The Flight Girls

By: Noelle Salazar

Narrated by: Stephanie Cannon

Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

A USA Today best seller.

A Publishers Weekly best seller.

A Woman's World best new book.

Inspired by the real team of female pilots who trained World War II soldiers, a stunning debut novel about friendship and its power to make us soar.

Audrey Coltrane has always wanted to fly. It is why she implored her father to teach her at the little airfield back home in Texas. It is why she signed up to train military pilots in Hawaii when the war in Europe began. And it is why she insists she is not interested in any dream-derailing romantic involvements, even with the disarming Lieutenant James Hart, who fast becomes a friend as dear as the women she flies with. Then one fateful day, she gets caught in the air over Pearl Harbour just as the bombs begin to fall, and suddenly, nowhere feels safe. 

Following the attack, Audrey struggles to reconcile her devastating losses - colleagues, friends and the piece of her heart she left in the air. She seizes the opportunity to join the Women's Airforce Service Pilots, hoping to make everything she's lost count for something.  

The fast friendships she forms with her fellow WASP women reignites a spark of hope in the face of a war that moves closer to home every day. When James goes missing in action, those bonds help her summon the courage to cross the front lines and give her the faith that they will return home - together.  

©2021 Noelle Salazar (P)2021 Hachette Audio UK

Critic reviews

"I read well into the night, unable to stop. The book is unputdownable." (Debbie Macomber, New York Times best-selling author)

"The Flight Girls captivated me from the first page and never let go...an epic love story, and a powerful tale of courage and sacrifice by the Women Airforce Service Pilots during WWII. A spectacular first novel." (Sara Ackerman, author of Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers and The Lieutenant's Nurse)

"Unforgettable and beautifully written.... Salazar masterfully weaves a story of female strength and friendship, with an emotionally resonant epic love story." (Jillian Cantor, author of The Lost Letter and In Another Time)

What a beautiful story

Brought to tears. A beautiful story of love and female friendship overcoming adversity. Although set in war time, not heavily focussed on this which was good.

A wonderful book, beautifully narrated.

Before listening to the book, I was a little shocked when I saw some one-star reviews (though in a tiny minority), with allegations of historical inaccuracy.

To those reviewers I say one thing. The only level of accuracy you need to concern yourself with is whether the storytelling of the author has hit your emotional hotspots. Do you swallow hard to stop yourself blubbing at those key points of desperation? Do you smile widely when what you want to happen does, though not in the way you expected? Do you find it difficult to stop reading or listening?

I loved this book. It was totally engaging and I would have listened to it in one go if I was able.

Noelle Salazar is a fantastic writer. Funny and romantic. A lover of life, and a purveyor of dreams.

Stephanie Cannon is something of a genius. She plays each character as if they were herself. Bravo.

If you’re reading this review before you commit to the book, please bypass the sad individuals who care more about typos than story. Buy the Audible book and cancel what you were doing.