Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intelligent and exciting!, October 17, 2005
While I certainly enjoyed the first book in this series, Chloe, I was delighted to find that Bette was a much better novel than the first! Bette does not feel as hastily written, and it does not jerk the reader around the way its predecessor often did.
The first third of the book, while entertaining, is a bit sappy and everything seems a little too "perfect". However, I believe the author was trying to mirror the innocence of the main character, because, as Bette grows more worldly and independent, the writing grows up right along with her, and before you know it, you are wrapped up in an intelligent, exciting, and surprising story that you did not expect! I grew to love Bette more than I did her mother Chloe, perhaps because Bette showed more realistic faults, and a distinct pattern of growth. In the end, I was left feeling very proud of Bette, and hungry for the next book in the series!
Once again, Lyn Cote did a wonderful job of illustrating the historical aspects of the story. She has a distinct talent for "transporting" her readers to another time and place.
Just as with the first novel in this series, I don't feel that this book is necessarily a "Christian" novel, as it is often touted as being. However, I do think this book had more references to God than the last one did, and they feel more natural than the few references that were thrown in to Chloe.
Overall, a very enjoyable book that I would most definitely recommend to others!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful second part of the Women of Ivy Manor saga..., January 18, 2006
I read and loved Chloe, the first part of the Women of Ivy Manor saga, and had looked forward to reading Bette, which is based on Chloe's daughter's story. The novel begins in the year 1936, after the Great Depression and before World War II, this second book focuses on Elizabeth "Bette" Leigh and her struggles with school, family and growing up when she befriends a German-Jewish girl and becomes a victim of neighborhood Klansmen. At the same time, she meets and falls in love with Curtis Sinclair, whom she marries. But when WWII begins and he is sent off to fight overseas and Bette begins to work to help with an anti-Nazi espionage, her struggles aren't easy after Curtis leaves her for a Frenchwoman and she has no choice but to work alone for her sake and that of her unborn child. The problems she encounters are quite difficult, but she proves that she is able to survive on her own. Will she want Curtis back in her life when he comes back wanting a reconciliation? There are many twists throughout the novel.
Bette, like Chloe, is set against the backdrop of several historical references -- the post-Depression, the Holocaust, and a war, this one being World War II. This novel is just as rich in historical details and accuracy as the first one and I felt as though I had been transported to that time period. Even though I liked Chloe best because the turn of the twentieth century had so many more interesting breakthroughs than the 1930s and 1940s, Bette isn't far behind as far as wonderful descriptions of fashion changes and other interesting tidbits from that time frame. Bette is a great heroine. She is far stronger than her mother Chloe -- is more of a fighter and, despite her hopelessness at times, is able to adapt and handle every situation that is thrown at her. And that is what makes this novel, story wise, more appealing than its predecessor. The Women of Ivy Manor is a wonderful inspirational series that you cannot miss. I look forward to reading Leigh, which I have no doubt will be set against the backdrop of the Vietnam war. In the meantime, I suggest you give Chloe and Bette a whirl.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
gloomy yet hopeful backdrop to WW II , September 14, 2005
In 1936 Tidewater, Maryland Elizabeth "Bette" Leigh McCaslin finds how some of the uglier the locals feel about a German Jewgirl staying at Ivy Manor as the Klan sets off explosives to scare her and her family while her classmates make snide remarks. Still she gets on well with the other new student Curtis Sinclair. As World War II approaches they become engaged, but she has an opportunity to help with anti-Nazi espionage. She agrees hoping her efforts and that of others will stop the Nazi evil, but she also hides what she does from her loved ones including Curt.
With the war over, though reluctant, Bette marries Curt as she believes in keeping her promise. However, he is not the same person who left for war and explains what occurred in France to him and demands a divorce. Pregnant Bette says no that they need to be a family and work on their disparities.
The courageous Bette will remind readers of her mom Chloe, star of the first The Women of Ivy Manor novel as she bravely faces evil without blinking and tries to do what she believes is the right thing whether it is espionage or spousal confrontation. The story line paints a gloomy backdrop to WW II yet because of magnificent Bette's intrepid outlook and need to actively fight the Nazis; readers taste the glimmer of hope for a better world. Lyn Cote provides a strong tale of a valiant woman that brings to life the years prior to, during, and just after World War II through her eyes.
Harriet Klausner
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