The Women's March
William Morrow
July 27, 2021
Historical Fiction
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Three different women, three very different backgrounds, one ultimate goal. It is 1910, and even following the heroic conquests of Susan B. Anthony, women's suffrage is still not legal nationwide. Numerous organizations have been formed, yet none have focused on bringing the issue to a national level. Tired of politicians, board members, and antisuffragists ignoring the need for progression, three women follow their own volition to win equal rights for all. In Jennifer Chiaverini’s book, "The Women’s March", readers follow along the journeys of Alice Paul, Maud Malone, and Ida Wells-Barnett as their individual fights for justice weave together to win the right to vote for all women.
When an advanced reading copy of this book was offered to me by #NetGalley and #TheBookClubGirls, I was immediately intrigued. Having the chance of learning from not only one person’s account, but three different people’s accounts, of how the nineteenth amendment came to be fascinated me.
Laura Morelli, another historical fiction writer, once said, "If a historical novelist has done their job, all of that research is invisible to the reader. It simply melts away, and the reader is transported to another century." In my opinion, this is what makes a historical fiction book enjoyable. However, while reading "The Women’s March", I kept waiting for the history to “melt” into the story; unfortunately, that never happened. At times, I felt I was reading a textbook expressing only dates and events. I do not want to read a book of facts and research, if I did, I would have probably enjoyed History more in school.
Yet, this book was not all bad. The depth and emotion Jennifer was able to bring forth was impeccable. I could “hear” the anguish, pain, and heartfelt devotion these women must have felt. Plus, this book was very well edited, as there were little to no spelling and grammatical errors that I could find.
Overall, I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. Although the author was writing about historical events, and I understand there is not much room for embellishment, I still feel there were missed opportunities to bring the reader in. I was truly hoping to be engrossed in the story instead of worrying about following the facts.
None the less, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys American History, especially women who never give up a fight for equal rights.