I won this book in a contest and had it siting in my bookcase until I decided to purge all the books had print too small to read. But this one had big enough print to read, so I put it in my current stack.

The Linen Queen is a well researched tale starting at the beginning of WW II in Northern, Ireland. Sheila McGee lived in County Armagh,she worked in a linen where there are very long days and the girls sing at work to fight the boredom on Monday through Friday, with Friday being more of a celebtration. My eye caught on the fact that it is set in County Armagh because some of my ancestors lived there. Sheila lives with her mother, who is bi-polar, her aunt and the aunt's husband. Her mother is extremely self-centered and selfish, her aunt is not pleasant to be around and uncle is always trying to corner her to satisfy his animal instints.

Sheila has a plan to leave. She wants to leave and the Linen Queen contest would be her tickett out. because of a pof of money that goes with the honor. Young and innocent at the time, Sheila has learned about her true self yet. Like her mother, she is self centered and selfish but it takes some changes for her discover that she has a much kinder soul inside.

She has friend since childhood, Gavin, who she admires but cannot see herself marrying and after she had chosen Linen Queen, she meets Joel, very handsome too, with dark hair and she later finds out that he is Jewish. He is the catalyst for Sheila finding her true self. Sheila has a lot to learn about herself, like she does have a conscience. But she will learn much more as tragedies unfold.

Part of my attraction to this book is the Irish language. The author uses "craic" over and over again. I like to determine the meaning of words that I don't know for seeing how it is used in context, Well that became difficult because like the word Aloha, there are many meanings! It is pronounced like a crack in a wall. That is easy, but the meaning is more difficult. It can mean the newsm what's happening, the entertainment and more. Many Irish say that you cannot understand craic unless you are Irish.

The other term is da. Irish children call their fathers: da, dad and dadai (DAH dee) Da is a very informal name for your father, too informal for newspapers, it is Irish slang. There is a world of Irish slang, I am learning. ( )

I have read many books about WWII but none that ever gave the Irish perspective. Sheila is awarded the title of Linen Queen and the prize money. This is her opportunity to flee her poor and miserable existence. But, Belfast is bombed and the American Soldiers come to her village.

It wasn’t the best book I ever read but it was interesting. One knows what to expect but is happy about reading on in spite of it. The story is fairly predictable but the writer has a way of engaging the reader.
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I agree with a prior poster that this book did drag a bit for me; Sheila is not an entirely likeable person, although I am not sure if she is meant to be. It is interesting to hear about the role of the Linen Queen itself, but aside from that, there is nothing really new here in terms of WWII historical fiction set in Ireland. There is also nothing new in terms of plotlines regarding helpless females relying on men and such. ( )

We are given young Sheila's story as World War II gets closer to her small village in Ireland. Sheila has big dreams of leaving her little town as soon as she gets enough funds together, but she doesn't expect the complications that will arise when she tries to leave now that the war is at her back door. I think I will start off by telling you that this book fell just a bit short for me.

Although Sheila finds it next to impossible to leave the village, once she wins the Linen Queen competition, certain things are a little easier for her and her family. She finds herself being invited to special events that many girls couldn't get past the front door. This allows her the opportunity to meet new people, including Joel, the young soldier from America who has taken a fancy towards her. As much as I wanted to like Sheila as the main character, I found she annoyed me half of the time. She did stand up for what she believed in and protected those that she loved, but her relationships with Gavin and Joel drove me nuts! I couldn't help but think, pick a man already!

Sheila did have a rough family life since her father left her and her mother behind. Her aunt and uncle were kind enough to take them in, and with the frustrations of the economy her mother was afraid to make any waves in the household in fear they would be on the streets. So often I couldn't help but think how mean and selfish her mother was, but when she needed help, Sheila was there to support her.

As much as I wanted to love this novel, I just found it dragging on and on for me. Until I reached at least the half-way point of the book, I just was never excited to get back to reading it. I also found some of the characters names confusing as a couple were quite similar. With themes of war, family, and love, you may find more enjoyment from this book than I did. Even though I didn't love it, I didn't hate it either. So I do recommend this book for those that love stories about Ireland and I also think it would make an interesting book club discussion. ( )

It feels kind of strange, but this book reminded me quite a bit of two classics - Emma by Jane Austen and Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. So what do all these books have in common, you might ask? Well... I don't know about you, but Emma, Scarlett and Sheila are not very easy characters to like ... at first.

In The Linen Queen, Sheila struggles with some pretty hard knocks. Her dad is gone, her mom is crazy, her aunt super pious and her uncle a pervert. She works hard, yet sees no real benefit to all the work and she really, really wants to leave Ireland.

But Sheila is living and working toward leaving Ireland in 1941, and war is on the horizon. And, much like Scarlett in Gone with the Wind, war has a way of bringing out the grit in a pretty girl - and so it was with Sheila.

I really, really enjoyed The Linen Queen. I found Sheila to be petty and self-centered, but as I read, as I really thought about the choices she was making and watched her growth I came to love her and wish her well.

In addition to getting to know Sheila, I also got to know a part of WWII geography I really hadn't been familiar with. Belfast and the northern part of Ireland was involved in the war at a time the southern area was not. I think Patricia Falway did a fantastic job of capturing the tension not only between the two factions of the Irish people, but also by adding the "Yanks" into the mix, and even a Jewish one at that.

For WWII novel fans, this book is a must read. Just.. be patient, give Sheila a little time and remember, all those that are young need time to grow. ( )