The Red Cross Girls in Belgium

"The Red Cross Girls in Belgium" by Margaret Vandercook is a historical fiction story about four American Red Cross nurses named Eugenia, Barbara, Mildred, and Nona helping people in Belgium during World War I. The story looks at their brave experiences navigating the difficult situations in a war-torn area, and it shows their personal challenges, friendships, and how they try to care for suffering soldiers and citizens. The girls' experiences begin after already working many months in British trenches and southern France before arriving in Belgium. We see what they experience at first when they arrive in Europe, including their interactions with a local countess and how they face tensions and form relationships as friends. Each girl faces her own troubles, such as Eugenia dealing with a complicated past, Barbara staying loyal to her friends, and Nona trying to learn about her mother's history as they see the terrible things happening around them. The beginning of the novel emphasizes ideas of sacrifice, friendship, and the strength of people struggling during wartime.