What is it that makes a book character universally liked? In The Railway Girls books, it's Dot whom everyone loves. This shows up clearly and repeatedly in reviews and also in comments and messages on my FB page (www.facebook.com/MaisieThomasAuthor).
| And with the Home Front Girls series, the character everyone cares about the most is.... Betty. |  |
So why has Betty touched readers' hearts? Here are some of the things that have been said about her in reviews:
"...sweet-natured and kind, but not weak..."
"...lovely Betty, who trusts people and pays a high price for it..."
"...envies Sally (but in a nice way) because she'd love to have a boyfriend of her own..."
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"...she misses her mum so much and you feel she's a real family person. Shame about the stepmother!..."
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Betty Hughes is a good-natured young woman with a loving heart. The reviewer who called her "a real family person" got it just right. She had a wonderful, warm relationship with her late mother, whom she has never stopped missing, and it came as a shock to her when her beloved dad remarried so soon afterwards. Grace, Betty's scheming stepmother, has her own plans for Betty, and it's partly because of Betty's sweet nature and basic belief in the goodness of other people that Grace is able to get away with doing what she does.
Betty is a hard worker, and this is something else that readers like and admire her for. When she first goes to the salvage yard, she makes some mistakes, but she also shows herself able to think things through and come up with solutions, though she will never be wholeheartedly dedicated to her job the way Sally is.
At heart, what matters most to Betty is to have a family of her own one day. When Sally is engaged to Andrew after a whirlwind romance, Sally's happiness and excitement speak directly to what Betty has always longed for. Of course, in book 2, Courage for the Home Front Girls, when Betty thinks she has found the chance of lasting love, things don't go anything like as smoothly for her as she has always dreamed of.
I can't really say a lot more about Betty without giving away spoilers. But one thing is certain - her warm heart, trusting nature and the staunch friendship she shows to others make sure that all the readers are rooting for her from the start and all the way through!
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All the books are available through Kindle Unlimited as well as on Kindle and in paperback and audio format, narrated by Julia Franklin.
Book 1 - The Home Front Girls
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Book 2 - Courage for the Home Front Girls
Book 3 - Christmas for the Home Front Girls
Book 4 - A Wedding for the Home Front Girls
Book 5 - A Baby for the Home Front Girls (published on September 3rd)
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