Jessie “Kit” Carson has always merged her favorite literary characters and stories with reality, often quoting endearing lines that fit the situations in which she finds herself. Helping people is also in her nature --- from encouraging children to check out books as a librarian at the New York Public Library to assisting those who are surviving in a small French town 40 miles from the front lines during World War I.

After seeing the devastation wrought by the war, Kit volunteers for the American Committee for Devastated France (CARD), headed up by Anne Morgan, the daughter of J.P. Morgan. Though her vast love of books fuels her imagination, what she encounters is almost incomprehensible to her.

"MISS MORGAN’S BOOK BRIGADE is a wonderful novel that will keep you absorbed for an entire weekend. It also might make you want to pull a few classics off your shelf to reread, which for me is always the sign of a good book."

When Kit arrives in 1918, Blérancourt is in ruins. Homes have been destroyed, crops burned and lives shattered. She thinks that setting up the small library, which is her reason for being there, is trivial. After meeting with the town’s residents and learning their stories, she quickly understands that a library is exactly what they need. With the help of a spunky young woman named Marcelle, Kit begins to look past the rubble and see a future --- a future not only for the town and its citizens, but for herself as well.

Janet Skeslien Charles has written what turns out to be a very sweet love story. Kit may never have imagined that she would find the love she reads about in books, and certainly not on the front lines of WWI, but that’s precisely what happens. She also builds a loving family with her CARD sisters and the citizens of Blérancourt. She encourages love among those she cares for and feels the love of those who care for her --- filling in for the mother and sister she left behind to join the war effort.

I always enjoy a book with time jumps, so it was fun to see the novel eventually shift to 1987. Wendy Peterson is an aspiring writer who happens to come across Kit’s story and realizes it should be told. With much the same gusto as Kit, she sets out to make sure that others know about CARD’s work.

This is a lovely story but also one full of trauma for both Kit and Wendy. Kit doesn’t have the best home life and left a steady job that, while fulfilling, was dominated by a boss with many opinions about her work. Wendy is also alone; she misses her family and struggles to make new friends, all while trying to start a writing career. You get to join Kit and Wendy on their journeys, and while they face so many challenges, it’s great to see how they flourish.

MISS MORGAN’S BOOK BRIGADE is a wonderful novel that will keep you absorbed for an entire weekend. It also might make you want to pull a few classics off your shelf to reread, which for me is always the sign of a good book.