AJ Pearce's delightful third novel, Mrs. Porter Calling, brings new challenges to her beloved characters in the Emmy Lake Chronicles series--and a dose of funny and warmhearted storytelling to her readers. Journalist Emmy Lake relishes her job running the Yours Cheerfully advice page at Woman's Friend magazine, even as World War II rages on. But when the magazine's new publisher, socialite Cressida Porter, sweeps in and starts changing--or eliminating--all the best-loved parts of the magazine, Emmy and her colleagues band together to save Woman's Friend from becoming a third-rate society rag.
Pearce (Yours Cheerfully; Dear Mrs. Bird) tells her story in Emmy's voice, with liberal amounts of pluck, compassion, and the day-to-day details of wartime life in London. On top of her professional challenges, Emmy juggles volunteer shifts at the local fire station. She shares a flat with her best friend, Bunty, and the two welcome their friend Thelma and her three children as new neighbors. Emmy's new husband, Charles, is off fighting in the war, and Bunty continues her recovery from a serious injury. Although Pearce's (and Emmy's) narrative voice is resolutely optimistic, the characters are not immune from the small privations and the larger tragedies of war. Pearce skillfully balances the big issues with daily joys, like a new pet guinea pig or Emmy's charming banter with her colleagues.
For readers who love plucky heroines or World War II fiction--or who just need encouragement to keep going in tough times--Mrs. Porter Calling is, as Emmy might say, just the thing. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams