Dear Mrs. Bird

London 1940, bombs are falling. Emmy Lake is Doing Her Bit for the war effort, volunteering as a telephone operator with the Auxiliary Fire Services. When Emmy sees an advertisement for a job at the London Evening Chronicle, her dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent seem suddenly achievable. But the job turns out to be typist to the fierce and renowned advice columnist, Henrietta Bird. Emmy is disappointed, but gamely bucks up and buckles down.

Mrs Bird is very clear: Any letters containing Unpleasantness—must go straight in the bin. But when Emmy reads poignant letters from women who are lonely, may have Gone Too Far with the wrong men and found themselves in trouble, or who can’t bear to let their children be evacuated, she is unable to resist responding. As the German planes make their nightly raids, and London picks up the smoldering pieces each morning, Emmy secretly begins to write letters back to the women of all ages who have spilled out their troubles.

What a breathe of fresh air this book was!  I was initially drawn to the cover, but it was such a pleasant surprise all the way around!  Emmy was one of those characters that I felt drawn to immediately.  I couldn't help but want to keep reading to find out the rest of the story.  While the book took place during WW2, it was refreshing new take on a subject that it written about all the time.  But what I thought was just going to be a straightforward story turned out to be so heartwarming and I can't recommend it enough!

         * I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *