The World at Home by Ginny Kubitz Moyer ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

A coming-of-age story about a young woman discovering love, loss, and the power of her own creativity in World War II San Francisco.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.  A free book was provided for an honest review.

December 2025; She Writes Press; 979-8896360186
ebook, print (344 pages); historical fiction

This well-written and well-researched novel took readers back to San Francisco in 1944.  The war was still going, and San Francisco was full of soldiers passing through on their way to the war in the Pacific.  San Francisco is a lovely city, but it definitely has a major division between the rich and the working class.

The main character is twenty-year-old Irene Cleary.  She grew up in a Catholic orphanage where she was dropped off as a baby.  She apprenticed at a seamstress shop, and when the owner died, she left the shop and the apartment above the shop to Irene.  She spends her days sewing and designing dresses, and many of her evenings are spent at the USO dancing with servicemen.  She gets a big break in her life when she is asked to design a gown for a Nob Hill socialite.  Buying material during the war was very difficult, and women often had older dresses re-designed into new dresses.  This is the first time that she has ever had a wealthy customer, and she was thrilled to work for Cynthia and her husband, Max.  They recommended her to other wealthy people in the city, and soon she is drawn into a different life.  Max realizes that she is lonely and asks her to help design a nightclub that he has just purchased.  Soon, she is caught up in his orbit, which changes her life in unexpected ways.  She soon realizes that she is seeing her life differently.  Will her life be spent with the rich, or will she realize where she is really the happiest?  

One very interesting tie in to real history is that Irene begins to make costumes for the first-ever ballet presentation of The Nutcracker.  In the author's notes, she gives us the story behind the costumes for the ballet and the fact that the 143 costumes were designed by a 19-year-old.  "Although Irene is a fictional character, she represents the pitch-in-and-help spirit of the volunteers who made a difference in San Francisco during this time.

This beautifully written book will transport your mind to San Francisco with well-written characters who you soon care about - characters who are flawed yet caring and helpful as you see them go through their loves and hopes and loves.   

Buy The World at Home at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.

 

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