You Are My Sunshine

The latest historical romance novel from veteran British writer Saxton is as warm, comfortingDand sugaryDas the endless cups of tea and cocoa with which it abounds. Four young English women from varied backgrounds become friends during WWII when they enlist in the WAAF as barrage balloon operatives (or ""bops""), who handle the blimps forming part of Britain's anti-aircraft defense. Three of them are 17-year-olds. Kay Duffield, a beautiful, pampered blonde from a well-to-do family in a country town, has rushed into a hasty war-time marriage with a soldier who is posted abroad after their four-day honeymoon. Shy and mousy Emily Bevan is escaping her restrictive life as the only child of parents who live on an isolated sheep farm in North Wales. Jo Stewart, a pretty, popular and sexually inexperienced tomboy, is prickly and difficult, especially toward authority figures. And Biddy Bachelor, an unattractive, undernourished Irish ""scouser"" with a smart mouth, lies about her age and enlists at 15 to escape memories of the blitz that leveled her slum house, killing her family. This is an old-fashioned English girls' school novel, with the addition of discreetly described romances for the heroines. The detailed portrayal of wartime privations valiantly endured is interesting and moving, as is the depiction of each young woman's increasing competence and assurance as she masters her dangerous and demanding job. The British wartime slang may be daunting for even ardent Anglophiles, but expatriates seeking a sentimental, easy read will enjoy the memories. (Nov.)