#Constance Kopp

[iklees]

Girl waits with gun / Amy Stewart

Kopp Sisters #1

What was I to do? Mother would have wanted me to put up the storm shutters and bar the doors and hide in the root cellar every time an automobile drove by. Norma, who saw the farm as some sort of fortress designed to keep the rest of the world at bay, would have agreed. But I was tired of hiding out here in the country. Francis would have wanted me to sell the farm and move in with him, where we could all be properly supervised. But I wasn’t about to become one of those women who serves out a life term as her brother’s housekeeper. The only way I could fall asleep was to tell myself that I was making too much of the situation. I had made one small miscalculation in confronting Mr. Kaufman and had brought a little trouble our way as a result. It would not happen again.

Helaas heeft Constance het bij het verkeerde eind. Henry Kaufman is een verwende nietsnut uit een rijke industriële familie, met meelopers die geen bezwaar hebben tegen criminele activiteiten; hij kan niet kan hebben dat een vrouw hem de les leest. Hij begint de drie zussen, op hun afgelegen boerderij, te pesten en bedreigen. Gelukkig weet de sheriff wat voor vlees hij in de kuip heeft, dus die doet zijn best om de dames te ondersteunen. Desondanks is het voor Constance duidelijk dat het met name op haar schouders neerkomt om voldoende bewijs te vinden om Kaufman achter tralies te krijgen, zodat zij en haar zussen hun leven weer kunnen oppakken. Fictie, gebaseerd op bestaande personen. De serie telt inmiddels zeven boeken. Dit eerste boek is in ieder geval spannend en interessant. In sommige opzichten lijkt het op de stoere dames uit het Victoriaanse Engeland; daar zijn er heel wat van (in elk geval aan deze kant van de oceaan) en dus is het boeiend om eens iets te lezen dat zich afspeelt in New Jersey in die periode.

[chardlulu]

• True Narrative refers to a factual recounting of events, usually in a detailed and structured manner. It involves telling a story based on real-life events, people, and places, adhering closely to the truth as it happened. True narratives are employed in various genres, including historical writing, journalism, and documentary storytelling, where accuracy and fidelity to the facts are paramount.

• Testimony, on the other hand, is a formal or informal statement or account given by a witness, often under oath, in a legal setting or other formal inquiry. It is used to provide evidence or to bear witness to the truth of a matter based on a person's direct knowledge or experience of events. Testimonies are critical in legal cases, inquiries, and hearings, contributing to the establishment of facts and truth in judicial or investigative processes.

• Both true narrative and testimony share the common objective of depicting truth and factual content but are used in different contexts and serve different purposes.

Example of the true narrative of "Girl waits with gun" by Amy stewart

INTRODUCTION: "Girl Waits with Gun" by Amy Stewart is a captivating historical fiction novel that plunges readers into the intriguing world of Constance Kopp, one of America's first female deputy sheriffs. Set in 1914, the story opens with a dramatic encounter on a rural New Jersey road. Constance and her two sisters, Norma and Fleurette, find themselves entangled in a collision with an arrogant and reckless silk factory owner, Henry Kaufman. Little do they know, this seemingly minor incident will set off a chain of events that will challenge societal norms, test their resilience, and ultimately lead Constance down a path of unexpected empowerment and justice. As Constance navigates the complexities of early 20th-century America, readers are drawn into a richly detailed narrative filled with suspense, humor, and the timeless struggle for equality.

Summary:

The novel opens with Constance and her sisters, Norma and Fleurette, encountering an arrogant and reckless silk factory owner named Henry Kaufman on a rural road. When Kaufman's reckless driving damages their horse and buggy, Constance demands compensation. However, Kaufman, accustomed to getting his way, refuses to pay and begins a campaign of harassment against the sisters.

Evaluation:

Amy Stewart's meticulous research and attention to detail transport readers to early 20th-century New Jersey, immersing them in the sights, sounds, and social dynamics of the time. The vividly drawn characters, particularly Constance Kopp and her sisters, are richly developed and layered, making them relatable and inspiring protagonists.

The novel effectively explores themes of gender inequality, justice, and resilience, shining a light on the challenges faced by women in a patriarchal society. Constance's journey from a marginalized figure to a trailblazing deputy sheriff is both empowering and thought-provoking, highlighting the importance of standing up for one's rights and challenging the status quo.

Conclusion:

The novel's examination of gender inequity, justice, and perseverance strikes a deep chord with readers, bringing to light the difficulties women endure in a patriarchal culture while also honoring their bravery, tenacity, and strength. Constance's transformation from a marginalized person to a trailblazing law enforcement officer is a motivating and inspirational story that serves as a potent reminder to readers of the value of speaking out for oneself and opposing the current quo.

Testimony:

Girl Waits with Gun captivated me from start to finish. Constance Kopp's determination in the face of adversity inspired me deeply. Amy Stewart's blend of suspense, humor, and social commentary kept me hooked until the end. It's a powerful testament to women's resilience and the fight for justice.

Testimony of (Genevieve Valentine)

It might seem odd to be reading about an old-fashioned farmstead shootout and thinking about how charming it is, but if you're reading  Girl waits with gun you might as well get used to it. You'll be thinking that a lot, because the women holding down this particular farmstead are Constance, Norma, and Fleurette Kopp, who handle the battle with grim panache. Though they're under fire, Constance's narrative voice is endlessly pragmatic and authoritative: Neither stray internal monologue nor enemy bullets will be permitted.

[darklingichor]

Lady Cop Makes Trouble, by Amy Stewart

This is the second one in the Kopp Sister Series. I think I read the first one last year

Girls Waits With a Gun

This is a fictionalized series based on Constance Kopp, the first woman deputy in New Jersey.

The first book was fantastic, I couldn't put it down.

This one, not so much. I found it dull an a little annoying.

Basically it's all about the gender politics in the early 20th century. Constance was given the deputy role by the Sherif, but he technically didn't have clearance to do that, everyone is up in arms over a woman in that position, so she is shifted over to being the jail matron, which she isn't happy about. Through a series of events a prisoner escapes on Constence's watch and it is blamed on the fact that she is a woman. This is shit because it would have happened under anyone's watch as this prisoner was channeling both Moriarty and Hodini.

So there is a lot of talk about the incompetence of women and how a woman can't handle being in law enforcement, and a lot of belittling Constence. And then there is a lot of Constence going outside of what the Sheriff wants and striking out on her own. I spent most of the book wondering why the hell she doesn't just become a PI and have the Sherrif put her on retainer. Maybe that will happen in the next one.

She does really well as a detective, those parts were a lot of fun.

I liked the interactions between the sisters and Constance and Norma worrying about the outgoing Flurette who has dreams of the stage.

I'll read the rest, but this one was underwhelming.

[ihatetbrlists]

The Reading Diaries #9

Kopp Sisters on the March by Amy Stewart

Was it on my TBR list? Yes, the GoodReads one.

I looooove this series. In case you've never heard of it, it follows the true story of Constance Kopp, the first woman to become a deputy sheriff in the US (in 1914!) and her sisters.

Kopp Sisters on the March is the 5th volume and sees the Kopp sisters attending a National Service Camp on the backdrop of the beginning of the First World War.

While I truly adore this series & I'd recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone, I found this volume to be the most disappointing so far. Perhaps it's because I didn't particularly care for Beulah. I appreciated learning her story and the historical notes at the end of the book, as always, but I didn't like being in her head for most of the book.

The other people the Kopp Sisters meet at camp also felt quite bland. I think the secondary characters were stronger in Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions (#3), which will forever be my favourite along with the first volume (Girl Waits With Gun).

I'd recommend picking up at least the first volume if you are interested in early 20th US (the footnotes are excellent) or simply like historical fiction with a bit of action.

[astarothkenobireader]

LA FILLE AU REVOLVER (Amy Stewart)

Résumé

Constance Kopp n'entre dans aucun moule. Elle surpasse en taille la plupart des hommes, ne trouve aucun intérêt dans le mariage ou les affaires domestiques, et a été isolée du monde depuis qu'un secret de famille l'a reléguée, elle et ses deux soeurs, dans la clandestinité. Un jour, le propriétaire d'une fabrique de soie, belliqueux et puissant, renverse leur carrosse au volant de son automobile... Et ce qui n'aurait dû être qu'un banal litige se transforme en une bataille rangée avec une bande de voyous habitués au chantage et à l'intimidation. Mais elle pourra compter sur l'aide d'un shérif progressiste qui, dans l'Amérique puritaine de ce début de siècle, n'hésitera pas à lui confier un revolver et une étoile.

Mon avis

Je me suis retrouvée, par cette lecture, dans une ambiance à la Adèle Blanc-sec. Un personnage féminin fort, qui n’a pas la langue dans sa poche. J’ai trouvé appréciable que l’autrice n’en fasse pas des caisses, ce qui fait que Constance Kopp n’est pas caricaturale ou dans le syndrome de Marvel (à savoir qu’il tiennent tellement à avoir des personnage féminin fort qu’on a parfois des personnalité qui ne tiennent pas la route, Catwoman par exemple).

J’ai apprécié l’ambiance far west du roman et les péripéties rocambolesque des trois soeur, armées de leurs naïveté. La fille au revolver n’a pas la prétention d’être un roman historique, cependant Constance Kopp a vraiment existé, et le roman a été écrit en s’inspirant d’articles de journaux qui parlaient d’elle.

Bien que j’ai beaucoup apprécié ma lecture je ne lirais pas les autres tomes, j’ai passé un bon moment mais ce n’est pas un univers qui me correspond de ouf.

[i-married-taylor-swift-blog]

Who has read any of the Girl Waits With Gun / Lady Cop Makes Trouble books? Cuz Norma is so canon lesbian y'all she's great

[darlinglilwitch]

“Girl Waits With Gun” by Amy Stewart

When I first began reading this, I thought it was a fiction set in 1914; so, when I discovered that the people and the places featured were historically accurate -- with some minor fictionalization -- I was ecstatic that such colourful characters were once living people who I could research myself to learn more about. The plotline is straight-forward and easy to follow, and, honestly, if I learned all my history through Amy Stewart I wouldn’t mind one bit. Usually, I sometimes have difficulty believing some historical fiction -- since the truth can sometimes be stretched rather thin -- but Ms. Stewart’s book was fun and refreshing. I highly recommend if you love something daring and real with just enough suspense to keep you hooked.

My rating: 10/10

[being-simba]

2018 Reading List: Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart

[cineastesview]

REVIEW: Dear Miss Kopp

REVIEW: Dear Miss Kopp

I’m pretty sure there was a crust of stale corn flakes tonight, which sounds appalling but was, in fact, a minor culinary triumph. Did you know that we’re now saving nut-shells and fruit pits for gas mask filters? Frankie Jr. has joined the local collection committee. He goes up and down the street every Tuesday to pick up from the neighbors. Pg. 95 In the sixth installment of the Kopp Sister…

[yetanotherramblingfangirl]

Top 10 books/series in a category of your choosing?

Fiction with an historical setting [including alternate histories] it is! :D

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro - My favorite book of all time.  There is just something so completely engrossing and deeply moving about someone looking back and realizing they’ve made choices without even really realizing that they’ve been made and suddenly seeing how that comes together to form the fabric of your life and identity.  I LOVE THIS BOOK.

The Kopp Sisters series by Amy Stewart - Constance Kopp is a BAMF, and honestly that’s all the reason I need to recommend this series.

The Glamourist Histories series by Mary Robinette Kowal - An alternate Regency period in which magic is real?  Yes, please.

News of the World by Paulette Giles - A story of found family on the Texas frontier?  I’m all for it.

Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy - Marilla Cuthbert is the greatest and I love her and this is an excellent version of Marilla backstory.  Absolutely lovely.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein - My heart hurts just thinking about this one, but I highly recommend.  Female spies and pilots during WWII?  I’m here for it.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys - A Lithuanian girl is deported to a Siberian gulag and experiences absolute heartbreak and devastation while using art to cope.  This one packs an emotional wallop, but is definitely worth it.

The War That Saved My Life duology by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley - Found family stories are my favorite so it definitely makes sense to include this book intended for middle grade readers.  This is all about two small children evacuated to a coastal town during WWII and the family they form there.  Highly recommend.

The Uninvited by Cat Winters - This one is set during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.  The protagonist can see ghosts and those ghosts herald death.  It’s a whole thing.  [That’s in the blurb on the cover, so it isn’t giving anything away.]

True Grit by Charles Portis - Mattie Ross is the vengeful teenage protagonist I always wanted.  This is a great western and the film adaptations are very accurate to the source material.  If you’ve seen and liked the movie, you’ll most likely enjoy this.

Ask me my top 5/top 10 anything.

[duckseamail]

I just finished reading Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart. It’s historical fiction about the Kopp sisters and their encounter with a factory owner, Henry Kaufman, after he hits their horse drawn buggy with his car. It is from the perspective of Constance Kopp and she confronts Kaufman, and eventually gets involved with the local sheriffs office to help keep her and her sisters safe from Kaufman’s threats against them. It is set in 1914 so there is period typical sexism, antisemitism, and racism, though sexism is the only one that is a theme in the book. Also a trigger warning for threats of implied rape. The book starts off with a black&white private eye kind of vibe, but as the story goes on, it slows down a bit. It’s still really good, but not as exciting as the title makes it sound.

[aboutsixplums]

Tagged by @chaospitals Thanks! Rules here were to name 10 characters from 10 different things.

-Jones from Gunnerkrigg Court

-Parse from Check, Please!

-Bird from Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti

-Scudder from Maurice

- Junie B. Jones from her series

- Capable from Mad Max: Fury Road

- Constance from the Kopp Sisters books

-The Asterite from Ecco the Dolphin

-Hobbes from Calvin and Hobbes

-Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls

[bigtickhk]

Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit by Amy Stewart https://amzn.to/2xjqN0Z

[theirresponsiblereader]

Pub Day Repost: Miss Kopp Just Won't Quit by Amy Stewart: Deputy Kopp faces her biggest challenges yet -- a new Sheriff and an Uncertain Future

Pub Day Repost: Miss Kopp Just Won't Quit by Amy Stewart ★ ★ ★ 1/2 Deputy Kopp faces her biggest challenges yet -- a new Sheriff and an Uncertain Future

Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit

by Amy Stewart Series: The Kopp Sisters, #4 eARC, 320pg. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018 Read: August 8 – 9, 2018 So it’s been roughly a year for Constance Kopp working as the ladies’ matron for the Bergon County Jail. In that time she has investigated crimes, tracked down murderers, sought justice for women of all walks of life, and put her life on the line more than a…

[ucflibrary]

Every October UCF celebrates Diversity Week. This year’s dates are October 15 – 19, and the theme is A New Day Dawns. University-wide departments and groups champion the breadth and culture within the UCF community, and work to increase acceptance and inclusion for everyone at UCF and the surrounding communities.

One of the fantastic things about UCF is the wide range of cultures and ethnicities of our students, staff, and faculty. We come from all over. We’re just as proud of where we are from as we are of where we are now and where we will be heading in future.

UCF Libraries will be offering a full slate of Diversity Week activities. To learn about the upcoming events visit: guides.ucf.edu/diversityweek

Join the UCF Libraries as we celebrate diverse voices and subjects with these suggestions. Click on the link below to see the full list, descriptions, and catalog links for the featured UCF Celebrates Diversity titles suggested by UCF Library employees. These 16 books plus many more are also on display on the 2nd (main) floor of the John C. Hitt Library next to the bank of two elevators.

And thank you to every Knight who works to help others feel accepted and included at UCF!

Before We Visit the Goddess by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Sweeping across the twentieth century, from the countryside of Bengal, India, to the streets of Houston, Texas, Before We Visit the Goddess takes readers on an extraordinary journey through the lives of three unforgettable women: Sabitri, Bela, and Tara. As the young daughter of a poor rural baker, Sabitri yearns to get an education, but schooling is impossible on the meager profits from her mother’s sweetshop. When a powerful local woman takes Sabitri under her wing, her generous offer soon proves dangerous after Sabitri makes a single, unforgiveable misstep. Years later, Sabitri’s own daughter, Bela, haunted by her mother’s choices, flees to America with her political refugee lover—but the world she finds is vastly different from her dreams. As the marriage crumbles and Bela decides to forge her own path, she unwittingly teaches her little girl, Tara, indelible lessons about freedom and loyalty that will take a lifetime to unravel. Suggested by Megan Haught, Teaching & Engagement/Research & Information Services

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of race, a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden? Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward. Suggested by Richard Harrison, Research & Information Services

 Black Protest and the Great Migration: a brief history with documents by Eric Arnesen During World War I, as many as half a million southern African Americans permanently left the South to create new homes and lives in the urban North, and hundreds of thousands more would follow in the 1920s. This dramatic transformation in the lives of many black Americans involved more than geography: the increasingly visible “New Negro” and the intensification of grassroots black activism in the South as well as the North were the manifestations of a new challenge to racial subordination. Eric Arnesen’s unique collection of articles from a variety of northern, southern, black, and white newspapers, magazines, and books explores the “Great Migration,” focusing on the economic, social, and political conditions of the Jim Crow South, the meanings of race in general — and on labor in particular — in the urban North, the grassroots movements of social protest that flourished in the war years, and the postwar “racial counterrevolution.” Suggested by Richard Harrison, Research & Information Services

 Call Me American by Abdi Nor Iftin The incredible true story of a boy living in war-torn Somalia who escapes to America--first by way of the movies; years later, through a miraculous green card. Suggested by Katie Kirwan, Acquisitions & Collections

 Flesh and Bone and Water: a novel by Luiza Sauma In deeply affecting prose, debut novelist Luiza Sauma transports readers to a dramatic place where natural wonder and human desire collide. Cutting across race and class, time and place, from London to Rio to the dense humidity of the Amazon, Flesh and Bone and Water straddles two worlds with haunting meditations on race, sex, and power in a deftly plotted coming-of-age story about the nature of identity, the vicissitudes of memory, and how both can bend to protect us from the truth. Suggested by Megan Haught, Teaching & Engagement/Research & Information Services

 Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas Funny in Farsi chronicles the American journey of Dumas’s wonderfully engaging family: her engineer father, a sweetly quixotic dreamer who first sought riches on Bowling for Dollars and in Las Vegas, and later lost his job during the Iranian revolution; her elegant mother, who never fully mastered English (nor cared to); her uncle, who combated the effects of American fast food with an army of miraculous American weight-loss gadgets; and Firoozeh herself, who as a girl changed her name to Julie, and who encountered a second wave of culture shock when she met and married a Frenchman, becoming part of a one-couple melting pot. Suggested by Cindy Dancel, Research & Information Services

 Invisible: how young women with serious health issues navigate work, relationships, and the pressure to seem just fine by Michele Lent Hirsch Lent Hirsch weaves her own harrowing experiences together with stories from other women, perspectives from sociologists on structural inequality, and insights from neuroscientists on misogyny in health research. She shows how health issues and disabilities amplify what women in general already confront: warped beauty standards, workplace sexism, worries about romantic partners, and mistrust of their own bodies. By shining a light on this hidden demographic, Lent Hirsch explores the challenges that all women face. Suggested by Megan Haught, Teaching & Engagement/Research & Information Services

 It All Falls Down by Sheena Kamal The brilliant, fearless, deeply flawed Nora Watts—introduced in the atmospheric thriller The Lost Ones—finds deadly trouble as she searches for the truth about her late father in this immersive thriller that moves from the hazy Canadian Pacific Northwest to the gritty, hollowed streets of Detroit. Suggested by Sara Duff, Acquisitions & Collections

 Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart In 1915, lady cops were not expected to chase down fugitives on the streets of New York City. But Constance Kopp never did what anyone expected. Based on the Kopp sisters’ real-life adventures, Girl Waits with Gun introduced the sensational lives of Constance Kopp and her sisters to an army of enthusiastic readers. This second installment, also ripped from the headlines, takes us farther into the riveting story of a woman who defied expectations, forged her own path, and tackled crime along the way. Suggested by Sara Duff, Acquisitions & Collections

 Not Here by Hieu Minh Nguyen Not Here is a flight plan for escape and a map for navigating home; a queer Vietnamese American body in confrontation with whiteness, trauma, family, and nostalgia; and a big beating heart of a book. Nguyen’s poems ache with loneliness and desire and the giddy terrors of allowing yourself to hope for love, and revel in moments of connection achieved. Suggested by Sara Duff, Acquisitions & Collections

 The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson An uplifting story about two teenagers set in the modern day in the United Kingdom. The author was inspired to write this novel after working in England's national health service, in a department dedicated to helping teens who are questioning their gender identity. Suggested by Sandy Avila, Research & Information Services

 The Diversity Index: the alarming truth about diversity in corporate America and what can be done about it by Susan E. Reed Based on award-winning journalist Susan E. Reed's groundbreaking study of Fortune 100 companies, The Diversity Index considers the historical reasons we went wrong, taking a close look at the "Plans for Progress" protocol developed in 1961, which defined the steps of affirmative action. It was initially considered a failure for not providing immediate results. This book analyzes the long-term, wide­spread effectiveness of the plan, and reveals the stories behind the few companies that have made a difference, breaking down the 10 simple steps you can take at your own organization to fully develop integration, keep it growing, and empower your employees to develop new products and markets.  Suggested by Sandy Avila, Research & Information Services

 The Promised Land: the great black migration and how it changed America by Nicholas Lemann A New York Times bestseller, the groundbreaking authoritative history of the migration of African-Americans from the rural South to the urban North. A definitive book on American history, The Promised Land is also essential reading for educators and policymakers at both national and local levels. Suggested by Richard Harrison, Research & Information Services

 The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the KoBra, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara had imagined. But maybe Rose isn't so bad. Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) crushing on her is pretty cute. Maybe Clara actually feels invested in her dad’s business. What if taking this summer seriously means that Clara has to leave her old self behind? With Maurene Goo's signature warmth and humor, The Way You Make Me Feel is a relatable story of falling in love and finding yourself in the places you’d never thought to look. Suggested by Sara Duff, Acquisitions & Collections

 When They Call You a Terrorist: a black lives matter memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele When They Call You a Terrorist is Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele’s reflection on humanity. It is an empowering account of survival, strength and resilience and a call to action to change the culture that declares innocent Black life expendable. Suggested by Katie Kirwan, Acquisitions & Collections

 White kids: growing up with privilege in a racially divided America by Margaret A. Hagerman Featuring the actual voices of young, affluent white kids and what they think about race, racism, inequality, and privilege, White Kids illuminates how white racial socialization is much more dynamic, complex, and varied than previously recognized. It is a process that stretches beyond white parents’ explicit conversations with their white children and includes not only the choices parents make about neighborhoods, schools, peer groups, extracurricular activities, and media, but also the choices made by the kids themselves. By interviewing kids who are growing up in different racial contexts—from racially segregated to meaningfully integrated and from politically progressive to conservative—this important book documents key differences in the outcomes of white racial socialization across families. And by observing families in their everyday lives, this book explores the extent to which white families, even those with anti-racist intentions, reproduce and reinforce the forms of inequality they say they reject. Suggested by Megan Haught, Teaching & Engagement/Research & Information Services

[darklingichor]

Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart

This book was awesome, honestly, that could just be this whole entry, because it really needs to be read to really appreciate the storytelling, but I will do my best to do it justice.

The main characters are the Kopp Sisters, Constance, Norma, and Fleurette who were real people in 1914 New Jersey. Constance is known as the country’s first female undersheriff; Girl Waits with a Gun is a fictionalized account of the real events that led her to getting that appointment.

The short version is that the sisters had the misfortune to have their buggy totaled by an automobile driven by one Henry Kauffman, who just happened to be a small man with an incredibly inflated sense of his own importance. Mr. Kauffman had the misfortune of trying to get out of paying for damages to the three people who he couldn’t intimidate. This meeting of wills meant that Kauffman horribly harassed the sisters and the sisters defended themselves.

Its really the characterization and the narrative that the book gives the Kopps and all other players in the story that makes it so much fun to read.

Constance was known as a woman not to be trifled with, and one with a strong sense of right and wrong, the book invents conversations and inner thoughts that not only get that across but gives the reader a sense of humanity and reason behind much of what she does. We see her sisters through her eyes, so it is, of course a biased perspective, but it is clear that she adores her family

Norma, to be frank, is annoying at times because her very favorite thing is to disapprove of stuff. She is very much a loner, there are moments in the book that you get the distinct impression that if her sisters were to decide to move away, she would simply carry on caring for her animals and reading her newspapers, with a philosophical shrug. However, she is just as devoted to her family, and no less protective. Of course, if she had her way, they would be protected by a draw bridge, a moat, and armed carrier pigeons

Fleurette is a kid, and acts like any 16/17 year old with an active imagination and a youthful sense of immortality, would. She is a tad spoiled but is charming at the same time.

All three are strong personalities with wit to spare.

The other characters are wonderful, but its really the Kopps’ show, Constance’s in particular.

The writing is fast, and funny where it needs to be, thoughtful in  all the right places, and as cliche as it sounds, the story has a lot of heart.

I will be reading the others in the series