Radar Girls
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An extraordinary story inspired by the real Women's Air Raid Defense, where an unlikely recruit and her sisters-in-arms forge their place in WWII history. Daisy Wilder prefers the company of horses to people, bare feet and salt water to high heels and society parties. Then, in the dizzying aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Daisy enlists in a top secret program, replacing male soldiers in a war zone for the first time. Under fear of imminent invasion, the WARDs guide pilots into blacked-out airstrips and track unidentified planes across Pacific skies. But not everyone thinks the women are up to the job, and the new recruits must rise above their differences and work side by side despite the resistance and heartache they meet along the way. With America's future on the line, Daisy is determined to prove herself worthy. And with the man she's falling for out on the front lines, she cannot fail. From radar towers on remote mountaintops to flooded bomb shelters, she'll need her new team when the stakes are highest. Because the most important battles are fought--and won--together. This inspiring and uplifting tale of pioneering, unsung heroines vividly transports the reader to wartime Hawaii, where one woman's call to duty leads her to find courage, strength and sisterhood. "Ackerman's winning historical novel is fast-paced and rife with nonstop action, romance, and suspense." --Publishers Weekly on The Lieutenant's Nurse
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Beautiful Story Of Life On Hawaii Between Pearl Harbor and Midway. This is one of those books where you almost audibly hear Faith Hill singing through parts, particularly the obligatory romance subplot - and particularly its later stages. Fortunately the romance subplot is well done yet mostly muted in favor of showing the women's bonds and work, which was an area of WWII I'd never heard of. Specifically, while college football player men were being rounded up to bolster island security forces, these ladies - both natives and those there because their husbands were already military - were being recruited (almost drafted, really) to man the very radar stations that had failed to realize what the Japanese were on that fateful morning in December 1941. It is actually on that morning that our story opens, with main character Daisy “borrowing” a horse and going skin diving for subsistence... when she witnesses an air battle directly above her. The story then spends most of its time in the next few months, culminating in the Battle of Midway from the perspective of these “Radar Girls”. (And following with the obligatory post-war epilogue.) Beautifully written and full of heart, this is one that fans of historical fiction / WWII fiction will definitely love, and readers of all types should read even if it isn't normally your thing. Very much recommended.
Funny story. I requested this book from the library in preparation for our upcoming book group meeting. It arrived and I read a bit. What? It's Rae's choice, I remembered. Rae is a thoughtful reader. Why would she have chosen this book?
I thought about this, and I thought about this, and days passed, and soon it was just a day or two before the meeting. I had an unexpected afternoon free, and off I went.
Then I got to swimming class, and one of the members of our book club was talking about how carefully she had to read the book. Carefully? The book was published by Harlequin, I thought. Finally, I spoke up, and told her I'd read the book in a couple of hours. Our book club book? she asked. Yes, I said, Radar Girls. Nope, she said as she shook her head. Radio Girls.
Oops.
