Hi guys! Happy Monday! Today I’m going to be reviewing Michael Grant’s trilogy Front Lines.

Front Lines by: Michael Grant: It’s the year 1942 and World War II is looming; a decision has been made to let women and girls eligible to fight in the army. Three teen girls, Rio, Frangie and Rainy all enlist, but none of them are actually prepared to see battle. Thrown into the front lines these girls must face what comes. The plot sounded so good, but the execution of it wasn’t the best. A lot of it had to do with the characters; Grant’s characters didn’t feel as strong as they could have been. These are girls who joined the war to fight and they didn’t feel epic enough; this left the plot to slightly drag. The writing of the actual action was good and that was fast-paced; his characters just need some time to really be honed and developed. This novel kind of just ends with the understanding that there will be another to come. For a first novel it was good, it just wasn’t great.

Soldier Girls in Action by: Michael Grant: This is a short novella that ties into his Front Lines trilogy. This twenty-page short story takes on the journalism side of the war. In this story the reader follows around Ann “Spats” Patrone as she reports on the war and what she’s experiencing. She gets first hand reports as she stays on the sidelines, sometimes helping out when needed. It was kinda cool to see this character interact with characters from the trilogy, to get their story from a different perspective. From a journalist’s point of view, the writing isn’t in magazine style and didn’t read like a magazine article at all, it didn’t feel factual and to the point, but from a novel writing perspective it was written well, with more flourish and purple prose. It was good to see Grant trying to tie in real things that happened into this fantasy world he’s created. Woman did report on the war, and this was good because it felt authentic. The way the story ended felt very real; the reader kinda wished there was more, but if there was it wouldn’t have felt as true as it did. This was a good addition to this trilogy.

Silver Stars by: Michael Grant: The girls are back, World War II is upon them and they are sent to go into battle in Italy. They come across hardships that no one ever expected and they are left to deal with the aftermath, both from the war and in their personal lives as well. The second novel was alright, the plot was good and easy to follow along with; there was definitely a lot of action and it was fast paced. What made this novel was the characters. Grant has really honed and crafted these girls because the reader has no problems identifying whose character point of view it is during the middle of a chapter. We get to dig a little deeper with these characters, their backstories, their loves, their fears and it really made the reading experience worth it. They are fighting for equality in a world that is dominated by men, and seeing these girls trying to break the mold is really good to see. The reader is looking forward to the last novel to see how everything goes down.

Purple Hearts by: Michael Grant: The end seems near and everyone on the battlefield is thinking about the future and what they plan on doing after the war. But once Christmas comes to pass everyone starts to wonder if the war is really going to end. It’s the deadliest battle yet, D-Day has arrived. The concluding novel to the Front Lines trilogy really ended on a bang. The plot moved with great efficiency and as things started to wrap up Grant’s writing picked up the pace and left the reader really speeding through the novel. Reading about these characters one last time was a little bittersweet; these characters have grown so much and they are definitely different people than when they started out. It was great to witness their growth and evolution; to see them find their way and their passions, even from the horrible war. Grant gave them all a nice tidy ending that really left the ending as closed off as it can get. The trilogy as a whole had a great concept and it was executed well; the plot, characters and writing all came together in a complete harmony.