The Secrets of Flight

Funny how the older we get, the more we tend to love history. I can honestly say, I hated it in school but truly appreciate it now, especially the role women played in the war efforts that sad to say were missing from my history books growing up. Maybe that is why I appreciate it so much now and to know that few of our WWII veterans remain living, so their stories are just waiting to be told if we simply sit down with them while they are still here to listen to.

In the novel The Secrets of Flight by Maggie Leffler, I was drawn to the story of Mary Browning, a 87-year-old woman who used to be a WASP pilot during WWII but is now wishing she had the time to write down her memoir. She can't write because she suffers from tremors and using a computer now is beyond her knowledge of technology. She resolves to spend her time, meeting with a group of fellow seniors, sharing their love of writing once a week at the library and collaborating and editing them although many will never be published. Perhaps it just keeps them young at heart.

However when 15-year-old Elyse Strickler arrives at the library one day to answer an add one of the members places in the local paper seeking new writing talent, things are about to get interesting. Mary now realizes that she can get Elyse to write her story as a part time job, but it will mean divulging all those secrets of a life she left behind in WWII that no one including her writing group is aware she holds. Elyse on the other hand is suffering her own issues at home, dealing with the potential divorce of her family and gaining the attention of a young boy at school, while she is less than popular at school This is where her and Mary becoming peer and mentor of sorts and an unlikely friendship is born of the secrets they keep.

I received The Secrets of Flight by Maggie Leffler compliments of William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation aside from a free copy of the novel in exchange for my honest and personal evaluation. While I was initially drawn to this story because of the WWII side of it, I was left a bit disappointed first, by the amount of profanity used in the novel, but the disconnection I felt for the characters. For me, that is what makes a great novel, is that you can connect with them on some level, but this one for me fell short of my own expectations, but others might feel differently. Mary's secrets in this novel are many and for those close to her, she felt the need to lie to them about virtually everything in her life, from going to flight school at the University to enrolling in the WASP program and it affects those relationships throughout her life. For me this one rates a 3 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

For more information about The Secrets of Flight, Maggie Leffler or where you can pre-order a copy of this novel that is available in May of 2016, please click on the links below:

The Secrets of Flight by Maggie Leffler 

You can find Maggie Leffler on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Secrets of Flight, please visit William Morrow's website. 

 

Wings - A Novel of World War II Flygirls - Review and Giveaway

Sally snatched the sheet from Dixie's fingers. Typed boldly across the top were the words, "An Overview Of Facts For Personnel Considering Entering WASP Training." Her mouth turned dry. By mid-page, her tongue had become cotton.

"train in military aircraft...the same number of training hours as male pilots...learn navigation and instrument flying...station at a military airfield following graduation...fly bombers/or pursuit aircraft to wherever ordered within the contiguous United States...base pay of one hundred and fifty dollars per month during training..."

Dixie grabbed the papers back. "Didn't you get one like this?" She stuffed the papers protectively into her purse.

Sally shook her head. "I guess they forgot to put it in the envelope."

Both were well on their way to begin training in the WASP program, the U.S. military's Women's Airforce Service Pilots program. At the special school known as Avenger, they will learn to fly PT-19's. BT-13's and AT-6's. The program come from Jacqueline Cochran, director of the Women Airforce Service Pilots and the women that received invitations to join, would train in Sweetwater for a period of six months to qualify as a WASP ferry pilot to deliver airplanes to bases all over the United States. Trainees had to pay their own travel expenses to Sweetwater and, presumably, to leave should they wash out. Minimum flying hours required for WASP training: thirty-five.

Well Sally had well over 300 hours as a barnstormer while Dixie managed to log in 36 hours. Yet not everyone was happy to see the women due their part to help in the war efforts.

"Women airline pilots?" Dixie hooted. "Maybe in the next life, where everybody's got their own set of wings, so it don't matter. But if you're talking about right down here on earth in the hear and the now, I'm going to have to disagree with you hon. 'Cause a whole bunch of men had rather fight bears barehanded than see a skirt in a cockpit. The nature of the male isn't gonna change in my lifetime nor in yours."

"It'll never happen," Geri interrupted loudly. "Look at the way the army's treating us. We make half the money of men who're doing the same job. We're expendable to the army as bullets."

Twila answered, "Yes. We are expendable. If someone's got to die delivering an airplane, the army had rather it be one of us than a man. The army is saving them for combat. A man dying in combat is far more beneficial to winning the war than if he dies here at home because hopefully he'll die killing some of the enemy."

And so the training of the pilots begins while Congress looks for a way to disband the WASP program, but hopefully these flygirls will be able to change their mind after all.

In the book, Wings, A Novel of World War II Flygirls by Karl Friedrich, he takes the readers on a journey based on the true World War II story of America's first female military pilots. This is such a remarkable story that shows another side of just how some women served in assisting our war efforts in other ways besides the Rosie the Riveter working girl. I love how this portrays the stereotypes the women were faced with and how they were treated by civilians and service personnel while trying to do their job. It was not a easy one by any means.

I received this book compliments of TLC Book Tours for my honest review and was completely captivated from the first page all the way to the end. You will see how so many people really treated these women unfairly, some local townspeople even thinking the army was bringing on whores to service the men overseas, when they simply had to reason to understand that women could actually fly the planes as well as the men could.

In fact more than 25,000 young women volunteered for training as WASP pilots. Of the 1,830 who were accepted, 1,074 graduated. Almost all went on to fly many types of aircraft, from the smallest and slowest trainers to giant bombers and hot fighters. Missions ranged from ferrying aircraft to dispersal points for shipment overseas, to towing targets for student gunners firing live ammunition. These missions were often as dangerous as combat, and in fact, thirty-eight WASP died. By the war's end, WASP has flown sixty million miles in seventy-eight different types of aircraft. This is a wonderful story and I can't wait to share this with my readers. Highly recommend and hands down 5 out of 5 stars! Would love to see this one made into a movie!!!

For more information about the book, the author, get a first chapter sneak peek and where to pick up a copy of this remarkable book, please click on the link below:

Wings ~ A Novel of World War II Flygirls by Karl Friedrich

Now for the fun part, thanks to TLC Book Tours, they are offering a giveaway copy to one lucky reader of this blog. Here are your guidelines:

1. Be a follower of my blog Reviews From The Heart.

2. "Like" this review on my Facebook page by clicking here.

3. Be a resident of the US or Canada or have a US or Canada shipping address, please No P.O. Boxes.

4. Leave me a comment why you'd love to win a copy of this book along with an email address so I can contact you if you're the lucky winner. You can use the words (at) or (dot) instead of the symbols.

The giveaway will end on Oct 25th and I will notify the winner via email.