A Star for Mrs. Blake by April Smith

A Star for Mrs. Blake by April Smith - 352 pages

A Star for Mrs. Blake is a novel set in the middle of the Depression years, but focuses on a lesser known piece of its history.  Cora Blake is her town's librarian who also sidelines as a fish cannery worker.  What makes Cora significant is the fact she is a Gold Star Mother, one of the many who lost her son in the Great War.  When she receives an invitation to join the Gold Star Mother's Pilgrimage to the graveyards in France, she does not hesitate to say yes.  Soon she finds herself en route with four other mothers, their soldier escort, and a nurse.  Cora finds instant companionship with Bobbie Olsen, an upper class woman, who also a widow and lost her only son.  Two of the other mothers, Kate and Minnie, grouped together and do not get along with the elderly socialite.  The final mother in the group, Wilhelmina, is the eccentric one who bonds with all.  Adding to the relationships, the solider escort, Lt. Thomas Hammond, and nurse, Lily Barnett, begin to grow close.  Once in Paris, Cora accompanies Bobbie to visit an old friend and meets journalist Griffin Reed, a man who becomes loyal to Cora and provides a gift that made the trip more than worth it, especially after a tragedy strikes their party.

While the book begins to an iffy start, once the journey begins the novel becomes much better and we understand this is a book about relationships and the power of love.  The historical aspects align to drive that home.  The mothers still hold close the memories of their lost sons and sharing those memories and the pilgrimage experience with the other mothers bonds them together.  We also see a unique bond formed between Cora and Griffin, but I cannot explain that one here without exposing one of the story's main conclusions.