The Flight Girls
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A USA TODAY BESTSELLER
A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER
A WOMAN'S WORLD BEST NEW BOOK
'I read well into the night, unable to stop. The book is unputdownable' Debbie Macomber, New York Times bestselling author
Inspired by the real team of female pilots who trained World War II soldiers, a stunning debut novel about friendship and its power to make us soar
Audrey Coltrane has always wanted to fly. It's why she implored her father to teach her at the little airfield back home. It's why she signed up to train pilots in Hawaii when the war in Europe began. And it's why she insists she is not interested in any romance, even with the disarming Lieutenant James Hart, who fast becomes a friend as dear as the women she flies with. Then one fateful day, she gets caught in the air over Pearl Harbour just as the bombs begin to fall, and suddenly, nowhere feels safe.
Following the devastating attack, Audrey joins the Women's Airforce Service Pilots, hoping to make everything - and everyone - she's lost count for something. The friendships she forms reignite a spark of hope in the face of a war that moves closer to home every day. When James goes missing in action, those bonds help her summon the courage to cross the front lines and give her the faith that they will return home - together.
'The Flight Girls captivated me from the first page and never let go . . . an epic love story, and a powerful tale of courage and sacrifice by the Women Airforce Service Pilots during WWII. A spectacular first novel' Sara Ackerman, author of Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers and The Lieutenant's Nurse
'Unforgettable and beautifully written . . . Salazar masterfully weaves a story of female strength and friendship, with an emotionally resonant epic love story' Jillian Cantor, author of The Lost Letter and In Another Time
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Salazar gives the history of the relatively unknown Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) during WWII a glossy treatment in her uneven debut. In the days leading up to Pearl Harbor, Audrey Coltrane is a civilian flight instructor for military trainees in Hawaii. While off-duty at the beach, she meets handsome flyboy Lt. James Hart, and due to her personal code of living for flying only, tells him that they can't be more than friends. After December 7, Audrey volunteers to be a WASP, whose job is to ferry planes around the country thus freeing male pilots for combat and undergoes rigorous training at Avenger Field in Texas. Through the training and as an active WASP, Audrey corresponds with James, who is based in England. But when he is reported missing in action, Audrey's life goes into a tailspin, and she later ferries a plane to France in hopes of being able to find him. The author does an excellent job of dramatizing the camaraderie among the WASPs. But she doesn't fully address the sexism the female flyers faced, and the central relationship is like something out of a 1940s movie, except that Audrey strikes too contemporary a note. This novel can't quite get itself off the ground.
