Scan barcode
melissa_bookworm's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this more than I thought I would. I was going to head to an event where Michael Grant was speaking about this, unfortunately he wasn't able to come to Brisbane in the end so I wasn't able to hear his own break down of the book.
It was well written and covered a lot of different point of view. The concept of a re-written history with girl soldiers is really intriguing, the sexism from other male soldiers towards the female recruits was full on. There was also a fair bit of racism in the book, but perhaps that is more a reflection of the time rather than anything else.
I was hoping that there would be some sort of view from the German side, showing how that soldiers are just doing what they are told and it seems like the right thing at the time, like they are on the right side because they are saving their family and homes. I wanted that sort of humanization of the enemy but it didn't happen. It is the start of a series though so there may be more to come to develop that side of things.
Rio was a little bit annoying to me as a character, some of her decisions and the rationalisation behind them seemed disjointed and unrealistic. Frangie and Rainy were my favourites. I will probably continue with the series to see where they end up.
It was well written and covered a lot of different point of view. The concept of a re-written history with girl soldiers is really intriguing, the sexism from other male soldiers towards the female recruits was full on. There was also a fair bit of racism in the book, but perhaps that is more a reflection of the time rather than anything else.
I was hoping that there would be some sort of view from the German side, showing how that soldiers are just doing what they are told and it seems like the right thing at the time, like they are on the right side because they are saving their family and homes. I wanted that sort of humanization of the enemy but it didn't happen. It is the start of a series though so there may be more to come to develop that side of things.
Rio was a little bit annoying to me as a character, some of her decisions and the rationalisation behind them seemed disjointed and unrealistic. Frangie and Rainy were my favourites. I will probably continue with the series to see where they end up.
commedesenfants's review
5.0
This book took me completely by surprise, and it was a total coincidence that I actually read it. I was browsing, looking for my next read and the cool cover caught my eyes, then the author - Michael Grant. I've never read anything from this author (I know, I know), but the blurb for this sounded so intriguing, not only is it an alternative history, it's an alternative history about how women had to fight in WW 2, too.
The book itself was incredibly well written. You know it's a good book when it completely sucks you in and you can vividly imagine the world the characters live in, almost as if you're standing right next to them and experiencing everything yourself. This totally happened in this story. You're happy when the protagonists are happy, you're sad when they're sad, and you're absoutely terrified when they are.
Talking about the protagonists. Rio, Frangie and Rainy are all great and relatable characters. What made them stand out is that they 3-dimensional, they're not stereotypes but fleshed-out people. This is something that actually kept popping up in my head while reading: Grant portrays them as people, not as teenagers or 'young adults' i.e. something different than adults, no, he treats them as humans, no more, no less. He took these characters seriously, he never downplayed their concerns, like when they're worried about boys, it's not shown as silly (since a war is going on), but as valid emotions.
I also like how realistically everything was. Even though this is an alternative history, and Grant could have easily erased some social issues, he did not. The story shows exactly what kind of racism and misogyny the characters face. He uses strong language, but that's how it was. This is one of the great things about this book: everything was extremely realistic, nothing was glossed over, not the racism, not the misogyny and not the cruelty of war. To me this means that the author does not only respect his teenage characters, but also his readers, and especially his teenage readers.
I'm really sad that it's over and now I'll have to wait a year to get to hear what happens next to Rio, Frangie and Rainy. Another sign of a good book is that it leaves the reader wanting more, so they go out and search for another book with a similar topic that might evoke the same feelings, but it's never the same - this is what's happening to me now.
The book itself was incredibly well written. You know it's a good book when it completely sucks you in and you can vividly imagine the world the characters live in, almost as if you're standing right next to them and experiencing everything yourself. This totally happened in this story. You're happy when the protagonists are happy, you're sad when they're sad, and you're absoutely terrified when they are.
Talking about the protagonists. Rio, Frangie and Rainy are all great and relatable characters. What made them stand out is that they 3-dimensional, they're not stereotypes but fleshed-out people. This is something that actually kept popping up in my head while reading: Grant portrays them as people, not as teenagers or 'young adults' i.e. something different than adults, no, he treats them as humans, no more, no less. He took these characters seriously, he never downplayed their concerns, like when they're worried about boys, it's not shown as silly (since a war is going on), but as valid emotions.
I also like how realistically everything was. Even though this is an alternative history, and Grant could have easily erased some social issues, he did not. The story shows exactly what kind of racism and misogyny the characters face. He uses strong language, but that's how it was. This is one of the great things about this book: everything was extremely realistic, nothing was glossed over, not the racism, not the misogyny and not the cruelty of war. To me this means that the author does not only respect his teenage characters, but also his readers, and especially his teenage readers.
I'm really sad that it's over and now I'll have to wait a year to get to hear what happens next to Rio, Frangie and Rainy. Another sign of a good book is that it leaves the reader wanting more, so they go out and search for another book with a similar topic that might evoke the same feelings, but it's never the same - this is what's happening to me now.
thebookgrassbum's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
4.0
Front Lines is a YA alternate history of WWII where women are included in the draft. It follows three young women on their journey through training and their initial experiences of war. This book is a bit of a departure from what I usually read, however, I really enjoyed it. I’ve been reading a lot of historical fiction and nonfiction about WWII because of an upcoming trip to the Ardennes and Normandy. I do plan to continue this series.
catbrigand's review
4.0
The good:
Grant doesn’t shy away. He deals head-on with antisemitism, racism, and misogyny. At least one of the characters undergoes a tremendous and frightening transformation, barely recognizable from the girl who enlisted at the start of the book.
The bad:
Because it’s part one of a trilogy, we don’t spend equal time with the three narrators. This is definitely Rio’s book. Presumably Rainy and Frangie will have more of a role in the next two. Also, while the premise of the book is undeniably cool, it has the curious effect of erasing the millions of real-life women who really fought and served in WW2. Granted those women were not on the front lines, but they fought, and their stories are important.
The weird:
THE NAMES. There are maybe five people with normal names in the whole book, all of them minor characters. This must be intentional, though I’m not sure why. Rio’s best friend is literally named “knee” en français.
Grant doesn’t shy away. He deals head-on with antisemitism, racism, and misogyny. At least one of the characters undergoes a tremendous and frightening transformation, barely recognizable from the girl who enlisted at the start of the book.
The bad:
Because it’s part one of a trilogy, we don’t spend equal time with the three narrators. This is definitely Rio’s book. Presumably Rainy and Frangie will have more of a role in the next two. Also, while the premise of the book is undeniably cool, it has the curious effect of erasing the millions of real-life women who really fought and served in WW2. Granted those women were not on the front lines, but they fought, and their stories are important.
The weird:
THE NAMES. There are maybe five people with normal names in the whole book, all of them minor characters. This must be intentional, though I’m not sure why. Rio’s best friend is literally named “knee” en français.
katykelly's review
4.0
4.5 stars
'Gone' was an incredible story, a popular and powerful series. Grant has come up with another winner of an idea, and his audience will cleverly widen with this story of war and women.
Another YA title, Front Lines starts a clear series off set in an alternative 20th century, one the same as our except for a court decision to allow American women to fight alongside male soldiers in World War Two.
This makes it all very close to home, as the girls in this story are fighting the same enemy in the same places we know from history.
Front Lines introduces us to a cross-section of young women - one, white and grieving her dead sister (navy death), another is Jewish and fighting for her culture, her family and for revenge. The third is black, needing the army pay to support her family.
We see how their gender affects their decision to sign up, their training and then, eventually their experiences overseas as they join the war.
In essence, most of this story could have been written with male protagonists, with Jewish and racial prejudice also appearing in the story.
The three women are fairly distinct, and as training finishes and they each take their own separate path it is easier to tell them apart. Their stories eventually begin to converge, as one medical trainee, one intelligence officer, one soldier, all find themselves in the same confusion and brutality.
The violence is present, it is pretty gruesome, but it's not too graphic for the audience - it will shock though, especially as it involves women in a context we are not used to seeing at this period in history.
There are romantic storylines that are hinted at and evidently will be brought up again in future books, and the variety in protagonists we have ensure that we will continue to have a great over-arching perspective of battles and manoeuvres to come.
At times, I forgot I was reading about the 1940s, seeing women in the military in this period did feel strange and I kept putting them into a modern era in my head. Contextually, Grant does create the period and setting well, and attitudes of the men around them seemed realistic - some are accepting, some derogatory and downright condescending (or attempt physical assault).
Fans of Gone will want to try this, and the appeal of young women and WWII will ensure that new readers of both genders may pick this up.
I would recommend ages 13 and above will enjoy this.
Review of a NetGalley advance reading copy.
'Gone' was an incredible story, a popular and powerful series. Grant has come up with another winner of an idea, and his audience will cleverly widen with this story of war and women.
Another YA title, Front Lines starts a clear series off set in an alternative 20th century, one the same as our except for a court decision to allow American women to fight alongside male soldiers in World War Two.
This makes it all very close to home, as the girls in this story are fighting the same enemy in the same places we know from history.
Front Lines introduces us to a cross-section of young women - one, white and grieving her dead sister (navy death), another is Jewish and fighting for her culture, her family and for revenge. The third is black, needing the army pay to support her family.
We see how their gender affects their decision to sign up, their training and then, eventually their experiences overseas as they join the war.
In essence, most of this story could have been written with male protagonists, with Jewish and racial prejudice also appearing in the story.
The three women are fairly distinct, and as training finishes and they each take their own separate path it is easier to tell them apart. Their stories eventually begin to converge, as one medical trainee, one intelligence officer, one soldier, all find themselves in the same confusion and brutality.
The violence is present, it is pretty gruesome, but it's not too graphic for the audience - it will shock though, especially as it involves women in a context we are not used to seeing at this period in history.
There are romantic storylines that are hinted at and evidently will be brought up again in future books, and the variety in protagonists we have ensure that we will continue to have a great over-arching perspective of battles and manoeuvres to come.
At times, I forgot I was reading about the 1940s, seeing women in the military in this period did feel strange and I kept putting them into a modern era in my head. Contextually, Grant does create the period and setting well, and attitudes of the men around them seemed realistic - some are accepting, some derogatory and downright condescending (or attempt physical assault).
Fans of Gone will want to try this, and the appeal of young women and WWII will ensure that new readers of both genders may pick this up.
I would recommend ages 13 and above will enjoy this.
Review of a NetGalley advance reading copy.
fatimareadsbooks's review
5.0
My body is damaged, my mind is too full, my soul too raw.
Oh my god, you guys. This book shook me up so much. I can't even express how much it impressed me. Let's just say I read this book while studying for exams & going through a tough time so I always looked forward to bedtime just to continue reading it. It's a beautiful masterpiece -- a beautiful, raw, moving masterpiece. The only other series I've read by Michael Grant was the [b:Gone|2536134|Gone (Gone, #1)|Michael Grant|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357796831s/2536134.jpg|2543657] series when I was 13 years old. Of course, I loved it at that age but Front Lines is definitely a far cry from Gone. It's a grisly, alternate-history retelling of World War II in which American women become eligible to fight on the front lines. There are so many things addressed in this book and the diverse cast of characters was pretty impressive. I can't recommend this enough -- I don't even know what to say in this review, to be honest.
Firstly, as always, I'm going to start with the characters. They're the type of characters that'll stick with you - dimensional and diverse. The story was written in the multiple POVs of these characters. I liked all of them equally which usually doesn't happen in books like this because I tend to prefer one over the other. They all had something unique about them but still somehow managed to remain real throughout the book.
“Aimless, naive Rio and sexy Jenou; Smart, determined Rainy and gentle, conflicted Frangie.”
I also loved how we were able to see how the characters' developed in this dark world they were thrust into. What makes this book so moving is the fact that whatever these characters went through is real. In World War II, hundreds of thousands of young soldiers were recruited and slapped into a uniform and thrust into the war with guns too big for them and dreams too small. That and many other elements typically found in traditional war stories are what make this such sad read.
We understood nothing, you see. We thought we were soldiers, but we were still civilians dressed in khaki and OD. None of us had yet felt the fear so overpowering that you shake all the way down to your bones and your bladder empties into your pants and you can’t speak for the chattering of your teeth. None of us had yet seen the red pulsating insides of another human being.
The fact that this book deals with many societal issues, mainly social injustice, is also a reminder of how it was practically the core of the Second World War. The racism against blacks and injustice towards females... These are all also mirrored in today's society, proving the gritty realism of this book. Being a black female, it really resonated with me and Frangie's character was the closest one to hit home. However, she wasn't the only one affected. Rio was a white female from a small town in California and Rainy was a Jewish female from New York City, yet they were still touched by the injustice in some way.
“PFC Schulterman, your scores are . . . acceptable. This does not alter my opinion that your proper role is at home working in a defense industry and raising children.”
All in all, I'm giving this book a 5 because the characterization was very detailed, really helping to immerse the reader into the gritty, dark world. Michael Grant definitely specializes in connecting readers to characters excellently. This was a very sad but unique read and I honestly just feel like I haven't done the book enough justice in this review. All I could say is this: just.read.it.
Many thanks to HarperCollins for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way impacted my views.
Oh my god, you guys. This book shook me up so much. I can't even express how much it impressed me. Let's just say I read this book while studying for exams & going through a tough time so I always looked forward to bedtime just to continue reading it. It's a beautiful masterpiece -- a beautiful, raw, moving masterpiece. The only other series I've read by Michael Grant was the [b:Gone|2536134|Gone (Gone, #1)|Michael Grant|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357796831s/2536134.jpg|2543657] series when I was 13 years old. Of course, I loved it at that age but Front Lines is definitely a far cry from Gone. It's a grisly, alternate-history retelling of World War II in which American women become eligible to fight on the front lines. There are so many things addressed in this book and the diverse cast of characters was pretty impressive. I can't recommend this enough -- I don't even know what to say in this review, to be honest.
Firstly, as always, I'm going to start with the characters. They're the type of characters that'll stick with you - dimensional and diverse. The story was written in the multiple POVs of these characters. I liked all of them equally which usually doesn't happen in books like this because I tend to prefer one over the other. They all had something unique about them but still somehow managed to remain real throughout the book.
“Aimless, naive Rio and sexy Jenou; Smart, determined Rainy and gentle, conflicted Frangie.”
I also loved how we were able to see how the characters' developed in this dark world they were thrust into. What makes this book so moving is the fact that whatever these characters went through is real. In World War II, hundreds of thousands of young soldiers were recruited and slapped into a uniform and thrust into the war with guns too big for them and dreams too small. That and many other elements typically found in traditional war stories are what make this such sad read.
We understood nothing, you see. We thought we were soldiers, but we were still civilians dressed in khaki and OD. None of us had yet felt the fear so overpowering that you shake all the way down to your bones and your bladder empties into your pants and you can’t speak for the chattering of your teeth. None of us had yet seen the red pulsating insides of another human being.
The fact that this book deals with many societal issues, mainly social injustice, is also a reminder of how it was practically the core of the Second World War. The racism against blacks and injustice towards females... These are all also mirrored in today's society, proving the gritty realism of this book. Being a black female, it really resonated with me and Frangie's character was the closest one to hit home. However, she wasn't the only one affected. Rio was a white female from a small town in California and Rainy was a Jewish female from New York City, yet they were still touched by the injustice in some way.
“PFC Schulterman, your scores are . . . acceptable. This does not alter my opinion that your proper role is at home working in a defense industry and raising children.”
All in all, I'm giving this book a 5 because the characterization was very detailed, really helping to immerse the reader into the gritty, dark world. Michael Grant definitely specializes in connecting readers to characters excellently. This was a very sad but unique read and I honestly just feel like I haven't done the book enough justice in this review. All I could say is this: just.read.it.
Many thanks to HarperCollins for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way impacted my views.
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review
2.0
2/5
I was excited to read this book but I felt like it was hard to juggle the characters with the war. Overall though it was interesting and different and I do plan on reading the next book.
I was excited to read this book but I felt like it was hard to juggle the characters with the war. Overall though it was interesting and different and I do plan on reading the next book.
hannahlou93's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I was so moved by this book. It’s beautifully and powerfully written. I felt so much of what the characters were experiencing. I’d definitely recommend this alternative telling of the Second World War. As we know 17 year old girls weren’t enlisted into the American army during the Second World War but this book makes you see how probably this could have been. So worth a read!