Celebrate Lit / November 20, 2024

Unfit to Serve

About the Book Unfit to Serve

Book: Unfit to Serve

Author: Sandra Bretting

Genre: Inspirational Historical

Release date: August 16, 2024

When the United States military adopted a newfangled test from France called the “intelligence quotient test” during the First World War, no one expected the turmoil that followed. Thousands of immigrants failed it and were forced to return to homelands devastated by war, disease, and famine.

For Josephine Pembrooke, the shy schoolmarm at Camp Travis in Texas, the problem quickly becomes apparent. How can soldiers pass a test they can’t even read? So, Jo labours in secret to create a better test. Knowing all along it can’t save the one soldier she’d hoped to help.

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts on Unfit to Serve

I had never heard of the test that is featured in Unfit to Serve. So of course I had to do some research and I loved that the author is spot on! Yeah for learning new things daily without even trying.

This book takes you back to the years of WW1. One shy and quiet school teacher is determined to create a new test. One that maybe is easier to pass. One that maybe can save people. Even though the man she loved isn’t getting saved from it.

I found this novel to read quickly. The characters were fun to get to know. I enjoyed seeing them grow and mature as the book went on.

Josephine I could relate to. Who cares about embroidery when soldiers have real needs! Shouldn’t we be caring for the real needs? It was also eye-opening about the treatment of immigrants during this time period. I knew of the deportation camps in the WWII time period but I did not know about any kind of immigrant issues during WWI.

Grab your copy and take a walk back in history today!

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

About the Author of Unfit to Serve

Sandra Bretting is the author of a bestselling cozy mystery series that ran for five years with Kensington Publishing, as well as three standalone mysteries and an inspirational memoir. A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, she began her career writing for the Los Angeles Times, Orange Coast Magazine, and others. From 2006 until 2016, she wrote feature stories for the award-winning business section of the Houston Chronicle.

The second book in her mystery series earned the rank of Amazon Bestseller. Since making the switch to historical fiction, Bretting has garnered accolades for her first title, Unfit to Serve, which was released in August 2024. The novel explores how the U.S. military brought the IQ test to America at the start of World War 1.

More from Sandra

Most people don’t know this, but the IQ test we’ve all heard about came to America during World War 1. French schoolteachers originally created it for their students more than a hundred years ago. Then the U.S. military found out about it, and the top brass thought they could use it to test recruits for their battle readiness. There was only one problem: thousands of men failed it because they’d immigrated from overseas and couldn’t read the questions. They were loyal to the U.S., smart as whips, and physically capable, but they couldn’t pass a test they couldn’t read. In real life, it took the military a whole year to see the problem and come up with a better version for foreign recruits.

A whole year!

I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to those men who failed it, and how it affected their families. The recruits had come from countries devasted by famine, disease, and war, and they couldn’t go back. From there, the story evolved. I brought in a brave schoolteacher who sees the problem and struggles to fix it. Of course, being the early 1900s, women are supposed to be seen and not heard (like children) so she’s stonewalled at every turn. But she doesn’t stop. Josephine (Jo) knows that God cares about justice too, and she looks to Him for help when everything falls apart.

On a different level, I loved exploring the relationship between Jo and her stiff-lipped husband, Albigence. I purposefully moved this urban couple from a sophisticated university setting to a hot, dusty military base in San Antonio. There, they’re forced to rely on each other for the first time and fight for their marriage. It’s an unconventional love story, but a love story nonetheless.

In all my books, I strive to show how people can change for the better—or worse—depending on the situation, and that the best path forward is to trust God and His timing. He’s always perfect, even when we’re not. Thank goodness we can rely on Him!