Keep Smiling Through
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Keep Smiling Through
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Narrated by:
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Julie Maisey
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By:
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Ellie Dean
About this listen
June 1940. Despite losing her mother at a young age and her father away on important war work, 17-year-old Rita Smith has plenty of people to turn to in the close-knit community of Cliffhaven. Until Italy sides with Germany and Rita's closest friends and neighbours are interned as enemies of the state. As war rages across Europe, Rita is more determined than ever to do her bit for the war effort. Although she is forced to give up her dream of joining the WAAF, she volunteers as a fire warden.
When her own home is destroyed, Rita vows she will not lose spirit and throws herself into doing her bit for king and country, longing for the day when she is reunited with those she loves best....
©2012 Ellie Dean (P)2012 ISIS Publishing Ltd, Random House AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,088
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,914
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,907
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5 out of 5 stars
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 13
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 11
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Story4 out of 5 stars 11
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4 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyed
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By: Jean Fullerton
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A Sister’s Courage
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- By: Molly Green
- Narrated by: Sophie Bentinck
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 16
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 14
The most ambitious of three sisters, Lorraine ‘Raine’ Linfoot always dreamed of becoming a pilot. As a spirited 17-year-old, she persuades her hero Doug Williams to teach her to fly. When war breaks out in 1939, Raine is determined to put her skills to good use. She enlists in the Air Transport Auxiliary, becoming one of a handful of brave female pilots flying fighter planes to the men on the front line.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Just ok.
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By: Molly Green
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New Neighbours for Coronation Close
- By: Lizzie Lane
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 7
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
Bristol 1936. Jenny Crawford has resigned herself to a loveless marriage living hand to mouth with their two children. Like many others, husband Roy struggles to find work at the docks but a chance encounter turns the family's fortunes around. Not only does he get regular work but they are also allocated a council house on Coronation Close on the outskirts of the city. Jenny and the children are overjoyed, this is the fresh start she could only ever dream of. But trouble feels never too far away.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Good story until the end.
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By: Lizzie Lane
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The Shop Girls of Harpers
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 576
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 543
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 540
When Sally, Beth, Margaret and Rachel meet at a job interview for the wonderful new store in Oxford Street, they have no idea they will become lifelong friends. When all four girls are lucky enough to be selected as sales staff their exciting new adventure begins. Join them as they overcome heartbreak and grief, find love and happiness and remain united in their friendship, whatever life throws at them.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Disappointed!
- By Liberty Bell on 03-11-22
By: Rosie Clarke
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Radar Girls
- By: Sara Ackerman
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,088
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 976
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 973
Daisy Wilder prefers the company of horses to people, bare feet and salt water to high heels and society parties. Then, in the dizzying aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Daisy enlists in a top secret program, replacing male soldiers in a war zone for the first time. Under fear of imminent invasion, the WARDs guide pilots into blacked-out airstrips and track unidentified planes across Pacific skies. But not everyone thinks the women are up to the job, and the new recruits must rise above and work side by side despite the resistance and heartache they meet along the way.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Lovely inspiring WWII tale from an unusual perspective
- By Julie Linker on 09-19-21
By: Sara Ackerman
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A Mother's Journey
- By: Donna Douglas
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 21
Hull, 1940. Widowed Edie Copeland has just arrived on Exchange Street, heavily pregnant and with heavy suitcase in tow. She left York after tragedy struck to make a fresh start, but she's a stranger to this street, and her new landlord doesn't hesitate to remind her of this, widow or not. Luckily, the neighbours are a little more welcoming and Edie is soon made to feel at home by the Maguires and the Scuttles. As air raids sound and the war feels closer than ever, the community has to stick together. But Edie is hiding something, and she doesn't know how much longer her secret is safe.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Cannot listen to the book due to technical issues
- By M.C.Garcia Jones on 10-18-21
By: Donna Douglas
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A New Start for the Wrens
- The Wrens, Book 1
- By: Vicki Beeby
- Narrated by: Bethan Rose Young
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 15
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
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Story4 out of 5 stars 15
Following a humiliating experience involving the man she thought she’d marry, Iris Tredwick signs up to the Wrens in order to escape and - hopefully - find ‘the right sort’ of man to please her mother. After a bumpy start, Iris manages to befriend outspoken Mary and dreamer Sally as they are sent to their first posting - in Orkney. There she meets engineer Rob, whose flirtatious nature both charms and confounds straight-laced Iris. Much more appropriate for her is local doctor Stewart, if only she felt the same spark for him as she does for Rob.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Friendships made and significant others met during, with wwii as a backdrop
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By: Vicki Beeby
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Where the Sky Begins
- A Novel
- By: Rhys Bowen
- Narrated by: Emma Griffiths
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,363
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,236
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,230
London, 1940. Bombs fall and Josie Banks’ world crumbles around her. Her overbearing husband, Stan, is unreachable, called to service. Her home, a ruin of rubble and ash. Josie’s beloved tearoom boss has been killed, and Josie herself is injured, with nothing left and nowhere to go. Evacuated to the English countryside, Josie ends up at the estate of the aristocratic Miss Harcourt, a reluctant host to the survivors of the Blitz. Now a threat looms larger than anyone imagined. And a dangerous secret is about to upend Josie’s life again.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Probably the worst Rhys Bowen book I have read
- By Tony on 08-14-22
By: Rhys Bowen
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The War Girls of Goodwill House
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- By: Fenella J Miller
- Narrated by: Julia Franklin
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 15
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
Lady Joanna Harcourt and her daughter, Sarah, discover their life of luxury at Goodwill House is over. Because with Lord Harcourt away fighting, the Harcourt girls are facing financial ruin. Lady Joanna is terrified of losing their home, but for Sarah, this means her dreams of becoming a doctor are over. Headstrong Sarah isn’t one to quit! War or not, she’s determined to find a way to save her home and follow her dreams - whatever it takes.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Could not finish, disappointing
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By: Fenella J Miller
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The Riviera House
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,067
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 955
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 955
Paris, 1939: The Nazis think Éliane can't understand German. They’re wrong. They think she’s merely cataloging art in a Louvre museum and unaware they’re stealing national treasures for their private collections. They have no idea she’s carefully decoding their notes and smuggling information to the Resistance. But Éliane is playing a dangerous game. Does she dare trust the man she once loved with her secrets, or will he only betray her once again?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Intriguing story
- By Kristen on 10-11-21
By: Natasha Lester
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