the author added three chapters from the perspectives of two female characters. Indigo St. John's reflections on the past take us to 1989 Germany (personally, I didn't understand what was going on there). Logan reveals the occasional unreliability of Mills's judgment regarding her subordinates. Nevertheless, the extended arcs do not deepen our understanding of the characters.
The book's inventive comparisons, especially some mentioning the Vietnam War, could make a linguist like me squeak. On the other hand, the author's bend toward flowery language sometimes complicates the reading.
PLAYING ARMY is a reflective book that would not leave the reader cold. I'd recommend the book to history buffs and lovers of psychological fiction who like to dig deep into the human psyche.
In her character-driven book PLAYING ARMY, Nancy Stroer explores a military service in the US Army from an unusual angle, that is, through the eyes of a woman. Lieutenant Minerva Mills is a young woman who finds it hard to reconcile with the fact that her father, lost during the Vietnam War, didn't want a child. That pain had shaped her career and relationships and enabled her to see through the pretense of order, prevalent between the ranks. With the help of the nuanced prose of the author, readers follow all the ups and downs of Mill's struggle to accept herself as she is, while 'playing army:' doing what you are told even if it contradicts the common sense.
Aside from the main idea aka a personal quest for oneself, the author touches such topics as misogyny, inequality, dysfunctional family dynamics, and eating disorders. These topics do not sharply manifest themselves but are intricately woven into the narrative, bits here and there, to show their power over the heroine's life. They constitute a part of the intertwined, complicated world the author created. The book could easily be a memoir because of how attentive the author is to details in the matters of language and military rules. Every side character of PLAYING ARMY has his/her personality and struggles; every side character could be taken out of the story to become a basis for another book.
The narrative takes place in 1995 before the American intervention in the Yugoslavian conflict as well, through Mills's father, during the Vietnam War. In this respect, the author yet again chose a surprising approach: as Mills states in a conversation with a Vietnam vet, nobody wants to see 'the soul', preoccupied with the conflict's outer side like dates, battles, equipment, etc. Mills convinces us to take a closer look at soldiers' feelings, weaknesses, and individual reasons to draft, as they play a far greater role in wars than the country's technical superiority.
Perhaps, in hopes of showing other points of view than Mills's, the author added three chapters from the perspectives of two female characters. Indigo St. John's reflections on the past take us to 1989 Germany (personally, I didn't understand what was going on there). Logan reveals the occasional unreliability of Mills's judgment regarding her subordinates. Nevertheless, the extended arcs do not deepen our understanding of the characters.
The book's inventive comparisons, especially some mentioning the Vietnam War, could make a linguist like me squeak. On the other hand, the author's bend toward flowery language sometimes complicates the reading.
PLAYING ARMY is a reflective book that would not leave the reader cold. I'd recommend the book to history buffs and lovers of psychological fiction who like to dig deep into the human psyche.
May 8, 2024
I loved this book! I obtained an ARC and read it in 2 days. From the description of the un-Army-like Pink Tea on page 4 to the thought-provoking ending, I was hooked.
It’s about a badass female Army Lieutenant in the 90’s. She has struggles with her personal life because her father was MIA in Vietnam and her mother has never dealt well with this fact. The Lieutenant also has a difficult job because well, it’s HARD to be in the Army, ESPECIALLY if you’re a woman.
As a female Veteran myself I could relate to the narrative about sexual harassment, complcated work relationships, and weight issues. It definitely brought back memories of those darn PT tests! I think both active duty and Veterans would enjoy this book.
It reminded me of perhaps a slightly less-epic Kristin Hannah novel, where a strong woman has a great story to tell but her life has not been a bed of roses.
It’s about a badass female Army Lieutenant in the 90’s. She has struggles with her personal life because her father was MIA in Vietnam and her mother has never dealt well with this fact. The Lieutenant also has a difficult job because well, it’s HARD to be in the Army, ESPECIALLY if you’re a woman.
As a female Veteran myself I could relate to the narrative about sexual harassment, complcated work relationships, and weight issues. It definitely brought back memories of those darn PT tests! I think both active duty and Veterans would enjoy this book.
It reminded me of perhaps a slightly less-epic Kristin Hannah novel, where a strong woman has a great story to tell but her life has not been a bed of roses.
June 14, 2024
Playing Army takes you on an excruciating, bracing trip. Think Heart of Darkness, but instead of a river, you’re traveling through a modern jungle of harassment, moral indecision and endless competition that is life in the U.S. Army. Your guide is one Lt. Minerva Mills, a Vietnam War orphan whose desperate, almost shocking, need for approval from her comrades in arms carries the reader along in a tide of fascination and pity during a summer in which she tries to win their loyalty – or even just a scrap of friendliness - in the hot hellscape of South Georgia. She presents as a strong woman but definitely, refreshingly, not of the present day almost totalitarian trope. In a stroke of genius by debut novelist Nancy Stroer, the aptly named Mi-Nerva is offered up to the reader without any veneer, exposed in all her nerves and fumbling thoughts and desires: desire for a posting in Asia in order to track her MIA father, temporarily thwarted ; desire for a child (she eventually realizes) hidden from herself by myriad personal and professional hesitations; desire for love, stymied by one well-meaning but broken, alcoholic mother and a unit full of careerists, each vastly more at ease with themselves than she is. “I guess you can make me do whatever you want at work,” she is told by a junior soldier-mechanic. “But your reasons have nothing to do with what’s best for the company.”
Perhaps worst of all, her weight is used against her to keep her in her temporary command: “The arm on the scale stilled. Click, click went the ballpoint. I stepped off and zeroed it, then stepped back on, adjusted all the weights again until the arm balanced. Got-dammit.” As she wrangles with “knuckleheads,” her inner monologue, equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, becomes the star of the novel. “Had he just checked his notes to make sure he got my name right?” she says to herself in the swearing in by her hateful commanding officer, known to herself as The Old Man. Later, she muses, “Whenever I stood at a cash register I thought of my mother, tightening her financial belt notch by irresponsible notch. Even a tiny indulgence like a fancy six pack of beer or a takeout dinner filled me with guilt.” All of this self questioning would be almost too much to bear if not for the rich characterizations and for the Chandleresque writing that lifts as it entertains. Clouds “scud” along and engines grumble like “ogres” in need of a nap. “There was something supremely satisfying about carrying what I needed on my back, the quiet of trees and nothing but the click of ants’ jaws to interrupt the shush of my boots through pine needles.” The plotting itself is as tight as one of Minerva’s planks that she enjoys inflicting on her unit during PT. Irony of ironies occurs in the story’s resolution, when a thoroughly modern Minerva, who never really wanted the Army except in aid of her personal quest for her father, finds the answers and the unity that she is looking for within its traditional hierarchical embrace.
Perhaps worst of all, her weight is used against her to keep her in her temporary command: “The arm on the scale stilled. Click, click went the ballpoint. I stepped off and zeroed it, then stepped back on, adjusted all the weights again until the arm balanced. Got-dammit.” As she wrangles with “knuckleheads,” her inner monologue, equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, becomes the star of the novel. “Had he just checked his notes to make sure he got my name right?” she says to herself in the swearing in by her hateful commanding officer, known to herself as The Old Man. Later, she muses, “Whenever I stood at a cash register I thought of my mother, tightening her financial belt notch by irresponsible notch. Even a tiny indulgence like a fancy six pack of beer or a takeout dinner filled me with guilt.” All of this self questioning would be almost too much to bear if not for the rich characterizations and for the Chandleresque writing that lifts as it entertains. Clouds “scud” along and engines grumble like “ogres” in need of a nap. “There was something supremely satisfying about carrying what I needed on my back, the quiet of trees and nothing but the click of ants’ jaws to interrupt the shush of my boots through pine needles.” The plotting itself is as tight as one of Minerva’s planks that she enjoys inflicting on her unit during PT. Irony of ironies occurs in the story’s resolution, when a thoroughly modern Minerva, who never really wanted the Army except in aid of her personal quest for her father, finds the answers and the unity that she is looking for within its traditional hierarchical embrace.
June 17, 2024
Oh, man, I loved everything about this novel. The writing is gorgeous; it took longer than it usually takes me to finish a book because I kept re-reading so many of the lines for their beauty and imagery. To me it's a perfect example of an upmarket book - in that sweet spot between lovely writing and interesting plot. The story revolves around Lt. Minerva Mills, assigned to the Headquarters division at Fort Stewart, GA, to help the unit get into shape and pass their previously failed field test. But as it turns out, that's not the only problem confronting Minerva. And to add to the mounting pile of problems there's her weight - the one thing holding her back from a coveted assignment to Korea, where she plans to spend time in Vietnam retracing the footsteps of her father who served there and never made it home. She hopes that by doing this she'll come to understand the father she never had a chance to know, learn more about who he was than she's been able to glean from his letters to her mother. But just as she's on the precipice of getting her Korea assignment, something happens that shatters the unit and makes Minerva question whether there's a better way to understand both herself and her father, to learn what it means to be a leader of soldiers, than an assignment to Asia. The book provides a fascinating window into the Army, and particularly what it's like to be a woman in the Army. Because the imagery in the book is so vividly written, I felt like I was living the story right along with Minerva. Which is why I'm going to be thinking about this one for awhile. Highly, highly recommend!
May 25, 2024
I love the character development in this book. Minerva is very human - complex, and tormented about herself. She struggles with weight and body image. She wants to be competent (and probably is) but vacilates between tough and disregarding of others’ opinions about her, and consumed with self-doubts. She is searching for something to tell her who she is, and eventually finds it where she wasn’t looking. There are other excellent characters that are well written and intriguing. First Sergeant St John is familiar in a way that many veterans will know. She’s guarded and tough, but dedicated to the Army and willing to sacrifice her own well-being for the sake of her soldiers. There are glimpses of a soft underbelly within her. Lieutenant Logan, another who made me want to know more about her.
The pace of the book picks up as the plot develops and the climax was a complete surprise to me. Having been in the Army around the same time that this takes place, there are so many things that are familiar and ring true. I loved this book. I’m absolutely recommending it to any female in particular who has been in the Army, but I believe it stands on it’s own regardless. It’s well written with an intriguing plot that moves quickly and made me want to keep reading.
The pace of the book picks up as the plot develops and the climax was a complete surprise to me. Having been in the Army around the same time that this takes place, there are so many things that are familiar and ring true. I loved this book. I’m absolutely recommending it to any female in particular who has been in the Army, but I believe it stands on it’s own regardless. It’s well written with an intriguing plot that moves quickly and made me want to keep reading.
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February 23, 2025MWSA Review
Author Nancy Stroer’s debut novel portrays the time period of the mid-nineties for women in the military through her main character, Lieutenant Min Mills. Stroer’s own military background led her to develop realistic characters, settings, and situations that place readers right into the story. Female Lieutenant Min’s humor, self-deprecation, and conflicting emotions create an interesting ride for readers, not knowing what turn would come next, nor knowing if Min would race to the finish line or crash along the way.
Each character has his or her own story, and Min’s reactions and dealings with them revealed more about her own character. The following shows an example of who Min was and how the author portrayed her inner dialogue. “I couldn’t comprehend the kind of organization that produced both cowards and heroes, sometimes in the same person, but hell if I wasn’t going to figure it out.” Min grew throughout the book, but the growth was not a straight trajectory, making the read much more satisfying than a predictable outcome.
Stroer’s writing style did not disappoint, including visual and physical descriptions such as, “I slumped into the kitchen, started the coffee, and put my head straight under the tap, drinking like I’d just crossed the Sahara and not the beige carpeted expanse from my bedroom.”
I highly recommend Playing Army to those who would like to know more about those who lived during the Vietnam War era, and to those who are interested in military women’s stories from the not-too-distant past and understand some of their realities.
Review by Valerie Ormond (February 2025)
Author Nancy Stroer’s debut novel portrays the time period of the mid-nineties for women in the military through her main character, Lieutenant Min Mills. Stroer’s own military background led her to develop realistic characters, settings, and situations that place readers right into the story. Female Lieutenant Min’s humor, self-deprecation, and conflicting emotions create an interesting ride for readers, not knowing what turn would come next, nor knowing if Min would race to the finish line or crash along the way.
Each character has his or her own story, and Min’s reactions and dealings with them revealed more about her own character. The following shows an example of who Min was and how the author portrayed her inner dialogue. “I couldn’t comprehend the kind of organization that produced both cowards and heroes, sometimes in the same person, but hell if I wasn’t going to figure it out.” Min grew throughout the book, but the growth was not a straight trajectory, making the read much more satisfying than a predictable outcome.
Stroer’s writing style did not disappoint, including visual and physical descriptions such as, “I slumped into the kitchen, started the coffee, and put my head straight under the tap, drinking like I’d just crossed the Sahara and not the beige carpeted expanse from my bedroom.”
I highly recommend Playing Army to those who would like to know more about those who lived during the Vietnam War era, and to those who are interested in military women’s stories from the not-too-distant past and understand some of their realities.
Review by Valerie Ormond (February 2025)
November 18, 2024
A compelling thought provoking read, once I started reading I couldn’t stop, being a women in the 90s could be tough but being in the army is even harder.
Lieutenant Minerva Mills has struggles in her own personal life but the tough subject matter throughout the book is also filled with humour, I loved her internal dialogue.
I had to remind myself it was fiction at times it read just like a memoir, a highly recommended book that really resonates with how women are particularly hard on themselves.
Lieutenant Minerva Mills has struggles in her own personal life but the tough subject matter throughout the book is also filled with humour, I loved her internal dialogue.
I had to remind myself it was fiction at times it read just like a memoir, a highly recommended book that really resonates with how women are particularly hard on themselves.
June 23, 2024
Playing Army, by Nancy Stroer, kept me reading not just once through, but twice. The book is gritty, funny, moving, and important. Its characters are beautifully drawn and care about things that matter. It’s got good pacing and plotting, and delivers action, conflict, and resolution. Anger, blame, and guilt. Forgiveness, and accountability. It asks hard questions about war and race and identity and the chain of command, and moves us irresistibly toward uncomfortable conclusions—and beyond them to more questions about what any one of us can change, and how to stand up and do it.
Playing Army’s main character, Lieutenant Minerva Mills, starts the book searching for her place both in the army and in the world. Min’s father went missing in the Vietnam War, leaving behind only “completely truthful” letters and his 1968 Mustang. Her quest to discover what happened to him, and her mother’s alcohol-drenched grief at his disappearance, have shaped Min’s whole life, creating the person she thinks she’s allowed to be—a person who is not enough for her. Throughout the book she searches not only for her father’s story, but for her own.
Nancy Stroer’s writing in Playing Army is gorgeously poetic and sharply attentive to humans and the world. I laughed aloud, and got teary, and felt pain and shame and empathy with Min, travelling the landscape of her hurts and hopes while she confronts her beliefs about what life requires of her. The book’s ending is fitting, with Minerva, after all her searching, choosing to write her own story and find ways to be herself no matter where she is. This is a book not just for people with a history in the military, but for anyone who wants to think, laugh, cry, and grow.
Playing Army’s main character, Lieutenant Minerva Mills, starts the book searching for her place both in the army and in the world. Min’s father went missing in the Vietnam War, leaving behind only “completely truthful” letters and his 1968 Mustang. Her quest to discover what happened to him, and her mother’s alcohol-drenched grief at his disappearance, have shaped Min’s whole life, creating the person she thinks she’s allowed to be—a person who is not enough for her. Throughout the book she searches not only for her father’s story, but for her own.
Nancy Stroer’s writing in Playing Army is gorgeously poetic and sharply attentive to humans and the world. I laughed aloud, and got teary, and felt pain and shame and empathy with Min, travelling the landscape of her hurts and hopes while she confronts her beliefs about what life requires of her. The book’s ending is fitting, with Minerva, after all her searching, choosing to write her own story and find ways to be herself no matter where she is. This is a book not just for people with a history in the military, but for anyone who wants to think, laugh, cry, and grow.
June 29, 2024
An emotional story about facing one’s past to meet one’s present.
The book centers around Min’s (Lieutenant Mills) struggle when she joins the army base at Fort Stewart, Georgia. The men are callous and sexist, the Old Man in command calculating and suave, and the women… Min struggles to find her place in the community that should be her peers. Her real demons are inside, though: the specter of her father, MIA in Vietnam, and her mother’s neglect.
Stroer expertly weaves complex psychological themes—wounds too deep to heal, how the past revisits the present, and the possibility of redemption—in Min’s detailed internal landscape. By the end we know her intimately, and we also learn more about two of her close women peers, First Sergeant St. John and Lieutenant Logan. I particularly appreciated the pivotal role of the mother-daughter relationship in the story.
This book gives readers an excellent view into the complexities of US Army life, especially for women, but it’s more than a military book. Min’s personal journey is at the heart of the story. A very satisfying, moving read!
The book centers around Min’s (Lieutenant Mills) struggle when she joins the army base at Fort Stewart, Georgia. The men are callous and sexist, the Old Man in command calculating and suave, and the women… Min struggles to find her place in the community that should be her peers. Her real demons are inside, though: the specter of her father, MIA in Vietnam, and her mother’s neglect.
Stroer expertly weaves complex psychological themes—wounds too deep to heal, how the past revisits the present, and the possibility of redemption—in Min’s detailed internal landscape. By the end we know her intimately, and we also learn more about two of her close women peers, First Sergeant St. John and Lieutenant Logan. I particularly appreciated the pivotal role of the mother-daughter relationship in the story.
This book gives readers an excellent view into the complexities of US Army life, especially for women, but it’s more than a military book. Min’s personal journey is at the heart of the story. A very satisfying, moving read!
November 10, 2024
This is a history fiction book
This book explore the military service in the US army from an angle that I haven't read before which is good.
This story takes place 1995 this is before the American intervention in the Yugoslavian conflict.
This story mentions the and has comparisons to the Vietnam war
This story is perfect for anyone who love history fiction or reading about wars!!
This book explore the military service in the US army from an angle that I haven't read before which is good.
This story takes place 1995 this is before the American intervention in the Yugoslavian conflict.
This story mentions the and has comparisons to the Vietnam war
This story is perfect for anyone who love history fiction or reading about wars!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 7, 2024
It's rare that a story takes us into the American military through a female officer's eyes. It's a new perspective and I found it equally fascinating and relatable, compelling and gritty. You really can't look away. From page one we are inside the mind of the young, viscerally-uncomfortable-in-her-own-skin, but sharp-as-hell Lt. Minerva "Min" Mills. Min is stationed at a Georgia Army base in the sweltering summer of '95 when her plan, years in the making, to get herself on an Asian assignment falls apart when she is "promoted" to a temporary command position that feels like a set-up to lose. Min's unfaltering quest to get to Asia, close enough to investigate what really happened to her father (also a young Army officer, MIA in Viet Nam in 1969), has dictated every decision she'd made in life; it brought her here to the Army, to a position that would get her to Asia and now that path is suddenly tenuous. Keeping the quest alive in the tricky, muddy, unpredictable, mysogynistic and competitive culture of the Army holds challenges and surprises that threaten to undo Min, that force her to dig deep, to find herself, a self separate from her father, a self that recognizes the value of another kind of mission altogether. I highly recommend jumping on this gritty ride as it rises to a shocking climax and resolves in a surprise you didn't see coming.
June 10, 2024
A Game of Soldiers - A Review of Playing Army by Nancy Stroer
LT Minerva Mills is a hot mess. Literally. We meet her with ‘sweat pooling in her waistband’ as her mother rams through a terminally inappropriate ‘Pink Tea’ at Minerva’s first assumption of command ceremony at Fort Stewart, aka ‘Camp Swampy,’ Georgia, on a hot summer day in the mid-1990s. Mrs Mills has fallen out of step with the times, the people, the weather, Army tradition, and her daughter’s need to project authority in a time and a place where Minerva had inherited none.
As the daughter of a Viet Nam MIA, Minerva has been an outsider to the ‘Army Family’ her whole life. She makes an unlikely protagonist - she eats too much, she drinks too much, she weighs too much, she struggles to control both herself and the people in her command. In other words, she’s totally relatable. She struggles to assemble the self-protective camouflage needed to help her straddle the insider/outsider divide which she must overcome if she is to succeed in command and in achieving her grail quest - understanding what happened to her father. Expert at Army field navigation, Minerva struggles with navigating human interaction among her superiors, her subordinates, and her equals. The novel takes us through physical and psychological terrain which challenges Minerva at every step.
It is rare to find women who write knowledgeably and skilfully about the US Army, and even more rare to find women as active military protagonists in gendered narratives of war outside the extensive military romance industry. In our current historical moment of mythical #warrior_queens , Playing Army provides a welcome examination of the interior life of warrior women. Military women survive in the dominant masculine military culture by playing their cards very close to their chests. Those who have mastered the art of saying little and observing others closely rarely come out from behind their impassive masks to reveal the thoughts that they’ve learned to hide so well.
The clear, dry, acerbic interior voices of women who crave power, who search for meaning, who seek service tell their stories here. Their stories adeptly illustrate the uses of silence as a weapon of offence and defence among women in the US military. The novel also charts the Venn diagram of personal committment and resistance which embroils all participants in closed systems such as the US military, but particularly those at the intersections of marginalisation. In addition to LT Mills, the novel explores briefly the interior worlds of two competitor peers - LT Logan, the golden child of a US soldier and a Vietnamese mother, and First Sergeant St. John, black, lean, an exemplar of Army ethos. These warrior women are observed and draw with precision and clarity, a deep sympathy for their situations, and a generous acknowledgement of their significant strengths.
Playing Army explores the structure of power through the micro-aggressions in a hierarchy founded on the management of violence. The neglected military narrative field of logistics, maintenance, and personnel takes center ground, mapping the tails that wag the dog. The change of focus from stereotypical US military blood combat narratives is both welcome and overdue. The keenly observed ground truths of the unglorious majority challenges the myth of that the ‘real’ Army exists only in and for combat. This optic brings into focus the dark play and unglorious realities of the ‘real’ Army for the majority of Army personnel.
Playing Army is skillfully crafted, satisfying in its resolution of LT Mill’s journey learning to be serve well as an Army officer, and tantalising, in that it leaves us with unresolved questions. The child of a soldier father who neither knew nor wanted her, why was she named ‘Minerva’ by her mother? Why has clear-sighted Minerva chosen to ‘Min’imise herself? The vignettes centered on LT Logan and First Sergeant St. John are both compelling and brief, inviting follow-on novels. I hope Nancy takes them up on their offers of further stories to be told. Having hosted these complicated women with compelling narratives, I find myself hoping to be invited inside their lives and thoughts again.
LT Minerva Mills is a hot mess. Literally. We meet her with ‘sweat pooling in her waistband’ as her mother rams through a terminally inappropriate ‘Pink Tea’ at Minerva’s first assumption of command ceremony at Fort Stewart, aka ‘Camp Swampy,’ Georgia, on a hot summer day in the mid-1990s. Mrs Mills has fallen out of step with the times, the people, the weather, Army tradition, and her daughter’s need to project authority in a time and a place where Minerva had inherited none.
As the daughter of a Viet Nam MIA, Minerva has been an outsider to the ‘Army Family’ her whole life. She makes an unlikely protagonist - she eats too much, she drinks too much, she weighs too much, she struggles to control both herself and the people in her command. In other words, she’s totally relatable. She struggles to assemble the self-protective camouflage needed to help her straddle the insider/outsider divide which she must overcome if she is to succeed in command and in achieving her grail quest - understanding what happened to her father. Expert at Army field navigation, Minerva struggles with navigating human interaction among her superiors, her subordinates, and her equals. The novel takes us through physical and psychological terrain which challenges Minerva at every step.
It is rare to find women who write knowledgeably and skilfully about the US Army, and even more rare to find women as active military protagonists in gendered narratives of war outside the extensive military romance industry. In our current historical moment of mythical #warrior_queens , Playing Army provides a welcome examination of the interior life of warrior women. Military women survive in the dominant masculine military culture by playing their cards very close to their chests. Those who have mastered the art of saying little and observing others closely rarely come out from behind their impassive masks to reveal the thoughts that they’ve learned to hide so well.
The clear, dry, acerbic interior voices of women who crave power, who search for meaning, who seek service tell their stories here. Their stories adeptly illustrate the uses of silence as a weapon of offence and defence among women in the US military. The novel also charts the Venn diagram of personal committment and resistance which embroils all participants in closed systems such as the US military, but particularly those at the intersections of marginalisation. In addition to LT Mills, the novel explores briefly the interior worlds of two competitor peers - LT Logan, the golden child of a US soldier and a Vietnamese mother, and First Sergeant St. John, black, lean, an exemplar of Army ethos. These warrior women are observed and draw with precision and clarity, a deep sympathy for their situations, and a generous acknowledgement of their significant strengths.
Playing Army explores the structure of power through the micro-aggressions in a hierarchy founded on the management of violence. The neglected military narrative field of logistics, maintenance, and personnel takes center ground, mapping the tails that wag the dog. The change of focus from stereotypical US military blood combat narratives is both welcome and overdue. The keenly observed ground truths of the unglorious majority challenges the myth of that the ‘real’ Army exists only in and for combat. This optic brings into focus the dark play and unglorious realities of the ‘real’ Army for the majority of Army personnel.
Playing Army is skillfully crafted, satisfying in its resolution of LT Mill’s journey learning to be serve well as an Army officer, and tantalising, in that it leaves us with unresolved questions. The child of a soldier father who neither knew nor wanted her, why was she named ‘Minerva’ by her mother? Why has clear-sighted Minerva chosen to ‘Min’imise herself? The vignettes centered on LT Logan and First Sergeant St. John are both compelling and brief, inviting follow-on novels. I hope Nancy takes them up on their offers of further stories to be told. Having hosted these complicated women with compelling narratives, I find myself hoping to be invited inside their lives and thoughts again.
July 25, 2024
Playing Army is a compelling read by first-time novelist Nancy Stroer. As a former lieutenant in an Army maintenance company, Stroer has made her novel authentic and very readable. The characters are believable and include those in the Army and those associated with and affected by a military member: veterans, spouses, children, as well as those in the community adjacent to the base. It is obvious that she also thoroughly researched the locations and situations that are part of the book. These details add to our understanding of what is happening in the book and why, without being distracting.
There are several different threads that run through Playing Army. Lt Minerva Mills, Min for short, is the main character who in some way is associated with each of those threads. Early in the book, we learn that Lt Mills has been hastily assigned as the interim Company Commander of a unit based in Ft Stewart, GA in 1995. Her job is to get these lackadaisical, often difficult soldiers into shape to pass their annual training test before they might have to deploy to Bosnia. In addition, she needs to investigate which soldiers were involved in the loss of equipment assigned to the unit under the previous commander. Lt Mills is interested in showing herself as a leader, but this assignment interferes with her main objective. Min desperately wants to be assigned to Korea to find out what happened to her dad who went missing in Vietnam before she was born. She wants to learn not only what her Dad was doing when he was in Nam, but how he was feeling. It’s important to her to know how her father’s interactions with his soldiers in the controversial war in Vietnam compares to her military experiences. All she has to go on so far are the letters from him that her mother has saved. And they don’t tell her enough.
The supporting characters in the book are described so well that we feel like we know them with all their strengths and faults. The reader discovers the special interactions between soldiers, NCOs and officers that are peculiar to the military and especially to this unit. Through these characters, Lt Mills encounters the sexism that exists at all levels of the military that affects the status and treatment of females. She recognizes that this inequity affects relationships, discipline and cohesion in her unit. It’s just another problem she has to face.
Stroer’s use of language and metaphors in the book is exceptional. Her words are creative and imaginative. They help the reader get a true picture of the personality of the characters and the situations she’s describing. The language transitions seamlessly between the descriptive vocabulary of the story and the inclusion of the perfectly captured dialogue of the daily, often profane, language of soldiers. You can tell that the author is writing about what she has experienced. This use of language is part of what makes this book such an exciting read.
I enjoyed reading Playing Army very much. My husband is a retired 30-year Army veteran who doesn’t typically read novels. As I was reading it, however, I was relating parts to him. Since then, he has decided this is a novel that he is interested in reading as well. I’m sure there will be a lot of others who will find this a fascinating read.
There are several different threads that run through Playing Army. Lt Minerva Mills, Min for short, is the main character who in some way is associated with each of those threads. Early in the book, we learn that Lt Mills has been hastily assigned as the interim Company Commander of a unit based in Ft Stewart, GA in 1995. Her job is to get these lackadaisical, often difficult soldiers into shape to pass their annual training test before they might have to deploy to Bosnia. In addition, she needs to investigate which soldiers were involved in the loss of equipment assigned to the unit under the previous commander. Lt Mills is interested in showing herself as a leader, but this assignment interferes with her main objective. Min desperately wants to be assigned to Korea to find out what happened to her dad who went missing in Vietnam before she was born. She wants to learn not only what her Dad was doing when he was in Nam, but how he was feeling. It’s important to her to know how her father’s interactions with his soldiers in the controversial war in Vietnam compares to her military experiences. All she has to go on so far are the letters from him that her mother has saved. And they don’t tell her enough.
The supporting characters in the book are described so well that we feel like we know them with all their strengths and faults. The reader discovers the special interactions between soldiers, NCOs and officers that are peculiar to the military and especially to this unit. Through these characters, Lt Mills encounters the sexism that exists at all levels of the military that affects the status and treatment of females. She recognizes that this inequity affects relationships, discipline and cohesion in her unit. It’s just another problem she has to face.
Stroer’s use of language and metaphors in the book is exceptional. Her words are creative and imaginative. They help the reader get a true picture of the personality of the characters and the situations she’s describing. The language transitions seamlessly between the descriptive vocabulary of the story and the inclusion of the perfectly captured dialogue of the daily, often profane, language of soldiers. You can tell that the author is writing about what she has experienced. This use of language is part of what makes this book such an exciting read.
I enjoyed reading Playing Army very much. My husband is a retired 30-year Army veteran who doesn’t typically read novels. As I was reading it, however, I was relating parts to him. Since then, he has decided this is a novel that he is interested in reading as well. I’m sure there will be a lot of others who will find this a fascinating read.
June 30, 2024
You know when cussing feels like gold coins flung into the air and struck by sunlight that you’re in unique territory. This début novel by an American woman writer with firsthand US Army experience was an important investment for me.
The language throughout represents authentically the trials of someone who has served. It’s more unusual to get a female perspective, refracted through fiction, on direct service in the Army. The author has chosen the juncture that is immediately post-Iraq engagement and the beginning of a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia.
The female body figures in interesting ways. When we first meet Minerva, or Min, she’s a bundle of yearning and insecurities that are especially pronounced as she begins in a command position. Her few ‘extra’ pounds weigh like convoy wrapped around her neck, and she must continually answer to inevitably male superiors even re: each one.
Sticking with Min, we get a first person sharing of confidences informing us of Army life from the inside. Min’s physical strength and psychological grit eventually become apparent as she scales the hills of each task, deciding which ones she’d willingly die on. The slight drawback to the first person POV here is that some thinking and explanation is surplus to requirements.
An interesting artistic choice arrives with the third person POV captures of Leann Logan - a young and attractive woman from a Vietnamese background who catches the ‘Old Man’ superior’s eye - and First Sergeant Indigo St. John. The First Sergeant hails from a large and loving black family and wears any emotional cards welded to her chest. Racial dynamics as well as gender are well-negotiated throughout the story, keeping individual character in the lead.
The novel underscores that you can lose someone when you least expect it, at home in say, Fort Stewart, GA, as well as overseas. Min and her delicate mother have had to live with the disappearance of a husband and father whose offstage role highlights some of the thornier issues of US historical engagements. His presence and dilemmas are often conveyed tenderly through letters written on paper that is so believable you can almost touch its creases. Occasionally, the father’s presence feels lightly shoehorned in: a minor foible in a string début.
In the end, no spoilers, Min proves she’s about the mettle, not the medals. She’s engaged in stepping up to the battles most worth voicing. And that chorus of the cicadas deep down in America’s south? They can articulate the rest.
The language throughout represents authentically the trials of someone who has served. It’s more unusual to get a female perspective, refracted through fiction, on direct service in the Army. The author has chosen the juncture that is immediately post-Iraq engagement and the beginning of a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia.
The female body figures in interesting ways. When we first meet Minerva, or Min, she’s a bundle of yearning and insecurities that are especially pronounced as she begins in a command position. Her few ‘extra’ pounds weigh like convoy wrapped around her neck, and she must continually answer to inevitably male superiors even re: each one.
Sticking with Min, we get a first person sharing of confidences informing us of Army life from the inside. Min’s physical strength and psychological grit eventually become apparent as she scales the hills of each task, deciding which ones she’d willingly die on. The slight drawback to the first person POV here is that some thinking and explanation is surplus to requirements.
An interesting artistic choice arrives with the third person POV captures of Leann Logan - a young and attractive woman from a Vietnamese background who catches the ‘Old Man’ superior’s eye - and First Sergeant Indigo St. John. The First Sergeant hails from a large and loving black family and wears any emotional cards welded to her chest. Racial dynamics as well as gender are well-negotiated throughout the story, keeping individual character in the lead.
The novel underscores that you can lose someone when you least expect it, at home in say, Fort Stewart, GA, as well as overseas. Min and her delicate mother have had to live with the disappearance of a husband and father whose offstage role highlights some of the thornier issues of US historical engagements. His presence and dilemmas are often conveyed tenderly through letters written on paper that is so believable you can almost touch its creases. Occasionally, the father’s presence feels lightly shoehorned in: a minor foible in a string début.
In the end, no spoilers, Min proves she’s about the mettle, not the medals. She’s engaged in stepping up to the battles most worth voicing. And that chorus of the cicadas deep down in America’s south? They can articulate the rest.
June 9, 2024
This book has so much to praise. For one thing, it has beautifully crafted language which brought me joy every time I encountered it. If I had had a hard copy instead of an e-book version, I would have underlined each one! This passage from the first chapter gives a hint of the many little snippets that pull much more than their weight in context, emotion, and character: "I studied the silver hair invading my mother’s otherwise blond part line. She never missed the weekly wash and set that had anchored her hair in 1969, but she’d probably skipped professional coloring this time to pay for all the food. Those visible roots made me want to hover over her like she was a cupcake, to slip a little something into her pocketbook." Those gems continue throughout the book.
The opening chapters also do a fabulous job of creating a tense environment for the main character, Min, to navigate. She has to please her commander, who holds her fate in his hands, competing officers, verbally sniping subordinates, and her own insecurities. The author creates such a rich, tumultuous environment with Min arriving as the new leader of a troubled Army company--it's almost like an Agatha Christie setting where all the interesting suspects are locked together in the same mansion/train/boat, except in this case, everyone is stuck in this Georgia military unit together and the mystery is whether she will be able to bring them together as a cohesive unit. So excellent!
One part that lagged a bit for me was the search for information on her MIA father through conversations and letters, but it is well worth the journey, because the following action is more dramatic and high-stakes than I could have imagined. The author superbly weaves in character traits and developments that all come together in a satisfying and surprising climax. And all the while, Georgia's oppressive humidity and Min's very relatable struggle to get within the Army's weight regulations keep you immersed in a very memorable experience.
The opening chapters also do a fabulous job of creating a tense environment for the main character, Min, to navigate. She has to please her commander, who holds her fate in his hands, competing officers, verbally sniping subordinates, and her own insecurities. The author creates such a rich, tumultuous environment with Min arriving as the new leader of a troubled Army company--it's almost like an Agatha Christie setting where all the interesting suspects are locked together in the same mansion/train/boat, except in this case, everyone is stuck in this Georgia military unit together and the mystery is whether she will be able to bring them together as a cohesive unit. So excellent!
One part that lagged a bit for me was the search for information on her MIA father through conversations and letters, but it is well worth the journey, because the following action is more dramatic and high-stakes than I could have imagined. The author superbly weaves in character traits and developments that all come together in a satisfying and surprising climax. And all the while, Georgia's oppressive humidity and Min's very relatable struggle to get within the Army's weight regulations keep you immersed in a very memorable experience.
May 9, 2024
This novel is something I haven't seen: the tale of a young woman officer navigating company command as well as the slew of expectations heaped upon women. It reads like a psychological drama, presenting Min - Lieutenant Mills - as she struggles and shines against the overheated, drab military backdrop of Fort Stewart, Georgia.
I know about this topic, having trained as a ROTC cadet and then served as an Army officer and platoon leader. It’s refreshing to feel seen. This book masterfully portrays details I’d nearly forgotten. Indignities like the frequent drug screening pee tests, semi-public weigh-ins, and endless Hello Dolly exercises under watchful eyes ensuring that no one cheats their body. And microaggressions by insubordinate soldiers and insecure officers who imply that that woman officers are a weak link.
Like Min, I remember being awkward while trying to be tough. Attempting to assert my authority and live up to officer ideals. It’s complicated. About the external environment, the author writes that “negotiating male-dominated spaces was to tiptoe through a minefield.” Further complicated by competition: “military women competed against each other in the Cool Girl sweepstakes.” No wonder, as Stroer describes, these conditions create the perfect breeding ground for one’s ferocious internal critic.
The remarkable book takes on challenging topics, including loss and grief. Also, the mother-daughter relationship. I enjoyed the well-crafted characters, especially complex and competent First Sergeant St. John. And Stroer leaves us with many worthy questions to ponder: Why the “hypermasculine excesses of the Army?” Why do women feel the need to compete against other women? Why endure lightheadedness and subsist on Diet Coke and granola bars to lose a few pounds? And what makes an effective leader anyway?
I know about this topic, having trained as a ROTC cadet and then served as an Army officer and platoon leader. It’s refreshing to feel seen. This book masterfully portrays details I’d nearly forgotten. Indignities like the frequent drug screening pee tests, semi-public weigh-ins, and endless Hello Dolly exercises under watchful eyes ensuring that no one cheats their body. And microaggressions by insubordinate soldiers and insecure officers who imply that that woman officers are a weak link.
Like Min, I remember being awkward while trying to be tough. Attempting to assert my authority and live up to officer ideals. It’s complicated. About the external environment, the author writes that “negotiating male-dominated spaces was to tiptoe through a minefield.” Further complicated by competition: “military women competed against each other in the Cool Girl sweepstakes.” No wonder, as Stroer describes, these conditions create the perfect breeding ground for one’s ferocious internal critic.
The remarkable book takes on challenging topics, including loss and grief. Also, the mother-daughter relationship. I enjoyed the well-crafted characters, especially complex and competent First Sergeant St. John. And Stroer leaves us with many worthy questions to ponder: Why the “hypermasculine excesses of the Army?” Why do women feel the need to compete against other women? Why endure lightheadedness and subsist on Diet Coke and granola bars to lose a few pounds? And what makes an effective leader anyway?
June 25, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I have had the good fortune to have my life touched by several friends who have served in the armed forces. Their commitment and bravery never cease to amaze me, and I am fascinated by the stories they have shared and the glimpses I have had into a world I can only begin to understand. Playing Army by Nancy Stroer took me further inside this world and shed a whole new light on the struggles facing women who serve, and particularly women serving who are in positions of authority. The book poignantly illustrates the internal and external struggles facing Min, the female protagonist who, despite her rise in rank, is less celebrated than isolated, and who constantly struggles with self-doubt about both her physical and mental fitness to fit in and to lead. Min’s personal “issues” are deeply-rooted and complicated. But her professional ones are no simpler, and are magnified by the fact that the women and men with whom she serves are facing their own intense, personal battles. Stroer expertly introduces and develops all of the characters so, at the end of the day, what we see is a collection of imperfect people trying to navigate and make sense of the world that they share. This was a gripping and wonderful read all around…
November 26, 2024
This book was absolutely fantastic.
It follows Army Lieutenant Mills. As her father died fighting for our country, she was so determined to step foot into the soil where her dad lost his life to feel close to him. Things took a turn when the Colonel tells her he will only place her orders to get her where she wants to be if she readies the Headquarters Company for a mission and if she loses the weight needed to get her in regulation.
I want to start off by saying that I think this is a book I feel everyone should read in their life. Because this book is so much more than a military book. There are so many real life situations and lessons in this book. From the stress of having a hard time losing weight, to family issues, all the way to learning what it takes to be a good leader. And the ending was oh so satisfying.
The Military aspect was so great as well. Growing up in a military household, I knew the general aspect of military life. But having my fiance being former army, it gave us so much to talk about. And I love love loved that fact that this is was so freaking accurate.
It follows Army Lieutenant Mills. As her father died fighting for our country, she was so determined to step foot into the soil where her dad lost his life to feel close to him. Things took a turn when the Colonel tells her he will only place her orders to get her where she wants to be if she readies the Headquarters Company for a mission and if she loses the weight needed to get her in regulation.
I want to start off by saying that I think this is a book I feel everyone should read in their life. Because this book is so much more than a military book. There are so many real life situations and lessons in this book. From the stress of having a hard time losing weight, to family issues, all the way to learning what it takes to be a good leader. And the ending was oh so satisfying.
The Military aspect was so great as well. Growing up in a military household, I knew the general aspect of military life. But having my fiance being former army, it gave us so much to talk about. And I love love loved that fact that this is was so freaking accurate.
July 21, 2024
Fantastic read! I had the honor of serving as an advance reader of PLAYING ARMY and I'm excited for others to get their hands on it. Nancy Stroer tells a relatable story for anyone and everyone to appreciate.
Don't let the military overtones throw you. Lt. Minerva Mills journeys through relatable challenges that any reader would appreciate. She struggles with processing the loss of a parent, the professional responsibilities and struggles of body acceptance, and the challenges of managing a variety of personalities in the workplace, both as a leader and a follower. Replace the BDUs (Battle Dress Uniform) with any other workplace clothing and the story remains the same.
That being said, Stroer also captures the interpersonal dynamics of a military unit like the subject matter expert that she is, having served in the US Army. Don't let Lt. Mills face the "Old Man" of her unit alone. Read this book today!
Don't let the military overtones throw you. Lt. Minerva Mills journeys through relatable challenges that any reader would appreciate. She struggles with processing the loss of a parent, the professional responsibilities and struggles of body acceptance, and the challenges of managing a variety of personalities in the workplace, both as a leader and a follower. Replace the BDUs (Battle Dress Uniform) with any other workplace clothing and the story remains the same.
That being said, Stroer also captures the interpersonal dynamics of a military unit like the subject matter expert that she is, having served in the US Army. Don't let Lt. Mills face the "Old Man" of her unit alone. Read this book today!
July 30, 2024
As a military wife for twenty-five years, I have first-hand knowledge of females' struggles in that complicated man’s world. Yet, Stroer’s depiction adds another layer to my understanding of being a woman in uniform – the comparisons, the undermining, the politics, the doubt – from dual fronts: outside forces and inner dialogue. Her gripping portrayal of an army brat now leading Headquarters Company – in a postponed career path – deepens the emotional impact of what-has-been, what-can-be, and what-actually-is. Crafted with thoughtful details, precise descriptions, and historical drama, PLAYING ARMY features well-drafted, fully-fleshed female characters whose strengths rely not on their physicality but rather on their mental acuity and moral fortitude. Conflicted, uncomfortable, searching, and therefore, even more relatable, Lieutenant Mills and her creator, Nancy Stroer, deserve a heartfelt salute.
December 6, 2024
Not my usual genre so didn't know what to expect and was looking forward to reading something different. Min is a great character and this tells us of her role in the army, having been placed in a role she hadn't expected or been hoping for. The book follows her through establishing relationships with her subordinates and trying to earn respect. It gives a glimpse into how difficult it might be for women in the army and not just in their rise through the ranks but the internal difficulties that come from their own personal lives including their relationships. It would have been nice for Min to have found her father and for everything to end well but this serves up the reality of the situation that Min is in and there's no Hollywood reconciliation at the end. I think it's good that way.
I think Min's journey is really just beginning and I think her relationship with the soldiers is strengthening through the hard work she has put in. Its an interesting read with some great characters.
I think Min's journey is really just beginning and I think her relationship with the soldiers is strengthening through the hard work she has put in. Its an interesting read with some great characters.
June 10, 2024
I read this as someone without a military background and found I didn't understand some of the references so it took me a while to get into it (maybe a glossary for us non-military type would have helped!) However, once I got into it , I really enjoyed the story and could identify with the range of characters that featured and the challenges of being female in such a male-oriented environment.
I found myself on a similar journey as Min, who I felt learned to like herself as the story progressed. I didn't warm to her for quite a while through the story, constantly self-doubting and full of imposter syndrome but I respected her by the end as she made and stuck by difficult decisions.
A entertaining read that reflects a side of military life (not front line) not often written about.
I found myself on a similar journey as Min, who I felt learned to like herself as the story progressed. I didn't warm to her for quite a while through the story, constantly self-doubting and full of imposter syndrome but I respected her by the end as she made and stuck by difficult decisions.
A entertaining read that reflects a side of military life (not front line) not often written about.
July 20, 2024
As a UK military veteran, I looked forward to reading a book from the perspective of a female serving soldier. Some of the anachronisms were unfamiliar to me and I did struggle with this in the beginning. However as I read further this became less of an issue.
The picture painted by the author of Min’s inner turmoil in dealing with the absence of her father, and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, the difficult relationship with her mother, and the struggle to find her place amongst her colleagues was very human and real. It was a delight to see her personal growth develop throughout the story.
Other characters described were equally complex and realistic.
I would recommend this title to anybody, however I think US military veterans, and those still serving, would be the ones most likely to identify with the intricacies of the story.
The picture painted by the author of Min’s inner turmoil in dealing with the absence of her father, and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, the difficult relationship with her mother, and the struggle to find her place amongst her colleagues was very human and real. It was a delight to see her personal growth develop throughout the story.
Other characters described were equally complex and realistic.
I would recommend this title to anybody, however I think US military veterans, and those still serving, would be the ones most likely to identify with the intricacies of the story.
June 9, 2024
What a satisfying read! I was lucky to read an advanced copy of Playing Army by Nancy Stroer and fell hard for these characters. The story of Lieutenant Mills, her struggles and her relationships, is so compelling that I felt like I knew her personally. Combined with stellar writing and a visceral setting (hellishly hot Fort Stewart, Georgia), it was impossible not to get absorbed. The ending surprised me completely--in a good way--which is so hard to carry off. This author makes it look seamless.
The focus on women in the military is not addressed nearly enough, especially in fiction, but Playing Army touches on this experience with generosity and complexity. This story got under my skin in a way that I know means I won't soon forget about it.
The focus on women in the military is not addressed nearly enough, especially in fiction, but Playing Army touches on this experience with generosity and complexity. This story got under my skin in a way that I know means I won't soon forget about it.
November 30, 2024
“Playing Army” reads and feels like a memoir not fiction cut from whole cloth. I could tell the author was in the Army and still cares deeply about the army.
It was definitely literature and not genre writing in my opinion. Conflicts were subtle and mostly internal. The payoff was sublime and satisfactory.
I would definitely listen to it as an Audible if that ever happens.
It was not a page turner for me. I read a few pages a day for a month and a little bit more on weekends. Every word was important, so I couldn’t skim through chapters like I might do with an Epic Fantasy or Science Fiction novel.
I liked it because “Playing Army” didn’t flitter from my mind the moment I was finished reading it.
I think it would be a good selection for a book club.
It was definitely literature and not genre writing in my opinion. Conflicts were subtle and mostly internal. The payoff was sublime and satisfactory.
I would definitely listen to it as an Audible if that ever happens.
It was not a page turner for me. I read a few pages a day for a month and a little bit more on weekends. Every word was important, so I couldn’t skim through chapters like I might do with an Epic Fantasy or Science Fiction novel.
I liked it because “Playing Army” didn’t flitter from my mind the moment I was finished reading it.
I think it would be a good selection for a book club.
November 19, 2024
Can you fake it ‘til you make it? Lieutenant Minerva Mills is about to find out.
Minerva Mills is stuck between a rock and a hard place. It’s 1995, and Fort Stewart, Georgia, is preparing to deploy to Bosnia. But Min has different plans, she’s determined to go on a much-needed tour to Asia to feel closer to her father, who disappeared in Vietnam. But there's a catch: the only way the colonel will approve her leave is if she gets the rag-tag Headquarters Company ready for the peacekeeping mission and loses eight pounds.
This is where the fun begins. Min is now on a mission of her own, one that involves whipping a misfit team of soldiers into shape, struggling to lose weight, and finding her own place within the Army. The only problem? Her attempts to “fake it” lead to a series of hilarious, frustrating, and often touching mishaps. If she can’t get the soldiers and herself in order, she may just find her dreams of connecting with her father slipping away.
I was hooked from the very first page of Playing Army, this novel balances humour with heart and a whole lot of heartache.
Min is a complicated character with big dreams and a stubborn streak, and you can’t help but root for her even when she’s floundering. Plus, the military backdrop offers just the right amount of tension to keep the pages turning.
The book’s focus on female friendship and self-empowerment is refreshing, and the journey Min takes to find herself was an emotional rollercoaster I was happy to ride.
If you love stories about finding strength in adversity, learning to embrace who you really are, and the bond between women facing impossible odds, Playing Army should be on your TBR list. Oh, and get ready for a lot of army push-ups!
Minerva Mills is stuck between a rock and a hard place. It’s 1995, and Fort Stewart, Georgia, is preparing to deploy to Bosnia. But Min has different plans, she’s determined to go on a much-needed tour to Asia to feel closer to her father, who disappeared in Vietnam. But there's a catch: the only way the colonel will approve her leave is if she gets the rag-tag Headquarters Company ready for the peacekeeping mission and loses eight pounds.
This is where the fun begins. Min is now on a mission of her own, one that involves whipping a misfit team of soldiers into shape, struggling to lose weight, and finding her own place within the Army. The only problem? Her attempts to “fake it” lead to a series of hilarious, frustrating, and often touching mishaps. If she can’t get the soldiers and herself in order, she may just find her dreams of connecting with her father slipping away.
I was hooked from the very first page of Playing Army, this novel balances humour with heart and a whole lot of heartache.
Min is a complicated character with big dreams and a stubborn streak, and you can’t help but root for her even when she’s floundering. Plus, the military backdrop offers just the right amount of tension to keep the pages turning.
The book’s focus on female friendship and self-empowerment is refreshing, and the journey Min takes to find herself was an emotional rollercoaster I was happy to ride.
If you love stories about finding strength in adversity, learning to embrace who you really are, and the bond between women facing impossible odds, Playing Army should be on your TBR list. Oh, and get ready for a lot of army push-ups!
November 19, 2024
This is one of those stories where you don't know how to respond to ... yes the first line of the blurb said 'fake it till you make it?'. This was the first thing which had me intrigued because how can you fake the army. Then when I started to read it and got context for the situation i got this line. I love Min as main character as she is someone who I would want to be friends with and have a drink with. Watching her whip some army service member into shape and trying to whip herself into shape to be able to follow her father. This was also so interesting read and can not wait to see what the author comes out with next.
June 23, 2024
Playing Army is an enjoyable read, providing insight into life as a junior officer struggling as a woman in an Army still more habituated to men. Focusing on the 1990s, after the first Gulf War and during a relative time of peace, the author does an excellent job describing the challenge of leading Soldiers when not actively preparing to fight an enemy. I really enjoyed the details of the main character’s desire to learn more about her father’s fate as a soldier who went missing in action during the Vietnam War and how she and her mother chose to deal with their shared past.
November 25, 2024
Playing Army by Nancy Storer is a compelling story about Lieutenant Minerva Mills, who grapples with her ambitions and insecurities while preparing her unit for deployment to Bosnia in 1995. Caught between her desire to connect with her father's legacy and the pressures of military life, Min's journey is both inspiring and relatable. The narrative highlights the challenges of leadership, body image, and the struggle to find one's place within the Army. Storer's writing is engaging, making this a thought-provoking read about authenticity and resilience.
November 19, 2024
This was a very interesting look into the world of the American army and in particular from a woman’s point of view.
I found this to be particularly enlightening as to the struggles of women and those of a different race in the army. This is set in the 90’s but I’m sure there are some aspects that are the same now, unfortunately.
The book does read as a memoir as the characters come across as very real along with the plot.
Not my usual type of read but an enlightening one.
I found this to be particularly enlightening as to the struggles of women and those of a different race in the army. This is set in the 90’s but I’m sure there are some aspects that are the same now, unfortunately.
The book does read as a memoir as the characters come across as very real along with the plot.
Not my usual type of read but an enlightening one.
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