Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings

 

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an eBook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, Yours Cheerfully by A.J. Pearce, the second book in the Emmy Lake Chronicles series. The excerpts shared are from a hardcover version of the book borrowed from the library.

Beginning:  Prologue

London, Late May 1941

As Mr. Collins called a start to the Woman's Friend editorial meeting, to anyone watching, it was a perfectly normal Monday-morning affair.

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Page 56: The last cover, though. really caught my eye. Under the large Woman's Friend heading was a blue-eyed woman with her hair poking out from under a scarf tied around her head. She was wearing dungarees and holding a large tin mug.

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My thoughts:  I enjoyed Dear Mrs. Bird, A.J. Pearce's previous novel, which was the start to this series. I am always drawn to books set in London during World War II with strong female characters. 

I am looking forward to revisiting the characters introduced in Dear Mrs. Bird. The opening line of the prologue hints at an unusual turn of events about to unfold during the editorial meeting, and the excerpt from page 56 brings a Rosie the Riverter-like image to mind.

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From GoodReads:  London, November 1941. Following the departure of the formidable Henrietta Bird from Woman’s Friend magazine, things are looking up for Emmeline Lake as she takes on the challenge of becoming a young wartime advice columnist. Her relationship with boyfriend Charles (now stationed back in the UK) is blossoming, while Emmy’s best friend Bunty, still reeling from the very worst of the Blitz, is bravely looking to the future. Together, the friends are determined to make a go of it.

When the Ministry of Information calls on Britain’s women’s magazines to help recruit desperately needed female workers to the war effort, Emmy is thrilled to be asked to step up and help. But when she and Bunty meet a young woman who shows them the very real challenges that women war workers face, Emmy must tackle a life-changing dilemma between doing her duty and standing by her friends.

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