The Home Front Girls
It’s July 1940, and the end of what was called the “phoney war,” when Great Britain waited, mobilized for German bombs and invasion. Manchester girls like Sally, age 20, have taken jobs to help prepare the country for the worst. Sally mostly loves working for the Food Office, alongside her childhood best friend, Deborah. Helping people stretch rationed foods with new recipes and advice delights Sally. The only part she doesn’t like is when she’s sent out to “test” the shops by trying to buy butter without a ration card. Reminded by her boss’s oft-repeated “This is our patriotic duty, Miss White, unpleasant though we may find it,” Sally follows the script and plows ahead.
Sally also faces a romantic dilemma—she’s been writing to Deborah’s brother Rod, keeping the “tone cheerful and friendly, not lovey-dovey.” However, Rod and both their families believe she’s in love with him. Sally is reluctant to break it off in part because she fears losing Deborah’s friendship. Across town, another Manchester girl, Betty, rues the day that Sally walked into the shop, seeking some butter without a ration card.
This friendship story told by Sally and Betty is filled with rich details of daily life for ordinary young women during WWII. From how to achieve the desired “rolled” hairstyle, to fighting fatigue as they work day jobs and watch for fires at night, these young women’s stories bring the era to life. With a romantic subplot that’s very chaste, this book is suitable for teens and adults.
This is the first book in the planned Home Front Series.
