Liz's Reviews > The Chilbury Ladies' Choir

Reminding me of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, this book is written as a series of letters, journal or diary entries. As opposed to a single writer, here we have a variety of writers of all ages and stripes. Starting at the beginning of WWII, the village is dealing with the absence of most of its men. The vicar disbands the choir as it lacks the necessary tenors and basses. But here comes a new music instructor to the nearby University and she forms The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir. “It is time for us women to do what we can as a group to support each other and keep our spirits up.” As someone who has sung for years in a choir, it's a true sentiment. There is something uplifting about making music with others. In fact, she is spot on about all things involved in singing- that moment before coming in on a note when singing a capella, the fear of the solo or the community from singing together.

Ryan does a great job of fleshing out each character. And there are some real characters here. Kitty’s writing does seem very grownup for a thirteen year old but that's a minor quibble especially because Ryan does capture the girl’s crush on Henry perfectly.

This novel manages to blend humor, warmth, sorrow and depth all within its pages. The book is based on her grandmother’s stories of a choir she sung in during WWII and the freedoms women had because of the war.

For those who enjoyed The Summer Before the War or the tv series Land Girls or Home Fires, I would recommend this novel. A full five stars!

My thanks to netgalley and Crown Publishing Group for an advance copy of this book.