Title: Radar Girls
Author: Sara Ackerman
Publication: July 27, 2021
Publisher: MIRA
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 368
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
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.
REVIEW:
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
This book recently came across my email from a publisher for their summer reads request. I was so excited to read it since while I have read lots of other books about WW 2, I haven’t really read many about Pearl Habor and the American woman’s participation in the war. I was looking forward to reading it and expand my knowledge of this subject.
Daisy is a tom-boy. She prefers pants to dresses and wears very little make-up. She is the glue that is attempting to hold her mother together after her father tragically passed away. She is on the beach when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. She is discovered by a General who thinks that she would be a perfect person to be a Radar Girl. She would be an officer in the military and would help track all of the planes in the area. Along the way she starts to fall a local boy that she has known forever. Becoming a Radar Girl changes her life in ways that she never could have possibly imagined. The book was absolutely amazing. I devoured it. I found the American side of WW2 fascinating. Most of the books I have read deal with the Holocaust or are from a British perspective but I think this is one of the few books I have read that deal with America and how it propelled us into WW2.
I loved the character of Daisy. She was self-reliant on herself and it was hard for her to let other people in. To watch her character unfold as she opened up herself to her new friends was so nice. I did think that the relationship that she had with her mother was odd. She called her mother Louise and not Mom. I know that their relationship was strained after her father died but still. I really liked how Daisy compared working with horses with being with people. She used what she knew about them and applied it in a different situation and in most cases, she was always right. Reading this book has made me want to take a trip to Hawaii. While I have always wanted to go, my hubby hates sun and sand, I definitely want to make it a bucket list trip. I want to experience Pearl Harbor for myself and lose myself on the beaches and find out the histories of the islands. I loved this author so much that I will make it a point to read some of the other books by her. I think they all are based in Hawaii.
STAR RATING: 5/5
Pick up your copy of Radar Girls by Sara Ackerman on Amazon, Barnes and Noble or check your local bookstore. Also make sure to add it to your To Reads list on Goodreads and leave feedback for the author when you are finished. You can check out more from author Sara Ackerman on her website here.
