When the Men Were Gone (Book Review)

Title: When the Men Were Gone
Author: Marjorie Herrera Lewis
Publication: William Morrow, trade paperback, October 2018
Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: Football is an important part of the community in Brownwood, Texas, as it is in many small towns. Tylene Wilson became a football fan as a child, attending games with her father and drawing up plays for fun. Now, as an Assistant Principal at the high school, she has seen too many of the town’s young men go off to fight in WWII without returning, including the football coach. Determined that the seniors will get to enjoy their last season, Tylene takes on the role of head football coach but encounters unexpected hostility from people she’s known her whole life. Can she get the team behind her and make it to the first game of the season?