*Editorial Book Review*
Sparrow’s Song
by Marilee Aufdenkamp
Publication Date: September 18th, 2026
Publisher: Old Fort Press
Pages: 292
Genre: Historical Fiction / WWI Fiction
Shortly after Kathryn Scheibel leaves her cigar‑making job in 1917, she enters the Army School of Nursing, a pioneering WWI nurse‑training program that offers the education she’s longed for but couldn’t afford. More than two decades later, her career carries her, as an instructor, into the Cadet Nurse Corps, the federal WWII nursing‑education initiative created to support the war effort. There she sees the same pressures she once felt now directed at students with even fewer protections. When two Black students are treated unfairly, Kathryn must decide how to respond.
Sparrow’s Song is a sweeping, intimate novel about resilience and belonging, rooted in the real history of wartime federal nursing education and the evolving landscape of modern American nursing. At its heart is a young immigrant woman pushing herself toward the advantages she’s convinced education will unlock, even as that drive pulls her away from the people and heritage she loves.
"Without an education, I have nowhere to go but right back where I came from."
There is something particularly frustrating about watching a young woman work hard for an education, only to discover that excellent marks are not enough to secure her future. In ‘Sparrow’s Song’ by Marilee Aufdenkamp, Kathryn Scheibel faces precisely that difficulty. Working in a Nebraska cigar factory in 1917, she longs to continue her studies, but her family needs her wages and has very different expectations for her life. I could understand her frustration almost immediately, although understanding Kathryn and liking her were not always quite the same thing.
Aufdenkamp gives a convincing sense of the obstacles standing between Kathryn and the future she wants. Money, family responsibilities and social expectations all limit her choices, while the opportunities available to more privileged young women remain beyond her reach. I admired her determination to find a way forward. Her eventual entry into the Army School of Nursing opens up a particularly interesting part of the story, where obtaining an education brings responsibilities and challenges of its own.
Kathryn is a complicated protagonist, and I appreciated that her ambition does not make her unfailingly kind or wise. She can be dismissive of women whose hopes involve marriage and children, and there were occasions when I wanted her to offer others the understanding she expected for herself. Nevertheless, she is also capable of compassion and courage, particularly when someone vulnerable is being treated unfairly. Those moments mattered to me. They gave me reasons to care about her even when her judgements made her difficult to warm to.
The question of what Kathryn owes her family is explored with considerable sensitivity. Leaving has practical consequences for people she loves, while staying would mean setting aside hopes she has worked hard to pursue. I found myself understanding more than one side of these disagreements. Aufdenkamp allows affection, dependence and resentment to exist within the same relationships, giving the family scenes an emotional complexity that I particularly enjoyed.
Kathryn’s mother became one of my favourite characters. Her strength is apparent in both her decisions and her everyday care for others, and I was moved by her willingness to take her daughter’s aspirations seriously. She does not have to imagine the same future for herself to recognise its importance to Kathryn. Their quieter exchanges are among the most affecting passages in the novel, and her practical kindness gives the story much of its warmth.
The family’s German background and memories of Russia are handled thoughtfully. Customs that Kathryn sometimes finds restrictive carry important memories and attachments for the older generation. Meals, sewing and other household routines help make their home convincing, while the work involved is given proper attention. I appreciated the way these details reveal differences between the generations without making their affection for one another any less meaningful.
The treatment of Kathryn’s family during the First World War was particularly upsetting. Their German background makes them targets of suspicion and hostility, despite the years they have spent building a life in Nebraska. The pressure to demonstrate loyalty through purchasing Liberty Bonds shows how patriotism can become an excuse for intimidation. Aufdenkamp makes this prejudice personal, and I felt deeply for people whose work and contribution to their community offer so little protection against hatred.
Class distinctions are equally significant. When Kathryn intervenes to help a little boy being bullied, her refusal to stand by is admirable, but the response exposes how vulnerable she is to the influence of a wealthy family. I thought this was a powerful example of the unequal consequences attached to challenging someone with social standing. Similar encounters with prejudice and spite follow her into nursing, where ability and hard work do not always secure the fair treatment she deserves.
The nursing history was one of the great strengths of the novel for me. Aufdenkamp gives careful attention to the study, discipline and practical judgement the profession requires. Training is demanding, and the students have much more to learn than a sympathetic manner. I enjoyed the detail surrounding their education and the wards, which gives a convincing sense of the work while keeping the women undertaking it at the centre of the story.
Kathryn’s later work as an instructor is just as interesting. Hospitals need the labour their students provide, but those demands can conflict with giving them a proper education. Her concern for teaching standards is convincing because the consequences reach beyond examinations to the people these nurses will care for. The Cadet Nurse Corps broadens this exploration, raising important questions about access to training and whether students are given an equal opportunity to succeed.
Virginia and Arthur bring welcome companionship and humour, allowing us to see Kathryn when she is less occupied with defending herself. I enjoyed those moments and would have welcomed more of them. The accumulation of grief, disappointment and hostility sometimes made the novel feel relentlessly sad, while Kathryn’s recurring resentment could become wearing. Gloria’s antagonism also grew predictable. These were the aspects that kept me from feeling quite as close to the story as I otherwise might have done.
Nevertheless, ‘Sparrow’s Song’ is a thoughtful and absorbing novel with much to recommend it. I particularly admired its portrayal of nursing education, its attention to immigrant family life and the tenderness of Kathryn’s relationship with her mother. Although emotionally demanding, it gave me plenty to reflect upon, and its exploration of the opportunities available to women makes it a rewarding read.
Review by Mary Anne Yarde
The Coffee Pot Book Club
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Marilee Aufdenkamp
Marilee Aufdenkamp is a retired nurse educator who taught undergraduate nursing for twenty-six years before turning her full time focus to historical fiction. She writes early to mid twentieth century stories grounded in immigrant experience and working class life.
Her debut novel, Sparrow’s Song, was inspired by her early nursing career in Nebraska, where she came to admire the Germans from Russia she cared for at the end of their lives.
Originally from Southern California, she has spent her adult life in Nebraska.
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