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Home Front Lines
Home Front Lines imagines the agency of women of color, acting under the social constraints of 1962, who aim to protect their children during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They are two sets of mothers who are sitting targets during that tense time: African American military wives on an Air Force base outside of Washington, D.C. and Cuban sisters living in Matanzas, Cuba, 90 miles from the Florida Keys.
The American mothers make evacuation plans for their children, while the Cuban mothers plan to send their children away in a boat headed across the Florida straits. Neither set informs their husbands of their intended actions. Life goes on, and the African American women deal with the complications brought on by one character’s past indiscretion with a white officer, while the Cuban sisters send off their children and search for their “disappeared” brother. Their husbands have their own secrets as well.
The American mothers make evacuation plans for their children, while the Cuban mothers plan to send their children away in a boat headed across the Florida straits. Neither set informs their husbands of their intended actions. Life goes on, and the African American women deal with the complications brought on by one character’s past indiscretion with a white officer, while the Cuban sisters send off their children and search for their “disappeared” brother. Their husbands have their own secrets as well.
236 pages, Paperback
Published March 16, 2021
2 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Brenda Sparks Prescott
1 book6 followersBrenda Sparks Prescott lives and writes in eastern Massachusetts and southern Vermont. Her writing has appeared in publications such as The Louisville Review, Crab Orchard Review, Portland Magazine, and the anthology Soap Opera Confidential. Brenda is co-chief editor of Solstice Literary Magazine, an advisory board member for the Solstice MFA in creative writing program, and a founding member of Simply Not Done, a women's writing collaborative. Brenda's family has a long history of military service, with records stretching back to the Civil War.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 29, 2021
The setting of the story is during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Prescott deftly weaves the stories of Betty Ann, a military wife in Washington DC, and the Montero sisters in Cuba.
Through this life threatening conflict, these women from opposite sides have a singular mission and that is to protect their children and family.
This short book was powerful and addressed a lot of issues on gender roles, families, political climate and asylum, and roles of military wives.
A well written historical fiction that I enjoyed reading about.
Through this life threatening conflict, these women from opposite sides have a singular mission and that is to protect their children and family.
This short book was powerful and addressed a lot of issues on gender roles, families, political climate and asylum, and roles of military wives.
A well written historical fiction that I enjoyed reading about.
March 22, 2021
Set during the Cuban Missile crisis, Home Front Lines follows African American Military spouses in the USA and Three Cuban Sisters. Though on opposites side of the conflict, both parties want the same thing; to keep their children safe.
This book was incredibly interesting and emotive. The author has a wonderful way of writing characters that read like real people and keeps you invested in their stories. Writing multi-POV books can often go wrong, but I really liked the way this book was structured. There were more than five POVs throughout the book, but it wasn't drastically confusing when the voices switched, and each chapter belonged in the story. I am incredibly interested in reading more of the author's work!
What stands out the most in this book is the idea of motherhood. This book explores the Cuban Missile Crisis, a famous conflict, from a unique angle. The chapter from the perspective of a mother in the USSR really captures the essence of this story, and what it means to be a mother and want to protect your children. Motherhood is a uniting factor between characters, and it was beautifully done.
My criticisms lie with the lack of attention that certain stories got in this book. There was one story line in particular that I would have loved to have seen developed, but it seemed forgotten. The book could have done with being a little longer!
Nevertheless, this is a wonderful and cleverly written story of mothers wanting to protect their children, on opposite sides of the same conflict. I am very grateful to have received an ARC of this book.
This book was incredibly interesting and emotive. The author has a wonderful way of writing characters that read like real people and keeps you invested in their stories. Writing multi-POV books can often go wrong, but I really liked the way this book was structured. There were more than five POVs throughout the book, but it wasn't drastically confusing when the voices switched, and each chapter belonged in the story. I am incredibly interested in reading more of the author's work!
What stands out the most in this book is the idea of motherhood. This book explores the Cuban Missile Crisis, a famous conflict, from a unique angle. The chapter from the perspective of a mother in the USSR really captures the essence of this story, and what it means to be a mother and want to protect your children. Motherhood is a uniting factor between characters, and it was beautifully done.
My criticisms lie with the lack of attention that certain stories got in this book. There was one story line in particular that I would have loved to have seen developed, but it seemed forgotten. The book could have done with being a little longer!
Nevertheless, this is a wonderful and cleverly written story of mothers wanting to protect their children, on opposite sides of the same conflict. I am very grateful to have received an ARC of this book.
March 23, 2021
Disclaimer: I received this arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Home Front Lines
Author: Brenda Sparks Prescott
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5
Diversity: Black main characters, Hispanic main characters
Recommended For...: historical fiction
Publication Date: March 16, 2021
Genre: Historical Fiction
Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, gore, racism, sexism)
Publisher: Bedazzled Ink Publishing Company
Pages: 236
Synopsis:
It's 1962. Betty Ann Johnson is an African American military spouse on an Air Force base outside Washington, DC. Sisters Lola, Chita, and Rosita are the proud keepers of the Montero name in Matanzas, Cuba.
Betty Ann gets wind that military preparations are ramping up for something more than just practice drills. Fearing that the Soviet presence in Cuba has become a tangible threat, she and a small band of military spouses, without telling their husbands, put together an evacuation plan for their children. At the same time in Cuba, Lola is asked to cook for the Soviet soldiers amassing there and accidentally witnesses a Soviet missile installation. She tells her sisters, and they devise a way to send their children to Florida on a boat, while keeping this plan from their husbands.
Betty Ann Johnson and the Montero sisters may be on opposite sides of a life-threatening conflict, but they share the same heart when it comes to protecting their children.
Home Front Lines is a story of strong and determined women. Women that you know, grew up with, interact with every day, only these women are adorned with different cultural robes and live elsewhere in a different time.
Review: I really liked the way this book was told. The writing was well done, the characters were well developed and the world building was amazingly well done. The story itself grips you at the beginning and doesn't let go until the end.
The only issue I had is that the pacing was slow and that some of the events felt like they could have been better explained.
Verdict: It was a good book.!
Book: Home Front Lines
Author: Brenda Sparks Prescott
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5
Diversity: Black main characters, Hispanic main characters
Recommended For...: historical fiction
Publication Date: March 16, 2021
Genre: Historical Fiction
Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, gore, racism, sexism)
Publisher: Bedazzled Ink Publishing Company
Pages: 236
Synopsis:
It's 1962. Betty Ann Johnson is an African American military spouse on an Air Force base outside Washington, DC. Sisters Lola, Chita, and Rosita are the proud keepers of the Montero name in Matanzas, Cuba.
Betty Ann gets wind that military preparations are ramping up for something more than just practice drills. Fearing that the Soviet presence in Cuba has become a tangible threat, she and a small band of military spouses, without telling their husbands, put together an evacuation plan for their children. At the same time in Cuba, Lola is asked to cook for the Soviet soldiers amassing there and accidentally witnesses a Soviet missile installation. She tells her sisters, and they devise a way to send their children to Florida on a boat, while keeping this plan from their husbands.
Betty Ann Johnson and the Montero sisters may be on opposite sides of a life-threatening conflict, but they share the same heart when it comes to protecting their children.
Home Front Lines is a story of strong and determined women. Women that you know, grew up with, interact with every day, only these women are adorned with different cultural robes and live elsewhere in a different time.
Review: I really liked the way this book was told. The writing was well done, the characters were well developed and the world building was amazingly well done. The story itself grips you at the beginning and doesn't let go until the end.
The only issue I had is that the pacing was slow and that some of the events felt like they could have been better explained.
Verdict: It was a good book.!
February 2, 2021
***Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review***
Home Front Lines takes place during the Cuban Missile Crisis and has two main storylines that show the uneasiness of existence during that time. In the US, we meet some African American military wives on an Air Force base outside DC. They can sense the mounting tensions, even if their husbands cannot share any information with them. Feeling somewhat like sitting ducks, they take it upon themselves to create an evacuation plan for their children. At the same time, in Cuba, three sisters make the decision to send their children away without consulting their respective husbands. Two of them also end up on a search for their "missing" brother.
The characters are engaging and the stories held my attention throughout, but there was a separate piece that I thought would be developed more but didn't. There a few characters we were introduced to, like Hiroshima survivors and men on a Navy ship, that were given close attention but then seemingly forgotten as the plotlines involving the Air Force wives and Cuban sisters were brought to a close. I enjoyed the book so much that I wish the author had written more and followed that aspect of the story longer. The chapters about the Cubans sisters reminded me of Julia Alvarez's In the Time of Butterflies, a book that I love. Like Alvarez, Sparks Prescott does a great job of giving life to the sisters and their relational dynamics. There is some back story to the Air Force wives as well, which helped flesh them out as well, and it also shed light on the racial dynamics that they faced as part of the military. There is so much to this book, and I look forward to reading more from the author!
Home Front Lines takes place during the Cuban Missile Crisis and has two main storylines that show the uneasiness of existence during that time. In the US, we meet some African American military wives on an Air Force base outside DC. They can sense the mounting tensions, even if their husbands cannot share any information with them. Feeling somewhat like sitting ducks, they take it upon themselves to create an evacuation plan for their children. At the same time, in Cuba, three sisters make the decision to send their children away without consulting their respective husbands. Two of them also end up on a search for their "missing" brother.
The characters are engaging and the stories held my attention throughout, but there was a separate piece that I thought would be developed more but didn't. There a few characters we were introduced to, like Hiroshima survivors and men on a Navy ship, that were given close attention but then seemingly forgotten as the plotlines involving the Air Force wives and Cuban sisters were brought to a close. I enjoyed the book so much that I wish the author had written more and followed that aspect of the story longer. The chapters about the Cubans sisters reminded me of Julia Alvarez's In the Time of Butterflies, a book that I love. Like Alvarez, Sparks Prescott does a great job of giving life to the sisters and their relational dynamics. There is some back story to the Air Force wives as well, which helped flesh them out as well, and it also shed light on the racial dynamics that they faced as part of the military. There is so much to this book, and I look forward to reading more from the author!
March 31, 2021
A military base and the year 1962. The restrictions, the divisions of color demarcate every part of the women's lives. So many rules, written and unwritten and all equally humiliating to these women who strive to live within the rules, uphold their dignity and at the same time not endanger the jobs of their husbands who are totally beholden to the white folk (particularly the wives)
The story opened an aspect of life that was hitherto not even thinkable to me - the American women planned evacuation of their children, the Cuban women planned the same to send their children across the waters but this was the important part - without the knowledge of their husbands. Taking their children's lives into their hands they planned all this meticulously. Not that the husband's did not have their own secrets as well. All cocooned in their little worlds.
The story was intriguing, and revealing. People put together will not follow rules however much rules are in place and indiscretions and breaking of these rules will happen. Consequences always follow.
The story opened an aspect of life that was hitherto not even thinkable to me - the American women planned evacuation of their children, the Cuban women planned the same to send their children across the waters but this was the important part - without the knowledge of their husbands. Taking their children's lives into their hands they planned all this meticulously. Not that the husband's did not have their own secrets as well. All cocooned in their little worlds.
The story was intriguing, and revealing. People put together will not follow rules however much rules are in place and indiscretions and breaking of these rules will happen. Consequences always follow.
July 6, 2021
This novel is set in 1962, when tensions between the U.S. and Cuba were maxed out. Author Brenda Sparks Prescott moves back and forth between a Cuban and American families trying to protect their children by sending them to a safer area than Havana and a military base outside Washington D.C. The Cuban family has some significant interfamily rivalries and brothers and sisters are pitted against each other; however, the presence of Russian missiles forces the wives to devise an escape plan. Meanwhile, there is a clear racial divide on the military base, with the blacks in some key supporting roles, such as Master Sergeant in charge of supplies versus the white General and his wife. Finally, there is a military cover-up, which has ramifications for the on-base relationships. A good period for a mostly forgotten episode in time. 3.5 stars.
February 12, 2021
This story follows two groups of women, one in Cuba and one in America during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Brenda Sparks Prescott does a wonderful job setting the scene with her detailed descriptions. I enjoyed reading both the American's story and the Cuban's story as she went back and forth between the two countries. She explores everything women in war have to deal with: their husbands tempers, affairs, secrets they uncover, loss of family, but most important of all is the children they will protect no matter what. Brenda Sparks Prescott's meticulous character development is unparalleled and realistic. This book represents people of color and the extra difficulties and harshness they endured. If you love character driven books, this would be a great book for you to read.
July 28, 2022
Really well written. A little hard to follow at times with all the characters and their different stories, but definitely an interesting take. The similar/parallel storylines here really make you think, and the characters are interesting and believable
to-check-out
March 26, 2021Author Q&A @ Let Them Read Books!
April 8, 2021
This is a magnificent book, from a magnificent writer. I can’t wait for her next.
August 13, 2021
Beautiful writing of the unseen lives of women during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Excellent read.
March 15, 2023
I felt it was a bit too chaotic.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews