Review: Wedded to War by Jocelyn Green

October 26, 2013

Title: Wedded to War
Author: Jocelyn Green
Publisher: River North
Pages: 400
ISBN: 978-0-8024-0576-0
Publication Date: June 20th, 2012

Synopsis:
When war erupted, she traded a life of privilege for a life of significance.

Tending to the army's sick and wounded meant leading a life her mother does not understand and giving up a handsome and approved suitor. Yet Charlotte chooses a life of service over privilege, just as her childhood friend had done when he became a military doctor. She soon discovers that she's combatting more than just the rebellion by becoming a nurse. Will the two men who love her simply stand by and watch as she fights her own battles? Or will their desire for her wage war on her desire to serve God?

Wedded to War is a work of fiction, but the story is inspired by the true life of Civil War nurse Georgeanna Woolsey. Woolsey's letters and journals, written over 150 years ago, offer a thorough look of what pioneering nurses endured. This is the first in the series "Heroines Behind the Lines: Civil War," a collection of novels that highlights the crucial contributions made by women during times of war.

Wedded to War is a Christy Award nominated title for best new author.
Review:
I just have to start of by saying, I love reading about the Civil War. There is so much history there. It is one of my favorite times to study about. I devoured my history books in college when we studied it in class. I love the movies Gods and Generals (based on the book by Jeff Shaara) and Gettysburg (based on the book The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara). I'm always looking for more information during that time. I will say, where I live at, I tend to study more of the Southern side of the war. So, it was interesting to read about these characters in Wedded to War, based on actual accounts from the women of the north.

Wedded to War follows Charlotte Waverly. Charlotte is twenty-eight years old, a spinster by society standards. She lost her father when she was sixteen to a brutal illness that was sweeping through the city. She was the only one in her family that stayed to tend him and she was the only one of her family to be there when he died. Even though she has avoided blood and illness since then, Charlotte feels led to serve as a nurse to the Union army. However she is faced with road blocks at almost every point along the way. Charlotte's mother is adamant  that she shouldn't go, Charlotte's place is in the home, looking for a husband. The director of the nursing program finds Charlotte too pretty, too young, and too unmarried to be considered a nurse under her guidelines. The male surgeons find Charlotte just in the way. Women shouldn't be in this field of work. They are far to emotional.

However, throughout the story, Charlotte perseveres. She is determined to do the job she trained for. She feels the need to help and help she will. Charlotte has to be one of the strongest female leads I have read about. It's amazing how her story is based on actual accounts from Georgeanna Woolsy. It was such a hard time for everyone in one way or another.

The story brought to it a grittiness that surrounds battles. Not the battle themselves, but the afterwards. Surgeons had to figure out who was worth saving and who wasn't. There is death, blood, and bodily fluids. Jocelyn Green was able to bring this time in history alive again with her words. The historical detail to the war and the response to it was wonderful and I was able to learn something new about a time I enjoy to study.

Too Read!
5 out of 5

About the Author:
Award-winning author Jocelyn Green inspires faith and courage in her readers through both fiction and nonfiction. A former military wife herself, she offers encouragement and hope to military wives worldwide through her Faith Deployed ministry. Her novels, inspired by real heroines on America’s home front, are marked by their historical integrity and gritty inspiration.

Jocelyn graduated from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, with a B.A. in English, concentration in writing. She is an active member of the Evangelical Press Association, Christian Authors Network, the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, American Christian Fiction Writers, and the Military Writers Society of America.

She loves Mexican food, Broadway musicals, Toblerone chocolate bars, the color red, and reading on her patio. Jocelyn lives with her husband Rob and two small children in Cedar Falls, Iowa.


Thank you to Moody/River North Publishers, I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.


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