Noelle Salazar's "The Flight Girls": An Uplifting Tale of Courage and Friendship

Watson: This is not my usual genre. I typically prefer UK mysteries. But I started this earlier today and stayed up until 3AM to finish it. I visited Pearl Harbor in 2021 so this resonated with me as I read that part of the story. Then I was hooked. Very realistic in terms of the experiences of many during that extraordinary time.

United States on Sep 04, 2023

Lynn Ballou: Read this for book club.
Discussion will be on 8/30

United States on Aug 29, 2023

Meredith Garofalo: This will definitely be one of my favorite books! Weaving together history with tremendous writing to create a story that was so hard to stop reading, and that I found myself being transported back to this time with every turn of the page. Brought back memories from a previous time, excellent job!

United States on Aug 06, 2023

isobelreadsalot: This is a wonderful story of frienship, courage, and romance set during WWII and following a group of brave female pilots.

The characters and their relationships were what really stood out to me while reading. Each character had such personality and life to them, and it was so easy to get attached to them all. I loved Audrey's character arc and how she grew to realize certain things about what her life could be. The friendships between the female pilots were so sweet and powerful and uplifting. And the romance, my goodness! I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was. Every interaction between Audrey and James had such emotion and intensity, while still feeling very real and believable.

The writing was excellent, the story was a beautiful medley of triumph and tragedy, and the historical aspects were fascinating. I highly, highly recommend The Flight Girls to readers of historical fiction.

Content:
Romance - passionate kissing, fade-to-black with some description before
Foul Language - infrequent swearing
Violence - wartime violence, death, and destruction; accidents involving planes

United States on Jul 08, 2023

Alma B.: I loved the story of women pilots who found their flying acumen took them on an adventure that WW II provided them. The love story that nearly didn’t get up in the air was slow to grown when fighting in the European front took them away from each other but provided a sweet life after her handsome man returned home.

Canada on Feb 19, 2023

Amazon Customer: Excellent read. We forget what the women did during the war. This book shows us a different aspect of war work.

Canada on Jan 26, 2023

Elaine: I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the women involved in the training of male pilots and in ferrying military aircraft during WWII. The fact that it took the US government 32 years to acknowledge these women shows how women's contributions were undervalued - and in many ways still are.

Canada on Dec 17, 2022

HallaW: This vivid and charming novel drew me in from the start. Planes have a mysterious appeal and to share that wonder with these strong female characters, finding out more about their incredible courage and work ethic, was utterly riveting.

Salazar’s prose is vivid and evocative but very easy to read and it took me to Hawaii and into the day-to-day lives of these heroic women. It was fascinating to learn what it was like for them, working in these dangerous and exhausting jobs without the benefits for them (and their families if they should die) of being part of the military. I’m not surprised that the women who actually know what it was like have praised Salazar for getting this aspect across.

The relationships felt real and well-developed and Salazar tugged on my heartstrings more than once! I look forward to reading more of her work. She has gained a fan in me.

United Kingdom on Nov 29, 2021

Amazon Customer: I really liked this book. I cried with them and laughed out loud with them . These women showed such courage and dedication in a "man's" world and proved their great abilities. The different personalities were well developed and they found a way to bring them all together so that each one stood out while blending in as part of a team. I did not want the book to end.

Canada on Nov 02, 2021

Savsandy: It seems I’ve run into a string of WWII era novels of late but I never tire of them, especially those featuring the brave women who did their part in the war effort and those who gave their all and paid the ultimate price. “The Flight Girls” by Noelle Salazar zeroes in on Audrey Coltrane who earned her wings at the
tender age of 14 at her father’s small airfield in Texas. All she’s ever wanted is to fly and hopefully, one day buy a little airfield back in Texas and build it into something better. So when the war breaks out in Europe she signs up to train military pilots in Hawaii.

As a military flight instructor Audrey had the opportunity to fly all types of aircraft; single and twin engines, transports, cargo planes, and even the fighter models. Audrey had the good fortune to be flying on December 7, 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked, for had she been on base, she most likely would not have survived as the airfields were brutally strafed and she would probably have been on the flight line.

When the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) was formed Audrey was in the first group to sign up. The varied aircraft she had flown gave her a leg up on many...

United States on Dec 16, 2019