Yours Cheerfully by AJ Pearce

YOURS CHEERFULLY by AJ Pearce is a much-acclaimed sequel to Dear Mrs. Bird. These gentle historical fiction novels are set in England during WWII and feature Emmy Lake, a young journalist at Woman’s Friend magazine. In this LibraryReads selection for August, Emmy is on a mission to help the British government recruit more female workers, so she travels to a munitions factory and interviews the women working there. It is all very much “all for one and one for all,” but these women do struggle – working long hours for unequal pay and facing difficult to find childcare. In fact, Pearce’s story had me reflecting on how little had changed with the recent pandemic when we saw its disproportionate impact on the female members of the workforce. Ever optimistic and hopeful, though, Emmy develops some plans to help as her friendship deepen with a young war widow, Anne (mum to mischievous 4-year-old Ruby and baby Tony). The mood in YOURS CHEERFULLY is comforting (“a bit of guidance and some sympathy, and most people will cheer up”) and inspirational (“I would be happy …. My grandmother always said that wishing was good time wasted”) - lightened further due to Emmy’s seemingly natural ability to get into a fix which often adds humor; plus, there is a parade and a wedding to organize!