Helpful Score: 2
This was a pretty frustrating book, in that the use of the suffragist movement was very inspiring to both the reader and, apparently, to the heroine, yet Laura instead vacillates between two boys like an indecisive, coquettish ditz. She's not really sympathetic at all as she plays the tease with both Joe & Shawn, chooses one over the other one day, then gets all worried/miffed that the other doesn't dance attendance on her whim. Not really a strong character in her actions. All of her "grit" comes from mentions that she wants to be a lawyer or architect, but her actions belie such calls for sacrifice and hard work. Even the late appearance of the Spanish flu epidemic doesn't pan out in terms of sacrifice for our heroine.
The book is also another example of the tendency in Sunfires in general, and Vivian Schurfranz's efforts in particular, to have one suitor be dependable and taken for granted, and the other to be brash and borderline abusive, yet have the heroine constantly questioning which one she really loves. "Joe is so sweet and kind and he respects my opinions! I wish Shawn was like that! But wow, Shawn's so handsome and that makes me forget all his grievous flaws and being dismissive of all I hold dear!" And that's what bugged me most: Shawn insults her ideals and convictions to her face, but then grins and she "forgets" her anger. It's stupid and infuriating, though perhaps Schurfranz wrote it to be a lesson for teenage girls about future dating with asshat jocks. Who knows?
I still liked the book for the details about the suffragists and the Spanish flu epidemic, as well as the question about dissent during wartime and tendency towards jingoism. It's as true during our time as was back in World War I, and the "moderate" call to put a hold to gay rights because "we have more important things to do" was an excuse used against advancing the women's vote back in 1918. Learn from history, folks. Schurfranz does well on the historical aspect of these books, even if her "romances" are usually tales of a girl inexplicably torn between a good man and a shallowly characterized, brash jackass.
The book is also another example of the tendency in Sunfires in general, and Vivian Schurfranz's efforts in particular, to have one suitor be dependable and taken for granted, and the other to be brash and borderline abusive, yet have the heroine constantly questioning which one she really loves. "Joe is so sweet and kind and he respects my opinions! I wish Shawn was like that! But wow, Shawn's so handsome and that makes me forget all his grievous flaws and being dismissive of all I hold dear!" And that's what bugged me most: Shawn insults her ideals and convictions to her face, but then grins and she "forgets" her anger. It's stupid and infuriating, though perhaps Schurfranz wrote it to be a lesson for teenage girls about future dating with asshat jocks. Who knows?
I still liked the book for the details about the suffragists and the Spanish flu epidemic, as well as the question about dissent during wartime and tendency towards jingoism. It's as true during our time as was back in World War I, and the "moderate" call to put a hold to gay rights because "we have more important things to do" was an excuse used against advancing the women's vote back in 1918. Learn from history, folks. Schurfranz does well on the historical aspect of these books, even if her "romances" are usually tales of a girl inexplicably torn between a good man and a shallowly characterized, brash jackass.
