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Radar Girls  By  cover art

Radar Girls

By: Sara Ackerman
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
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Publisher's summary

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 listener to wartime Hawaii, where one woman's call to duty leads her to find courage, strength and sisterhood.

©2021 Sara Ackerman (P)2021 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited

What listeners say about Radar Girls

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Lovely inspiring WWII tale from an unusual perspective

Full disclosure: I am a sucker for pretty much any story set against the backdrop of either World Wars & also for the islands of Hawaii. Thus, perhaps I was predisposed to enjoy Radar Girls, no matter what, but on the other hand—I have read/listened to a LOT of books (both fiction & non-fiction) set against both World Wars & have acquired a decent frame of reference for parsing their relative merits.
We all know women were recruited into various jobs to replace the large numbers of men being sent off to fight. We’ve heard tales of women working in munitions & airplane factories, code breakers, and even spies.
Radar Girls presents women in wartime roles that I, at least, had never come across & it was very interesting. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a few Ben Affleck/Kate Beckinsale in the movie Pearl Harbor moments, but that’s okay.:)
The camaraderie among the women is sweet & the author did a good job presenting the challenges women would have faced at that time, although the resolution of some (like attempted sexual assault) is stretching suspension of disbelief a little too far. I WISH & hope things were resolved so neatly for such women, but since they aren’t taken seriously by the military even today, I think it was merely…well, fiction. :)
The narrator has a very soothing & pleasant voice & was a treat to have in my AirPods.
Overall, Radar Girls is a well-done, uplifting story & with an interesting side plot. I would recommend it to anyone.

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46 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Too predictable

I was hoping this book would be as interesting as Girls on the Line, or Beantown Girls. Is was too predictable and every storyline had its Hollywood ending.

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20 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Women’s Air Raid Defense was a real thing.

I enjoyed this story and was especially interested because both my parents served at Fort Shafter, my father in the Air Force and my mother served as a WARD, just after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was good hearing a bit about what their lives were like. The narrator’s voice was a bit weak for me but I wanted to hear the story so much I kept on with it.

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20 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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meh

It was just....meh.
I struggled to finish it and found the narrator to be a bit robotic. I do wonder if I would have preferred reading the book vs. listening via Audible. It isn't one that I'd recommend.

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15 people found this helpful

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Loved the narrators voice !

This book was a joy to listen to. I loved how much of it was centered around the relationships between the female characters.

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14 people found this helpful

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friendship formed through courage

a great historical fiction,Vowell written, well read and true to the time frame of Japanese and American War

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10 people found this helpful

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Appreciated this

I was an intelligence professional in the US Navy and for part of that time, stationed on Oahu. While I liked the story, I also appreciated getting a bit of the humanity behind my “predecessors” that makes them a bit more real. I also appreciated hearing about the places around the island that I was familiar with.

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6 people found this helpful

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so predictable.

I could not finish this book. It is a copy of every sappy romance novel that ever was written. If you know what I mean. Nothing new here. Don't waste your time.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • SK
  • 04-27-22

Disappointing Focus on Romance

I like much historical fiction, but I only got about 3/4 of the way through this book. The skeleton of the story was promising. The early broad brush of the protagonist was appealing. Experiencing the time and situation via that particular person had potential, as was the opportunity to learn about the role of the women serving as radar readers. But the historical fiction simply became a vehicle for a fairly predictable romance story. I was disappointed. If this was a physical book, I’d probably have flipped through to the end, sampling bits. Though I’m missing on particular details by not finishing the book, I didn’t feel like continuing the listening experience.

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4 people found this helpful

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A great story of growth, friendship and discovery

This was the first of Sara's books I listened to and I enjoyed it so much, it launched me into a binge on all her other titles! I loved hearing details about how radar works and the unique role the characters played in the war. It was also rich with descriptions of Hawaii.

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3 people found this helpful