Words I Write Crazy: Week 46 Reviews: Front Lines, Soldier Girls in Action, Dead of Night, Silver Stars, Purple Hearts

Saturday, November 15, 2025

Week 46 Reviews: Front Lines, Soldier Girls in Action, Dead of Night, Silver Stars, Purple Hearts

From Goodreads:
Perfect for fans of The Book Thief and Code Name Verity, New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant unleashes an epic, genre-bending, and transformative new series that reimagines World War II with girl soldiers fighting on the front lines.

World War II, 1942. A court decision makes women subject to the draft and eligible for service. The unproven American army is going up against the greatest fighting force ever assembled, the armed forces of Nazi Germany.

Three girls sign up to fight. Rio Richlin, Frangie Marr, and Rainy Schulterman are average girls, girls with dreams and aspirations, at the start of their lives, at the start of their loves. Each has her own reasons for volunteering: Rio fights to honor her sister; Frangie needs money for her family; Rainy wants to kill Germans. For the first time they leave behind their homes and families—to go to war.

These three daring young women will play their parts in the war to defeat evil and save the human race. As the fate of the world hangs in the balance, they will discover the roles that define them on the front lines. They will fight the greatest war the world has ever known.

From Goodreads:

Set in the alternative World War II scenario of his Front Lines novels, Michael Grant, author of the bestselling GONE series, has written this story exclusively for World Book Day 2017.

Rio Richlin doesn't have superpowers. She is an ordinary young woman. A soldier in the American army, wearing a uniform, carrying a rifle, and fighting alongside thousands who are trying to make a difference, trying to change the world.

At least, that's the plan. Right now she's part of a squad on a training exercise in some place called Wales. They're cold, they're wet, and Rio's pretty sure they're also lost. Spending the night in a creepy old inn wasn't part of the plan at all…

Rio's only training. But soon, the fate of the world will be in the hands of the soldier girls.

From Goodreads:
In this first digital original novella set in the world of the Front Lines series, Michael Grant showcases the real-life female journalists of World War II who became the first women war correspondents in history.

When fierce reporter Anne "Spats" Patrone joins the front lines, she gains access to the female soldiers of Second Squad, Fifth Platoon, Company A, 119th Division, including Rio Richlin. During her journalistic investigation on the front lines she will discover that women are capable of much more than fighting. But what starts out as a pursuit for a story turns deadly when Germans attack. Will Spats make it out alive?

From Goodreads:
For fans of Girl in the Blue Coat, Salt to the Sea, and The Boy at the Top of the Mountain, the second book of New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant's epic alternate history is a coming-of-age story about three girls who are fiercely fighting their own personal battles in the midst of the greatest war of all time.

The summer of 1943, World War II. With heavy memories of combat, Frangie, Rainy, Rio and the rest of the American army are moving on to their next target: the Italian island of Sicily.

The women won't conquer Italy alone. They are not heroes for fighting alongside their brothers—they are soldiers. But Frangie, Rainy, Rio, and the millions of brave females fighting for their country have become a symbol in the fight for equality. They will brave terrible conditions in an endless siege; they will fight to find themselves on the front lines of WWII; and they will come face-to-face with the brutality of war until they win or die.

From Goodreads:

New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant unleashes the gritty and powerful conclusion to the Front Line series and evokes the brutal truth of World War II: War is hell. An epic tale of historical reimagining, perfect for fans of Code Name Verity and Salt to the Sea.

Courage, sacrifice, and fear have lead Rio, Frangie, and Rainy through front-line battles in North Africa and Sicily, and their missions are not over. These soldiers and thousands of Allies must fight their deadliest battle yet—for their country and their lives—as they descend into the freezing water and onto the treacherous sands of Omaha Beach. It is June 6, 1944. D-Day has arrived.

No longer naive recruits, these soldier girls are now Silver Star recipients and battle-hardened. Others look to them for guidance and confidence, but this is a war that will leave sixty million dead. Flesh will turn to charcoal. Piles will be made of torn limbs. The women must find a way to lead while holding on to their own last shreds of belief in humanity.

My first review of Front Lines

My Review:

Author: Michael Grant
Series: Soldier Girl #1, 1.5, 1.75, 2, 3

First Read: March 31st, 2017
Read: November 13th, 13th, 13th, 13th, 14th, 2925
Source: Ebook.bike, Edelweiss
Reason Why: Love his books, and they're Historical Fiction 2025 Books and Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Books, and Silver Stars is a WoW Book, and Purple Hearts is a End of Series 2025 Book!
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books, Electric Monkey
Published: January 26th 2016, January 17th 2017, February 23rd 2017, January 31st 2017, January 30th 2018

Front Lines: