1. Band of Sisters
    Cathy Gohlke
    Tyndale House / 2012 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$10.99 Retail Price$14.99 Save 27% ($4.00)
    4.7 out of 5 stars for Band of Sisters. View reviews of this product. 33 Reviews
    Availability: In Stock
    Stock No: WW353081
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Displaying items 16-20 of 33
  1. Leona Koziarski
    Alberta, Canada
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Good book!
    May 10, 2013
    Leona Koziarski
    Alberta, Canada
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    I absolutely enjoyed reading this book. I would buy it again, and maybe I will for someone else.
  2. Rachel Ropper
    Scotland, UK
    Age: 18-24
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Challenging book
    December 15, 2012
    Rachel Ropper
    Scotland, UK
    Age: 18-24
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    Maureen O'Reilly has submitted to the abuse of her landlord for many years, for the sake of her mother and sister's wellbeing. But when her mother dies and it becomes apparent that the landlord's son has his eye on Maureen's thirteen-year-old sister, Katie Rosie, Maureen conspires to escape their clutches once and for all. With just a few coins to their name and a decade-old letter from their father's friend in New York, the sisters leave Ireland in the hope of a new, better life in the United States. But when they arrive on Ellis Island, finding employment and accommodation isn't as easy as the women expected. Katie Rose is detained on the island until her chicken pox has passed, and Maureen is left to search for their father's old friend, Colonel Wakefield. But the Colonel is no longer living, and his son-in-law wants nothing to do with Maureen or her family. With the help of some money lent by a stranger and a woman from the local missionary society, Maureen is able to get a job in a department store and rent a room in a decrepit tenement building. Katie Rose is less than impressed with their living conditions when she's allowed to enter New York, but that's the least of Maureen's worries right now.

    Girls from the department store keep disappearing, apparently "promoted" to a better place of employment, but something about their disappearances doesn't feel right, especially as they seem to be linked to the mysterious stranger who lent Maureen money on Ellis Island. The mystery becomes even more confusing when Maureen is brought into contact with Olivia Wakefield, the daughter of their father's old friend. Despite her brother-in-law's disdain for Maureen and her sister, Olivia is determined to help the women. But Maureen is hesitant, especially when Olivia's brother-in-law, Drake, appears to mixed up in the disappearances at the department store. Does Olivia really want the best for Maureen and Katie Rose, or is something more sinister bubbling under the surface?

    The initial synopsis for Band of Sisters gave little of the plot away, which made it all the more appealing and intriguing. By the time I got around to reading the novel, several months after I'd first heard of it, I'd forgotten much of the synopsis and expected it to be merely a light romance about two sisters who emigrated to the United States looking for a fresh start. I haven't read many novels about European émigrés at the turn of the twentieth century, although I studied the topic enough in high school history classes. But my studies often stopped when the families left their homeland, and prior to reading Band of Sisters, I hadn't realised how difficult it was to even make it into the United States, let alone find a job or accommodation. Cathy's details regarding the rigours of Ellis Island inspections made me quite fearful for Maureen and Katie Rose, and the descriptions of their accommodation were also realistically portrayed. My only complaint about the details of Maureen's arrival in New York would have to be that it seemed remarkably easy for her to forge her application form at Darcy's Department Store , and get a job on the day she applied. I know that she used the Wakefield name to her advantage, but I did wonder whether the manager or owner of the store wouldn't have contacted the Wakefields to verify Maureen's story. Considering all the factors conspiring against her, getting a job so easily didn't seem entirely realistic.

    I was surprised, yet pleasantly so, at the dark turn Band of Sisters took once Maureen was established in her job at the department store. Maureen fled Ireland because she had been forced to prostitute her body to her landlord in order to stop her mother and sister from being evicted, but she hadn't been aware of how easy it was for many single, newly emigrated women in New York to be forced into selling their bodies for the exact same reasons. Maureen's determination to save herself and her sister from the plight that awaited them back in Ireland was commendable, as was her desire to protect other women in the same position. But as Maureen delved deeper into the disappearances at her workplace, Band of Sisters challenged my assumptions about prostitution. It's easy to assume that women are forced into this profession - both then and now - by desperation and reduced circumstances, but how often do we really consider those who truly are forced into the occupation, and are unable to fight back and escape? I genuinely didn't expect this to be a novel about human trafficking, but the hidden subject seems appropriate, considering how human trafficking is something that is essentially hidden in plain view, both in Darcy's department store in 1900 and in our seemingly modern, civilised lives today.

    I'm torn over how I feel about Katie Rose's treatment of Maureen. Part of me doesn't want to believe that she would reject her sister because of the assumptions made about Maureen's character back in Ireland. Although their community rejected Maureen because of her involvement with her landlord (despite many of them knowing that her "involvement" was never Maureen's choice and was forced upon her repeatedly), I felt that Katie Rose should have been more sympathetic to everything Maureen had done to protect their family. But, on the other hand, I could understand the jealousy that fuelled Katie Rose's anger at her sister. Maureen's beauty appears to attract many men - both a friend from Ireland and a man involved in the trafficking ring - despite her ruined character, while no one is interested in the innocent, pure Katie Rose. Thus, Katie Rose has to assume that these men are only interested in Maureen because of her lack of morals and willingness to be promiscuous. Although Katie Rose's logic is incredibly flawed, I can see where she's coming from, having not long ago been a teenage girl myself and been jealous of my classmates who were able to attract boys with their feminine wiles while I remained perpetually single. While it's easy to judge Katie Rose, as an outsider to the story, I couldn't help but wonder whether I would have taken her side if I'd been in her position. Is it any wonder we're not sympathetic enough to women trapped in prostitution if we make these assumptions of women with "loose morals"?

    Olivia Wakefield played a larger part in this story than I initially expected, and it was interesting to see how she lived in comparison to Maureen and Katie Rose. I'm sure many readers will relate to Olivia's desire to help the less fortunate but genuinely not being able to understand their struggles enough to truly provide any assistance. Although some of Olivia's friends might seem naive or snobbish in their assumptions and suggestions, I'm sure there are many middle-class women's church groups today that aren't too different from the one that Olivia attended. I'd never heard of Charles Sheldon's In His Steps before reading Band of Sisters, but I appreciated the way that his book made its way into the lives of all the women in the novel and helped them to focus their actions as Jesus would have. Although the repetition of the phrase "What would Jesus do?" continually made me think of those wristbands that were popular in my youth group a few years ago, it really is something that everyone needs to consider more often. I hope this is a message that readers take away from Band of Sisters.

    Band of Sisters certainly gave me a lot to think about, and I was sad when the book finally came to an end. It was the sort of story that I wanted to savour, even though I rushed through it in my desire to see Maureen and Olivia achieve their goals and receive their much-earned happy endings. While the story had a few small flaws, I hope that many readers are able to appreciate Band of Sisters and come out of the book as challenged as I was. 4.5*

    Review title provided by Tyndale.
  3. MerryMary
    Lake Crystal, Minnesota
    Age: Over 65
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    November 30, 2012
    MerryMary
    Lake Crystal, Minnesota
    Age: Over 65
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This book was wonderful. Brought to mind all that our ancestors went through when first coming to America.
  4. Faye
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: Female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Powerful
    October 23, 2012
    Faye
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: Female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    A heart wrenching journey, that asks the question: What would Jesus do?

    After the death of Lady Catherine, Maureen O'Riley finds herself without protection from her horrible employer, and she worries about her young sister, Kate, being left alone and all the moments when she can't protect her. So she heads to America with her sister and a 28 year old letter promising a future. But when they arrive Colonel Wakefield is dead and Maureen finds a job at what she supposes to be a upscale department store, but what she doesn't know is that it holds a terrible secret...

    Olivia Wakefield is determined to help Maureen and Kate, and keep the promise that her father made to their father, but she can't find Maureen...

    Wow, what a book! I really enjoyed Promise Me This so I was looking forward to reading Band of Sisters, and it lived up to my expectations. I thought that it started a bit slow, with everything happening so fast to Maureen and Kate, that it was hard to actually get into the story for awhile. But when I got to Olivia's part of the story, I liked her immediately, she had an admirable determination to do the right thing and change peoples' lives.

    To be honest I didn't become completely involved in the story until about 1/3 of the way in, that was the point where I had a hard time putting it down :) I liked how this book dealt with the tough issue of Human Trafficking, in a compelling and heart wrenching story.

    I liked the character of Olivia the most, because of how determined she was to right a wrong. Joshua Keeton was a great character too, such a nice guy! I did eventually come to like Maureen and Kate though both of them did frustrate me more than a few times over the course of the book!

    Overall an excellent read, though it scared me a little in the beginning when I wasn't really sure if I would like it or not! But I loved it. This book was tough and it asked the age old question of: What would Jesus do? I just loved how that was woven into the story in such a thought provoking manner. A fulfilling and satisfying read, that will break your heart for all the right reasons.

    I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
  5. MaureenT
    Syracuse NY
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Band of Sister's
    September 14, 2012
    MaureenT
    Syracuse NY
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    I loved this story, and the pages almost turned themselves. We begin in County Meath Ireland, not far from Dublin where the O'Reilly sister's [Maureen and Katie Rose] have just buried their Mother.

    Their Dear Aunt, their Mother's sister, loves them and helps them with some money to leave Ireland and come to the US.

    Their adventure has begun!! Along with them immigrating is a young fellow they know named Joshua Keenan, who Maureen does not trust. She actually doesn't trust anyone, and is trying to take care of her thirteen

    year old sister. What the sister's do have is a letter from Colonel Wakefield, stating he wants to set her Dad's son in business. He is indebted to him for saving his life! When Maureen goes to his home she finds that he has died and is crulely turned away by Drake Meitland, who burns her letter.

    Now Maureen's is penniless and without home or job. She does have a friend in Mrs Melkford, from the Missionary Aid Society, she is Heaven sent.

    Maureen also met a shady character, she could tell by his smile, Jamie Flynn, who thrust $30 at her and tells her where she can obtain a job. After what has happened she goes and gets a clerking job at Darcy's Department Store. When things start to not add up and some of her friends begin to go missing, she doesn't know what to do.

    Olivia Wakefield and her Sister Dorothy belong to a Church Group to help people. They decide to read In His Step's by Charles Sheldon, "What Would Jesus Do". Olivia also attempts to find anything she can in her Dad's paper's about the O'Reilly's. In the end she tries to find Maureen and Katie Rose.

    I found Katie Rose to not be very endearing...like a spoiled brat, but considering the poverty they came from in Ireland, and what they are now experiencing in the US, I kind of understand.

    We are about to journey to the dark underground of life in the US...White Slavery. Cathy Gohlke has worked this subject into this story in such a way that it touches today's current problems.

    While I could not put this book down until the end, some of the injustice is still happening. I would love to able to sit down and be with these strong woman, and find out what happens in later life.

    I received this book from Tyndale House Publishers, and was not required to give a positive review.
Displaying items 16-20 of 33