Today We Go Home

Estes (The Girl Who Wrote in Silk) delivers a decent dual-narrative novel about the women who’ve served in America’s armed forces, both those who did so in disguise historically and those who serve today. Captain Larkin Bennet has returned to her grandmother’s house in Woodinville, Wash., after receiving a medical discharge following tours in the military police in Afghanistan , which ended with an explosion that killed her best friend, Capt. Sarah Faber. Sarah has left her effects to Larkin, including a diary of her ancestor, Emily Wilson, who disguised herself in order to serve alongside her brother, Ben, in the Civil War. Larkin suffers from PTSD, resents the way women in the armed services are treated by male members of the military and civilians, and has feelings of guilt over Sarah’s death. In alternating chapters, Emily tells her own story, one that helps Larkin move forward in the present. Estes is sometimes heavy-handed in pointing out the parallels between Larkin’s and Emily’s stories and is a little clumsy in inserting informational passages. Still, the book does convey some of the extreme challenges facing women in the military. The result is a purposeful and competent tribute to American women in uniform. (Sept.)