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Sunfire #10
Laura
There was a fierce war raging abroad, and another in her heart.
While men are fighting overseas in World War I, lovely Laura Mitchell is caught up in the struggle for women's rights in the Washington, D. C. of 1918. Dismayed by her willingness to go to jail for her beliefs, Laura's mother and sister encourage her to pay more attention to her suitors. Laura only has eyes for her neighbor Joe Menotti, who treats her like a kid sister. But her brother's friend, Shawn O'Brien, sweeps her off her feet with his Irish charm and dashing good looks. Yet everyone but Joe wants her to give up her ideals. Should she change herself, try to change the man she loves, or follow her conscience to the man who is waiting with open arms?
While men are fighting overseas in World War I, lovely Laura Mitchell is caught up in the struggle for women's rights in the Washington, D. C. of 1918. Dismayed by her willingness to go to jail for her beliefs, Laura's mother and sister encourage her to pay more attention to her suitors. Laura only has eyes for her neighbor Joe Menotti, who treats her like a kid sister. But her brother's friend, Shawn O'Brien, sweeps her off her feet with his Irish charm and dashing good looks. Yet everyone but Joe wants her to give up her ideals. Should she change herself, try to change the man she loves, or follow her conscience to the man who is waiting with open arms?
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First published March 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 29, 2008
(See my review of Amanda for my general review of the series.)
Well, there ya go, Vivian Schurfranz! You can write a Sunfire that's not annoying!
This one's even got a nice plot! Laura Mitchell, high school junior in Washington DC, becomes heavily involved in the women's suffrage movement towards the end of World War I. As the novel opens, she's primarily concerned with trying to get her childhood friend Joe Menotti to notice that she's not a kid anymore. In due time, she gets her head turned by a uniformed charmer named Shawn O'Brien, who pretty much immediately notices that Laura's not a kid.
While there are a few clunky historical expositions, the research is more well integrated here than in Schurfranz's other Sunfires. In particular, the descriptions of the suffragists's activities was very interesting. I applauded the seamless inclusion of details such as Laura's mother and sister's feeling that Laura's devotion to the women's cause is borderline treasonous with a war going on, and the background scenes of German immigrants being picked on. (Coincidentally, this was the era during which my German ancestors started insisting that they were Austrian. But I digress...)
Anyway, as long as Schurfranz is showing and not telling, this novel is pretty enjoyable. It held my attention very well. Another thankful deviation from Schurfranziness is Joe Menotti. He's thoughtful, mature, not pushy, and he shows through his actions that he'd do anything for Laura. (My favorite scene is Joe's cross-city dash in a borrowed wagon to get Laura to school on time.) And Laura's not ever really sure of his feelings. It's a nice change from the usual Schurfranz suitors, who are usually both protesting undying love before the book's half over.
A few major gripes still exist, however, and one of them is the Shawn plotline. Laura's waaaay too smart and savvy to write off his possessive and condescending behavior as many times as she does. Although it's kind of funny when Laura goes all "so I have two boyfriends, so what, now you shut up" to her staid sister Sarah, the constant playing off of Joe against Shawn gets fairly irritating towards the end of the novel, especially since Shawn is so blatantly and terribly unsupportive of everything Laura wants in life.
Another common Schurfranz irritant is more than present here: the historical figures have entirely too much of a presence in the story. I'm really glad our intrepid author had so much fun reading Alice Paul's speeches, but I could have done without their inclusion, and without Alice and the other prominent DC suffragists becoming major speaking characters, who of course all take a personal interest in and extol the specialness of Laura. I already like Laura. I didn't need history's opinion too.
The verdict: These annoying aspects were egregious enough to cancel out three stars, but I have to add one back in for the sheer pluck of Laura and the cuteness of her relationship with Joe. And another half star for the historical details. I would grab this one up if I found it, it's definitely enjoyable.
Well, there ya go, Vivian Schurfranz! You can write a Sunfire that's not annoying!
This one's even got a nice plot! Laura Mitchell, high school junior in Washington DC, becomes heavily involved in the women's suffrage movement towards the end of World War I. As the novel opens, she's primarily concerned with trying to get her childhood friend Joe Menotti to notice that she's not a kid anymore. In due time, she gets her head turned by a uniformed charmer named Shawn O'Brien, who pretty much immediately notices that Laura's not a kid.
While there are a few clunky historical expositions, the research is more well integrated here than in Schurfranz's other Sunfires. In particular, the descriptions of the suffragists's activities was very interesting. I applauded the seamless inclusion of details such as Laura's mother and sister's feeling that Laura's devotion to the women's cause is borderline treasonous with a war going on, and the background scenes of German immigrants being picked on. (Coincidentally, this was the era during which my German ancestors started insisting that they were Austrian. But I digress...)
Anyway, as long as Schurfranz is showing and not telling, this novel is pretty enjoyable. It held my attention very well. Another thankful deviation from Schurfranziness is Joe Menotti. He's thoughtful, mature, not pushy, and he shows through his actions that he'd do anything for Laura. (My favorite scene is Joe's cross-city dash in a borrowed wagon to get Laura to school on time.) And Laura's not ever really sure of his feelings. It's a nice change from the usual Schurfranz suitors, who are usually both protesting undying love before the book's half over.
A few major gripes still exist, however, and one of them is the Shawn plotline. Laura's waaaay too smart and savvy to write off his possessive and condescending behavior as many times as she does. Although it's kind of funny when Laura goes all "so I have two boyfriends, so what, now you shut up" to her staid sister Sarah, the constant playing off of Joe against Shawn gets fairly irritating towards the end of the novel, especially since Shawn is so blatantly and terribly unsupportive of everything Laura wants in life.
Another common Schurfranz irritant is more than present here: the historical figures have entirely too much of a presence in the story. I'm really glad our intrepid author had so much fun reading Alice Paul's speeches, but I could have done without their inclusion, and without Alice and the other prominent DC suffragists becoming major speaking characters, who of course all take a personal interest in and extol the specialness of Laura. I already like Laura. I didn't need history's opinion too.
The verdict: These annoying aspects were egregious enough to cancel out three stars, but I have to add one back in for the sheer pluck of Laura and the cuteness of her relationship with Joe. And another half star for the historical details. I would grab this one up if I found it, it's definitely enjoyable.
August 3, 2016
Strangely enough, I would have liked this a lot better if it wasn't a "romance." The trite love triangle, especially, really brought this story down. I had such a hard time respecting or even liking Laura once she started her idiotic vacillating between kind, respectful Joe and asshat Shawn. After being subjected to pages of pages of inner monologues along the lines of "Joe is so nice to me and honors my opinions and beliefs, but...Shawn is sooooo cute!!!!" I lost any liking I had for Laura quickly. We're supposed to believe that Laura is so super special and smart, but she lets Shawn put down her ideals and generally treat her like shit. And then she's all like, "Well, Joe doesn't like me so I guess I'm stuck with Shawn." Ummm...why? Are there only two men in Washington, D.C.?
Blah! 2.5 stars from me.
Blah! 2.5 stars from me.
February 15, 2008
While preparing to present at a workshop recently I was thinking back to when I first became a romance reader and this book was the first that I thought of. I was 12 and met the author at a Children's Lit. festival. It was my first signed book and I think it had an impact on my life. I am still very interested in World War 1. I support the Liberty Memorial and am a member of the Western Front Association. I only hope that I can touch a child in such a meaningful way as a thank you to those hard working librarians of my childhood.
September 17, 2015
Waxing Nostalgic #10- Schurfranz is my least favorite author in this series. I feel that she makes her heroines fickle in their love. That is no exception with Laura. She is a brave girl fighting with the suffragists for the women's vote and supporting the WWI efforts at home, but she does not see that real love right in front of her. She is dazzled by distractions. Unfortunately, I think teenagers can be this way.
December 28, 2008
I think this one was set during WWI.
Did these come from the book orders through the school? My mom must have bought them for me. My parents were always great about buying me books. We didn't have a lot of money, but I ALWAYS got to order books through the school and I got books as a reward for making good grades.
Did these come from the book orders through the school? My mom must have bought them for me. My parents were always great about buying me books. We didn't have a lot of money, but I ALWAYS got to order books through the school and I got books as a reward for making good grades.
July 3, 2017
I originally read this series back in the 80s, checking them out from my elementary school library. Having re-read them as an adult I think they stand the test of time and are still relevant as far as historical fiction is concerned.
September 27, 2008
Not my favorite Sunfire book, but definitely worth the read.
July 13, 2013
I remember that I always judged these books by how much I liked the name of the main character. I love the name Laura so I liked this one a lot.
March 16, 2024
I have been looking for this and other books in the series for a while - they're out of print and hard to find - and I finally tracked it down at a reasonable price! I don't think I read any Sunfires specifically when I was younger, but I read many things like it. These super cheesy YA historical soap operas from the 80s and 90s were what my middle school library was full of, and they were something of a natural progression from American Girl books for the historical fiction/romance-loving preteen that I was. Were they good? Not particularly. But I have a nostalgic soft spot for them, and this one did not disappoint. I found myself rolling my eyes and yelling at Laura a lot, but I get it. Her thoughts and actions were very true to those of a sixteen year old girl. I loved the historical details combining WWI history with the activities of the suffragists, and I absolutely adored Schurfranz's descriptions of the fashion! The ending was predictable but I still enjoyed it. I found myself really looking forward to snuggling down with this one before bed each evening. Though I had to rate it down a bit for the sap, I really did like it. I've already found a second in the series (also written by Schurfranz), so prepare for more!
July 26, 2018
As WWI and influenza dominate the thought of most, Laura's best friend discovers suffrage and brings Laura in. Will she fight? Or will she cave in to those who tell her to stay away and be a good girl and future wife?
September 1, 2016
A used bookstore find, I got it because I'm a sucker for historical fiction. This book, whilst a bit overdramatic (but the heroine WAS only 15-16 in it) and lacking in incredibly deep dialogue or character development, was an enjoyable look at life in Washington during the suffragist movement in the midst of the war.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews