"So she wears a dress. She knows the game and she can kick ass."
"When The Men Were Gone," by Marjorie Herrera Lewis is a sweet historical fiction novel of overcoming obstacles and not giving into the negative. The novel tells a story of a female coach, Tylene Wilson, stands up to coach the Brownhood Lions High School Football team. Football is the heart of Texas and when World War II takes every man between the ages of 18-45years old, the upcoming 19944-1945 football season is being threaten to be cancel because no man is available to coach. English teacher and Administrator decides to coach the season so the team have something to forward while the US fights a war. The only problem, can a woman coach football? Most importantly, are the people of Brownhood Texas ready for the idea of a woman coaching football?

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This was a great feel good novel for women who love football. Tylene was very strong and encouraging. I loved the extra PS this book has. ( )

This is the book that kicked 2019 off for me. I throughly enjoyed reading the tale about an assistant principal who stepped up to coach a high school football team during WWII. She did what she believed in and though the town wasn’t fully behind her, through football, in the end, all was well. She believed in the boys when everyone was telling her she couldn’t do it and they wouldn’t support her. This book was relatively short but the author did a really good job with the details. I’d highly recommend this book for anyone who loves sports and for anyone who roots for the underdog! ( )

Thanks to the author and Lone Star Lit who provided me with a copy of the novel.

When the Men Were Gone by Marjorie Herrera Lewis is a heartfelt historical fiction tale about a topic near and dear to many a Texan heart -football – and of the woman who stands to face discrimination even as she steps up to lead the local high school football team. You don’t have to be a football fan to love this story! At just over 200 pages, this was a quick and easy read.

What makes the story even more amazing is that it is based on the real-life story of Tylene Wilson, who took over coaching the local high school team during WWII when the remaining men in town were unwilling/unable.

Herrera-Lewis’ journalist background is evident in the vivid details of the story, from the setting to the characters to the football games themselves. The football matches and the scenes with Tylene’s family particularly shone, giving the reader a colorful picture of the Tylene and her love of the game as well as her love of the area. Her writing is clear and crisp and lyrical all at once.

When late summer rolled around, all I needed was to hear my father say, “I saw a nut on the ground this morning,” and I’d bust out of the kitchen’s screen door, grab a bucket off the back porch, and scramble to the first pecan tree I could reach, singing the Brownwood Lions’ fight song all the while. Still singing, I’d crawl on my knees and gather up pecans…The briars and weeds beneath the tree didn’t bother me. I considered a scraped knee a sign that a good pie would soon be on the way.

The author also succeeds in writing a story that shows passion and emotion. Tylene wanted to coach the local boys to protect them – to keep them out of trouble, to keep them from being enlisted, and to keep their spirits up. She knew the value of football in lifting the spirit of the community. The story also conveys the sadness of those lost in the war and the pain that those who returned from it were feeling.

When the Men Were Gone is very much a character-driven story, and I absolutely adored the character of Tylene. She is passionate and caring, full of spunk and yet level-headed. She is what drew me into this story.

This is the story of a woman who, like many during WWII, stepped up to fill a role left empty by the men who went to war, one who did it willingly, passionately, and in the face of many who thought her not up to the job simply because she was a woman. It’s a victorious novel of a woman who stood up in the face of discrimination for love of the game and love of her community.

“So you’re going to let her do this?” Vern said. “You know how bad that’ll make you look? I mean, what kind of a man allows his wife to coach football? Not to mention the toll it’ll take on you. Someone’s got to wear the dress in the house. So what’s your color, John? Soft pink?” Vern laughed.

While the ending was satisfying, I was surprised to find myself at the end of the book (despite evidence of the page count), and I was left with questions that might have been tidily served by an epilogue. What happened with the rest of the season? How did the team fare?

Overall, this short and sweet story of football and feminism was a delight, an interesting perspective on the other roles women filled as well as the strength they showed in doing so. ( )

Based on a true story this slim novel tells the story of a woman who steps out of her role as high school administrator to coach the football team in Brownwood, Texas after the school's coaching staff is drafted into World War II. She has to fight the prejudices of a small town that would rather cancel the football season than suffer the ignominy of having a woman coach the team.

Even though the reader knows the outcome of this story before it arrives, one cannot help to be outraged for the blatant misogyny that Miss Tylene faces as she tries to give the town a season of their favorite sport. ( )