REVIEW: Girls in Tin Hats by Annie Murray

 

Girls in Tin Hats by Annie Murray

Genre: Historical fiction, Sagas, WW2

Read: 23rd December 2020

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 2nd June 2020

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

It is 1940 and Birmingham is about to see some of the most devastating air raids of the Blitz. Two very different young women, Violet Simms and Grace Templeton, need every ounce of strength they possess to cope with the loss and tragedy surrounding them. But through the storm clouds of war they discover something that helps them through – a friendship that is to last a lifetime.

Violet is a shy, lonely girl who is controlled by her widowed mother. She longs to escape and dreams of love. Desperate to do something for the war effort she volunteers as an ARP warden, and in the course of her rescue work meets and falls in love with a young policeman, George Cherry. Seeing longed-for kindness and fun, Violet feels her life is changed forever until, on one of the worst nights of the Blitz, George disappears . . .

Grace, a striking beauty from a family of ten children, is lively, adventurous and desperate not to be tied down by marriage and children. Her childhood friend, Jimmy Oval, adores her but she wants much more. She’s looking for excitement and in the blacked-out city where not everyone is full of community spirit, her looks attract attention and she discovers she has less control of her life than she thought.

When one of the most-loved families in the street is bombed out, Grace, heartbroken and vulnerable, begins to realize that having love in her life might not be such a terrible idea.

MY REVIEW:

Welcome back Annie Murray! After reading the very different novel "Mother and Child" and not enjoying it, I welcomed the return of Annie to the genre she does best...and she didn't let me down! I have read a plethora of WW2-based stories and each one is unique in their own way, but GIRLS IN TIN HATS was different in that we see the destruction of war through the eyes of two women who become Air Raid Wardens.

Birmingham 1940: Shy and self-conscious 20 year old Violet Simms lives with her domineering mother above a pawnbroker's shop in a cold and hostile environment. May Simms has had a hard life and spends the rest of it taking it out of her daughter Violet. She belittles her, criticises her, blames her and has no qualms in telling her that men are only after one thing. Yet she becomes whiny and needy should Violet try to escape the stifling environment for something more cheerful...even going to work.

So when Violet decides to become an Air Raid Warden, May is quick to tell Violet she is selfish and thinking only of herself...leaving her mother all alone and at the German's mercy. But Violet wants to do her bit for the war effort and feels compelled to help others in the midst of the horrors they now face. It's not selfish at all, but rather selfless to put herself in harms way to help others.

During the course of her duties as an ARP Warden, Violet meets special constable George Cherry who, because of a limp, was exempt from fighting. Violet cannot help but be enamoured by George and his constant cheerfulness and soon the pair meet up as regular as they can. Violet knows she must keep George a secret from her mother who would soon spoil things for the young couple. After all, May has always told her daughter that men are only after one thing and one thing only. But she knows George is not like that. And soon she meets his family who are just as lovely as he is. Violet thought her home life was something normal and expected George's mother to be much like her own, but she couldn't be more different. The family welcomed her with open arms and it wasn't long until Violet dreaded returning home. And when she did, it was to a barrage of questions as to where she's been and who with...

But George has always wondered why he has never been back to Violet's to meet her family...and thinks maybe she might be ashamed on him. But no matter how much she tries to explain the way her mother is, George finds it hard to comprehend as he has never known such hostility from his mum. But as Violet and George become more serious and he asks her to marry him, Violet knows she must introduce them. But nothing will prepare her for what is about to come...

Grace Templeton couldn't be more different from Violet. She too has joined the ARP Wardens and often patrols with Violet. Gregarious and outgoing, Grace is from a family of ten children all of whom she adores. Having grown up with the Ovals, Grace and Jimmy had been unofficially stepping out together so when he joins the army and is sent abroad, the two continue writing to each other with Grace looking forward to his letters. 

But something is missing...and she doesn't know what. She loves Jimmy, or believes she does, but he's just...well, Jimmy. As is her nature, Grace is looking for a bit of excitement and she's not sure Jimmy does that to her. He's safe and secure Jimmy...but not exciting.  And then one night whilst she and Violet perform a rescue on a collapsed house, she meets good looking and charming Harry Cobb. And before long, the two are meeting in shadowy corners, in darkened alleys, stolen moments during the blackout where Harry ignites something exciting in her she has never felt before. Certainly not with Jimmy. And yet...something doesn't feel right. Why do they only meet at night? Why does Harry not walk out with her in public? And why is he always intent on delving beneath her skirts without so much as a by-your-leave? 

Then one night while Grace was seconded away in a darkened alley fumbling in the dark with Harry, one of her younger brothers ran into the ARP post looking for her. Grace had told her family she was on duty that night...but she wasn't. And no one knew where she was. Something terrible had happened and they needed Grace right away. Afterwhich, Grace felt so much shame for what she was getting up to when her family needed her most. And then the German's bombed the BSA factory where her father worked...and Grace was in an awful state wondering if he was buried amongst the rubble or if he was safe.

GIRLS IN TIN HATS is the story of two very different women with two very different stories and paths in life who meet when they join the ARP together. It is heartbreaking and heartwarming. There will be tears, there will be laughter. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and its easy style. Violet and Grace are both very likable and easily relatable. Most characters are likable, even if they aren't in the beginning, you will grow to like them. All except May and Harry. I didn't like either of them. May was a selfish cow who used emotional blackmail to keep her dutiful daughter in line. She spent her entire life lying to her about her past and continues to do so. She is thoroughly unlikable, despite knowing she'd probably had a tough life. And Harry...there was just something underhand about him. I kept inwardly screaming at Grace to run and go back to Jimmy...but she didn't listen. Not even when she knew what she was doing was wrong and shameful. Harry was the epitome of men that Violet's mum had warned her about and yet it was Grace who fell under his spell.

A wonderful realistic story set during the Blitz on Britain...this time in Birmingham...GIRLS IN TIN HATS draws you in right from the start with it's descriptions of life during wartime. A story of utter chaos and bravery as the people stood together to defeat the enemy.

Perfect for fans of of wartime historical fiction, GIRLS IN TIN HATS is a heartbreaking yet heartwarming of two girls whose lives will be changed forever by friendship, love, tragedy and joy.

I would like to thank #AnnieMurray, #NetGalley and #PanMacmillan for an ARC of #GirlsInTinHats in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Annie Murray was born in Berkshire and read English at St John's College, Oxford. A ‘childhood writer’, her career was helped a great deal by belonging to Tindal Street Fiction Group in Birmingham and by winning the SHE/Granada TV Short Story Competition in 1991. She has published short stories in a number of anthologies as well as SHE magazine. 

Her first regional saga, Birmingham Rose appeared in 1995 and reached the Times bestseller list. She has since published more than a dozen others, including the ‘Cadbury books,’ Chocolate Girls and The Bells of Bournville Green, Family of Women and her latest, A Hopscotch Summer.

Annie has four children and lives near Reading, United Kingdom.

 

Social Media links:

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REVIEW: Mother and Child by Annie Murray (ARC)

Mother and Child by Annie Murray

Genre: Women's Fiction

Read: 21st October 2019

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication: 17th October 2019)

★ 1 star

I chose MOTHER AND CHILD for it's cover and the wonderful historical author Annie Murray. So I was surprised to find upon reading it, that this book is not the usual historical type of fiction Annie Murray normally writes. In fact, it's not really in the historical vein I even read...and therefore I couldn't really get into the story, as sad and as tragic as it was.

I also found the cover to be somewhat misleading as it portrays an historical war to post-war era...which is what I thought I was going to read. Instead it is something completely different.

We begin the story in 2014 with Jo and Ian, whose marriage is barely surviving after the sudden and tragic death of their only adopted son Paul by a joyrider two years before. The driver barely shows any remorse with crocodile tears and the couple now find it hard to move with their lives. They move closer to Ian's mother Dorrie, who is aging and somewhat frail, and Jo begins to spend a lot of time with her mother-in-law whilst Ian appears to have become a workaholic.

Forever haunted by the death of her son, Jo is shocked to see a picture of a boy in a magazine who closely resembles her son and reads about the tragic Bhopal disaster in India, which severely impacted his life.

On its own, the story is of tragedy, loss and grief. But then along with the tale is the true story of the Bhopal disaster, a gas leak incident on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. This was considered to be the world's worst industrial disaster with at least 30 tons of a highly toxic gas called methyl isocyanate, as well as a number of other poisonous gases being released. The pesticide plant was surrounded by shanty towns, leading to more than 600,000 people being exposed to the deadly gas cloud that night. The gases stayed low to the ground, causing victims throats and eyes to burn, inducing nausea, and many deaths. Estimates of the death toll vary from as few as 3,800 to as many as 16,000, but government figures now refer to an estimate of 15,000 killed over the years. Toxic material remains, and 30 years later, many of those who were exposed to the gas have given birth to physically and mentally disabled children.

For me, it bears a striking resemblance to Chernobyl, the worst radioactive disaster in the Ukraine also in the 1980s.

As sad and as tragic as this story is, it was not for me. I couldn't connect to anyone and didn't much like Jo. But it is highly commendable of Annie Murray to write using this tragedy and donate all proceeds from the sales of this book to the Bhopal Medical appeal, which provides free treatment for victims of the Bhopal gas leak in 1984 and the toxic water left by the Union Carbide Corporation.

While this book was not to my taste, there would be many who would enjoy it. I feel awful at not being one of them. There is obviously a lot of research gone into such a tragic disaster and the hard work that ensued in bringing it to life in MOTHER AND CHILD.  I, for one, knew nothing of this disaster, so thank you Ms Murray for making us aware of what happened on that tragic fateful night.

I would like to thank #AnnieMurray, #NetGalley and #PanMacmillian for an ARC of #MotherAndChild in exchange for an honest review.