Author: Karl Friedrich
Publisher: McBooks
Publish Date: April 1, 2011
Source: TLC Tours
Why You're Reading This Book?:
- You're a historical fiction lover
- You love great characters
From Goodreads.com: "Based on the true World War II stories of America’s first female military pilots, this historic novel follows the story of a young woman from a dirt-poor farm family. Sally Ketchum has little chance of bettering her life until a mysterious barnstormer named Tex teaches her to fly and to dare to love. But when Tex dies in a freak accident, Sally must make her own way in the world. She enrolls in the U.S. military’s Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program at a special school known as Avenger, where she learns to fly the biggest, fastest, meanest planes. She also reluctantly becomes involved with Beau Bayard, a flight instructor and aspiring writer who seems to offer her everything she could want. Despite her obvious mastery of flying, many members of the military are unable to accept that a “skirt” has any place in a cockpit. Soon Sally finds herself struggling against a high-powered Washington lawyer that wants to close down Avenger once and for all."
My Two Cents:
World War II opened up a lot of opportunities for American woman. For the first time, many of them were welcomed into the workforce and welcomed into positions that men generally held. It totally changed the course of history in our country. Some women were even able to fly for the military. They weren't able to fly in combat but they were allowed to help transport goods throughout the country to help the military under the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program. Technically a civilian organization, women were trained to fly military planes to support the war effort.
Sally Ketchum is a barnstormer, a pilot who does tricks and flies around the country, with her boyfriend, Tex. When Tex is killed in a plane accident, Sally decides that she still wants to fly so she goes to Texas to join the WASP. When Sally joins, the WASP program is under attack. Congress doesn't want to pay for it anymore because they don't see the value of training women flyers. Mr. Waterman, a Congressional liaison is sent to "observe" the WASP program but he seems to go above and beyond his call of duty and maybe even causes a little trouble himself. Because Sally is an incredibly talented pilot, Waterman seems to go out of his way to make her life a living nightmare. There's a huge twist towards the end of the book involving Waterman that I totally didn't see coming.
The characters in the book are fabulous. I loved Sally and how strong she was. I loved her friend, Dixie, and how she doesn't take anything from anyone. I liked Beau even though he royally screws Sally over in the beginning book. He definitely redeems himself in the end, I thought. You really feel for the characters and they are what really make this story.
I really, really liked this book. You all know that I love any kind of fiction about World War II but this covered a topic that I know very little about. I knew what a game change for women WWII was but I didn't know a lot about some of the different jobs that women took on. This book definitely filled a void for me.
Bottom line: This is a great historical fiction story that covers a little known part of history.
Giveaway!:
Thanks to the TLC tours, the author and the publisher, I have a copy of Wings to give away!
Rules:
- You must be 13 and over
- Open to US/CA residents only
- You must be a follower of A Bookish Affair
- You must be 13 and over
- Open to US/CA residents only
- You must be a follower of A Bookish Affair
- Giveaway ends October 26!
Just fill out the form below:
Follow The Rest of the Tour:
Monday, October 3rd: A Bookish Libraria
Tuesday, October 4th: Life in Review
Wednesday, October 5th: Acting Balanced
Monday, October 10th: The Life (and lies) of an inanimate flying object (guest post/giveaway)
Tuesday, October 11th: Diary of an Eccentric
Wednesday, October 12th: “That’s Swell!”
Thursday, October 13th: Man of La Book
Monday, October 17th: A Cozy Reader’s Corner
Tuesday, October 18th: Reviews from the Heart
Wednesday, October 19th: A Bookish Affair
Thursday, October 20th: Bags, Books & Bon Jovi
Friday, October 21st: Flight to Success
Monday, October 24th: Melody & Words
Tuesday, October 25th: Unabridged Chick
Wednesday, October 26th: Staircase Wit
Thursday, October 27th: 2 Kids and Tired
Tuesday, November 1st: Joyfully Retired
Wednesday, November 2nd: The House of the Seven Tails
Thursday, November 3rd: Life on the Road as a Pilot
I've read a lot of WWII books - it is one of my favorite time periods to read about - but I have not read anything about the WASPS yet. I KNOW I'd love this one!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a part of the tour.