Stephanie Sullivan: Review - The Flight Girls

TITLE: The Flight Girls (audiobook)

NARRATOR: Xe Sands

RATING: ★★★★

Summary (from Goodreads): Inspired by the real team of female pilots who trained World War II soldiers, The Flight Girls is 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 in Texas. It's why she signed up to train military pilots in Hawaii when the war in Europe began. And it's why she insists she is not interested in any dream-derailing romantic involvements, 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 Harbor just as the bombs begin to fall, and suddenly, nowhere feels safe. Following the attack, Audrey struggles to reconcile her devastating losses--colleagues, friends and the piece of her heart she left in the air. She seizes the opportunity to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots, hoping to make everything she's lost count for something. The fast friendships she forms with her fellow WASP women reignites 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 stateside--together.

REVIEW: Dear readers, if you've read any of my reviews over the past couple of years then you already know I'm a huge fan of historical fiction. You should also know I'm a big fan of Noelle Salazar too, so this review will probably come as no surprise to you. I don't know why it's taken me so long to read The Flight Girls, but I'm so glad I did. I believe this is the first historical fiction book I've read with the bombing of Pearl Harbor as a focal point, and Noelle does such an amazing job (as always) describing the horrors from that day and really putting you in the heroine's place so that you can see it and feel it from her perspective. The narrator, Xe Sands, also did an excellent job portraying the heroine, Audrey, and the many other characters in the story. This was my first time listening to her, and I look forward to listening to more of her work.

So many emotions come to the surface while listening to this book. I laughed. I cried. I swooned. I gasped. The friendships between the women pilots is so endearing, and I loved cheering them on. I clapped over their accomplishments and fumed over the disheartening lack of recognition they endured. My heart ached for them during their times of loss and soared with them through their times of joy. I felt like I knew each one of them by the time the story ended, thanks to Noelle's incredible storytelling. The ending was beautiful and perfect, and I was honestly sad when the story ended. I highly recommend The Flight Girls to everyone.

2 comments:

SusanDecember 14, 2024 at 1:40 PM
I've been meaning to read this book as well, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Your review makes me want to read it even more. I'm glad you enjoyed the book so much!