I can't even begin to describe how much that picture of the Tempo edition disturbs me. Why must it be askew? I love the hardback cover, though. Penny's dress is to die for and Josh is dreeeeeamy! He has lots of bones in his face according to Tippy in PRACTICALLY PERFECT which I am currently reading. Spoiler: I now love Tippy. She barely shows up in this one, which is thoughtful of her.
Let's get started, shall we?
It starts up with a really sweet set piece where Penny meets, Letty, who is waiting tables in New York City while her husband is away at war. They strike up a very exposition-y conversation wherein we learn that Penny has a role in a BROADWAY PLAY!! She begins rehearsals in three week and is lonely because the rest of the fam (who she describes to Letty - and the reader) is at Fort Knox. Letty asks why she doesn't just go visit for those weeks and Penny, realizing that Letty is a genius, makes plans to meet up with her when she returns.
Terry Hayes makes an appearance, but is surprisingly non-amorous and noncommittal about meeting up with her at Knox where he is also heading. The reason becomes clear when Penny meets his new gal-pal the vixen, Marcia McMain. Or as I call her Louise 2.0. She's dreadful.
INTRIGUE ALERT!! Okay, I'm just going to break it down. Marcia is a spy, Penny catches her. If it weren't for Penny Parrish, we might have lost WWII, just saying. The story is surprisingly tight and it really got me thinking about female spies working for the Axis in the US and how you never hear about them. I did some investigation and found very little. And also, Lambert can write suspense. Who knew??
So Penny goes back to NYC with Carol because Dave and Colonel Parrish are getting called up. It's sad. But Letty helps. She has been living on her own since her Joe left and is a trouper. She helps Carrol keep a stiff upper lip and is soon living at the apartment with Pen and Car. (The scene where we see Penny show up at the diner to take Letty out to dinner from Letty's perspective is really adorable. And moving. Well done, Janet.)
Then there is some stage drama - Penny tries to make friends, people gossip. There's a funny gay boy playing her romantic interest who keeps trying to upstage her. (No, of course it isn't said outright, but come on...) And then there's Josh. Not only does he seem to dislike Penny, he also hates AMERICA! He gets mad when Penny stands at attention for the national anthem. What a jerk. He's not even in the service!
The play goes to Boston, Terry comes to visit and doesn't propose because he knows Penny has her defenses down and would say yes. He's a good boy. They open on Broadway and Penny is a hit. Huzzah! There is some nonsense with her costar that causes a fight between Josh (he's the stage manager, I think) and Mr. Goss, the director and Josh gets fired for sticking up for Penny!
That's it, our girl goes after him and cracks him like a nut. Turns out he grew up poor in a theater family. His mom died young, his dad was a flake and Mr. Goss is his "Uncle Dad" his dad's best friend who essentially raised him. He worked in the theater and was getting a name as a respected director. When the war started he went to the army and wanted to fight like a real man, but ended up directing shows, like a sissy. Lambert, to her credit, has Penny put forth some propaganda about how keeping morale up is as important as battle. He ends up going bonkers and gets kicked out, hence he hates the army. And by extension America and Penny. Til now.
They bond, Carrol has a baby and Michael gets shot down over Germany.
Do you remember Michael? He is the one from West Point of whom I said "I am almost sure he is going to die in the war because somebody has to and we like him but ultimately don't care what happens to him. But I could be wrong." And there you have it, I am a genius.
I shall leave you with that cliff hanger. Gosh, I wonder what happens.
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