Review: The Subway Girls

The Subway Girls by Susie Orman Schnall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Subway Girls is a historic novel that focuses on Charlotte, a young go-getter in the 1940s who wants nothing more than to be a modern woman in the advertising industry, and Olivia, also a go-getter who in 2018 has a lot more in the advertising industry than Charlotte could ever imagine, but is still running into brick walls around every corner.

This book is a good balance of presenting a historic item (the Miss Subways competition) with giving the characters a story of their own to focus on. Although the catalyst is the contest in both women's lives, it is much more of the Mad Men-advertising factor that draws readers into the story. You want to root for the women, even if their decisions are going against the norm.

The one part about this book that some readers may find as a let down is that the ending for everyone is tied up into a neat bow. Life isn't like that, and it seems that after all these women went through, having their happy endings seems a little too easy.

*Book provided by NetGalley

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