Inspired by true accounts, Sunflower Sisters provides a vivid look at the Civil War experience, from the barbaric and inhumane plantations, to a war-torn New York City to the horrors of the battlefield. Georgeanna "Georgey" Woolsey isn't meant for the world of lavish parties and the demure attitudes of women of her stature. So when war ignites the nation, Georgey follows her passion for nursing during a time when doctors considered women on the battlefront a bother. In proving them wrong, she and her sister Eliza venture from New York to Washington, D.C., to Gettysburg and witness the unparalleled horrors of slavery as they become involved in the war effort.

It may be the case that there hasn't actually been any issues, and no evidence of sexual exploitation or anything like that, but the woman may feel threatened or feel uncomfortable in this situation. With the protection and empowerment from their mums, the sunflower sisters grow into strong independent young women who embrace and celebrate the colour of their dark brown skin and empower other women to do the same. About This Edition ISBN: Sunflower Sisters is a beautifully written story about the civil war told from diverse perspectives. A wealthy woman decides to be a union nurse against her family’s wishes. She wants to make a difference and help those in need. A female plantation owner becomes in charge of the plantation after her husband joins the union army and her brother joins the confederate army. She follows her own wishes and gets herself in trouble. A slave at the plantation finds a way to escape by pretending to be someone else but has to leave the ones she cares about behind. I liked the different perspectives and how the stories wove together and apart. Sunflower Sisters is the third and final book of the Lilac Girls series but can be read as a standalone without missing anything. The series is based on ancestors of the main characters in the previous books. Sunflower Sisters is a great ending to a great series, but I am sad this is the last book. I am very interested in the historical aspects of the book although the flood of information seemed to slow down the story at times. The story is wrenching on so many levels, the unspeakable brutality of people kept as slaves, and the horror of families, neighbors, and countrymen fighting each other to gruesome deaths. The fight of some women to change our times, so that women could be allowed to train and work as nurses, shows the many obstacles in the way of women being allowed to do more than just cook, clean, wash, birth babies, and stand by while people die.

The group is also involved in finding matches for refugees looking for hosts. There are numerous regional coordinators that work with refugees and hosts to help support the matching process. The story is told from three points of view. First we have plantation owner Anne-May Watson. She is as cruel as could possibly be depicted. She whips her slaves, feeds them poorly and trades them without a second thought. She is probably a compilation of many such owners in the south at the time. She has an even worse overseer who is an evil man and seems to enjoy whipping and torturing the slaves. Anne-May Watson, owner of the Maryland plantation. She is a self centered cruel woman who delights in whipping her slaves, especially Jemma. The title derives from both girls dressing brightly and beautifully for their family weddings. They then go on to promise each other they will live as ‘Sunflower Sisters’ always – with the joyful outcome that they open a shop selling colourful clothes for everyone. Some of the characters in Sunflower Sisters seem rather two-dimensional...Overall, however, this emotionally satisfying novel will please Kelly's many fans and will be a strong addition to historical fiction collections." - Library Journal

The plantation owner, Anne-May Wilson-Watson, is fictional but seems to accurately portray the cruelty of slave owners and their overseers. Anne-May, whose husband is fighting for the Union Army, gets taken in by a local merchant and helps pass war secrets along to the Rebels. Anne-May is quite the character and makes even Pinkerton Detectives look like fools. Regardless of how bad she is, she seems to always get her way. We will then bring these ladies in to support these women, and sometimes all that is needed, is a Ukrainian lady, a familiar voice, somebody that understands what they're going through. Just a friendly ear." A well-researched, realistic narrative . . . It’s the women and their activism that tell the story of the struggle to end slavery. They become the real heroes of the war. Kelly tells this story without either romanticizing or sweeping over the horrors that split the nation in the nineteenth century and continues to do so today.” — The Spokesman-Review The problem I had with this book is that it didn’t show or tell me about anything new. I have read historical fiction for many years and have read a lot about slavery and the nurses heroic deeds during the war. I had hoped that with the mention of “spying for the Confederate army” that there might be a lot of mystery here. However there wasn’t enough of that to keep me interested. SUNFLOWER SISTERS is a refreshing change from the wealth of World War II novels and a chance to examine our country’s history with the benefit of Martha Hall Kelly’s clear gaze, careful precision and all-encompassing love for the richness of women’s stories."

Martha Hall Kelly captured my heart with Lilac Girls and Lost Roses, so I was thrilled to have received this ARC. Sunflower Sisters takes place during the Civil War and is told from the viewpoints of a MD slave, Jemma, her owner, Anne-May, and a NY nurse, Georgy. The stories of how the slaves are treated are poignant and difficult to read, especially when they are being punished. Jemma’s plight, strength and tenacity captured my heart and I experienced a roller coaster of emotions with each of her accomplishments and struggles. All of Kelly’s characters come across as incredibly authentic with both good and bad qualities. Even the loathsome Anne-May showed moments of humanity at times. Both Jemma and Georgy must face an abundance of prejudices and both emerge as extremely strong women. We're not a group that says we don't deal with men. When I set it up, there were many other support groups, Facebook groups, that were helping Ukrainian nationals.

One set of characters features the unique Woolsey/Ferriday family, staunch abolitionists, many of them work as nurses. It was fascinating to read about women breaking into the nursing world as I didn’t realize that all nurses used to be male as well as doctors. Georgey is the main Woolsey daughter featured in this story. Georgeanne "Georgey" Woolsey isn't meant for the world of lavish parties and demure attitudes of women of her stature. So when the war ignites the nation, Georgey follows her passion for nursing during a time when doctors considered women a bother on the battlefront. In proving them wrong, she and her sister Eliza venture from New York to Washington, D.C., to Gettysburg and witness the unparalleled horrors of slavery as they become involved in the war effort. Anne-May on her mother: "How flawless her skin was, even well past forty years old, from years of sleeping at night with thin cut slices of rare beef on her face." Postscript - It is my understanding that James Woolsey, former head of the CIA is a descendent of this family. Sunflower Sisters was the fabulous third instalment of Martha Hall Kelly's successful Lilac Girls series. This series elaborated on the lives of several generations of Woolsey women and was exhaustively researched. Sunflower Sisters was set in the Civil War era and one of the main characters was Geogeanna Woolsey (Great Aunt of Caroline Ferriday from book 1 Lilac Girls, and Aunt of Eliza Ferriday from book 2 Lost Roses).Georgeanna “Georgey” Woolsey isn’t meant for the world of lavish parties and the demure attitudes of women of her stature. So when war ignites the nation, Georgey follows her passion for nursing during a time when doctors considered women on the battlefront a bother. In proving them wrong, she and her sister Eliza venture from New York to Washington, D.C., to Gettysburg and witness the unparalleled horrors of slavery as they become involved in the war effort. They can be single men that may wish to offer a room to another man or to an older lady. It can be men whose wife's aren't on social media who want us to help them. I turned to Mother. “We spent all of yesterday calling on Charleston’s best. We must appeal to someone.” Well-researched: Readers can always depend on Martha Hall Kelly for well-researched and ambitious historical fiction. Her characters are well-drawn and the historical details are vivid and descriptive.