call to arms review

"Call to Arms" by PG Nagle is a historical novel about Emma, a woman who to avoid the oppression of being born female in the 19th century, dresses as a man.  In doing so, she is able to choose a profession, get an education, decide who and if she will marry, and be her own person.  However, with the outbreak of the Civil War, she must take the bad with the good.  Social pressure to join the military causes Emma "Frank" to sign up for the army and serve primarily in the hospitals.
This book has an interesting story line.  There is intrigue and action.  The author enables the modern woman to empathize with the oppression of Emma when she is forced to marry by her father to a much older man. The author goes back and forth between the war and twenty years later when Emma is trying to get her military benefits.  This seems to slow down the storyline.   I still give it 3 stars.  I received this book for free from librarything.com.