Girls on the Line by Aimie K. Runyan

Ruby was working for the phone company and planning her future wedding when her whole world was shook up.  Her brother had been killed in action.  She wants to honor him by doing some service work herself.  They have a need for operators overseas, too.  She signs up to go and manages to pass the interview and tests.  She's going overseas to France.

Lake Union Publishing and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published on October 6th.

She's been part of high society at home (and bored with it) but she needn't worry about having too many luxuries in the service.  She's made a chief operator and must train those who are not as competent on the job.  She's never been a boss before it doesn't take her long to catch on.  Their work is hard (lots of calls, many coded and coding changed often) and they worked long days.  They tried to get enough rest but it wasn't always possible.

She becomes friendly with a medic and ends up visiting injured men.  One of them dies while she's singing him a song and holding his hand.  He was young.  And he's only one of many deaths...

She has done what mother has wanted for almost all her life but she suddenly knows she doesn't want to marry the society man she's engaged to.  She's in love with the medic.  She visits her fiance and ends the engagement and then marries her love.  She's sure her parents will have a fit but she doesn't care.

This is fictional account of a historical event.  The women who served were not rewarded as the men were.  They had to fight for their bonuses for service.

It's a very enlightening read of what the conditions were like during WW1 and how many hardships they suffered.  Men didn't respect women then (sounds familiar, doesn't it?) and they had to be careful.  I found this read very interesting and enjoyed.  If you have an interest in history, here's a good way to be entertained by it.