Review: Sisters in Arms

I read a lot of WWII books. I love that there are still new stories to be told and from different perspectives. That was part of why I was so excited when I heard about Kaia Alderson's Sisters in Arms. This historical fiction novel just released today and I was interested because it featured two Black women from New York City and their war story - something I haven't encountered before in my (very white) WWII reading. The idea was amazing but the actual execution of the story let me down.

Here's the book's description:

Grace Steele and Eliza Jones may be from completely different backgrounds, but when it comes to the army, specifically the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), they are both starting from the same level. Not only will they be among the first class of female officers the army has even seen, they are also the first Black women allowed to serve.
As these courageous women help to form the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, they are dealing with more than just army bureaucracy—everyone is determined to see this experiment fail. For two northern women, learning to navigate their way through the segregated army may be tougher than boot camp. Grace and Eliza know that there is no room for error; they must be more perfect than everyone else.
When they finally make it overseas, to England and then France, Grace and Eliza will at last be able to do their parts for the country they love, whatever the risk to themselves.
Based on the true story of the 6888th Postal Battalion (the Six Triple Eight), Sisters in Arms explores the untold story of what life was like for the only all-Black, female U.S. battalion to be deployed overseas during World War II.

It sounds so good, right? I think my issue was how the story was actually told. Which, uh, wasn't well. There are two main characters but their stories didn't seem to be told in equal measures. For example, there's a Major Thing that happens to one of the women but it took ages for the story to get back to her to find out how she was coping - it was so strange. I also never really got a good handle on either woman. Their actions didn't always seem to match their personalities or what the reader was told, at least, that's how I felt. They also didn't really feel like fully fleshed out characters. So much of what we knew about Grace was her ability to play piano and, for Eliza, it was that she came from a wealthy family. I'm sure Alderson wanted to have two women from very different economic backgrounds to give a better idea of what it was like for these women but I think it would have been better to have it focus on one woman and another just being a really good friend who could tell her stories to the other women.

I also felt like the story dragged on a bit. Which is strange since it started in 1942, years after the war actually started, and ended not too long after VE Day in May 1945. But it felt much longer. I know why it made sense to have the story span all that time - it was important to know why it was such a big deal for these Black women to be accepted into service and the show the struggles they faced even when they were allowed in. Their work was heavily administrative - important work, to be sure - but it didn't exactly allow for an exciting read. 

I wasn't surprised to read about the sexist and racist behaviour the women faced. That said, I was still appalled. Their superiors didn't know how to deal with women in the army and they had no interest in even pretending they wanted anything to do with "coloured" women. These women had to work so much harder to prove to white men (and women) that they were just as good as anyone else. They couldn't afford to make any mistake. And what's frustrating is I've read books and interviews from present day where women of colour are still saying the exact same thing. Over 70 years later. Something has to change.

I know Sisters in Arms didn't thrill me but I still think it's an important addition to WWII set novels. I'll keep an eye on Kaia Alderson and see what she writes next.

*An egalley was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*