Book Review: Kopp Sisters on the March by Amy Stewart

I discovered Amy Stewart’s writing several years ago through her book, The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms, which doesn’t seem like an interesting book, but is one of my FAVORITE nonfiction reads. How is a book about earthworms entertaining? Excellent writing, that’s how! I’ve recommended this book MANY times.

So, I was thrilled when Amy Stewart decided to delve into the world of historical fiction. The Kopp Sisters Novels are based off real people. (There’s an excellent blog post on Ancestry.com, written by Amy Stewart, which details how she discovered these ladies.) In a time when women weren’t allowed to vote, the eldest sister, Constance Kopp, worked at the Bergen County Jail. She tracked down criminals, worked as a prison matron, and received the same salary as her male co-workers. I’ve read the first book in the series, Girl Waits with Gun, three times. Amy’s Stewart’s fifth book in the series, Kopp Sisters on the March, is available on September 17, 2019.

While the first four books in the series are based on actual events in the real lives of Constance, Norma, and Fleurette Kopp, this book veres further into the world of fiction. We don’t know what happened to the sisters in 1917, so the author choose to use events from the time to weave a convincing story about the sisters. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC copy of this book, but I’ve been looking forward to this installment for a year. In this book, we learn about military-style training camps for women preparing for World War I and the real-life, notorious (and misunderstood) Beulah Binford.

I really loved this book! It would certainly be suitable for older teens through adults. There’s a great deal of women’s history in this book, but it’s told in an entertaining way. If you’d like to read this book as a stand-alone novel, I’d recommend going to Amy Stewart’s website to gain a bit of insight, although this book probably makes more sense as part of a series.

I can’t wait to read the next book! I feel like the Kopp sisters are growing as people and this book was no exception. With the threat of war looming, I really enjoyed seeing Constance, Norma, and Fleurette stepping up as women, ready to face whatever challenges might come into their lives.