THE SECRETS OF FLIGHT

Maggie Leffler

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Mary Browning has spent most of her life hiding from her past. Now, she is an 87 year old widow trying to live out her days in dignity.  Mary heads up a seniors writing group, since she is a published author of exactly one book, even though she has not submitted any writing to her group in a decade.  When 15 year old Elyse stumbles upon the writing group, Mary feels connected to Elyse and decides to hire Elyse to type her memoir.  Mary opens up to Elyse about her true identity-Miri Lichtenstein, and past- a Women’s Airforce Service Pilot during World War II.  As Mary rehashes her past, Elyse’s present is crumbling and they will need each other to keep hope.

This is one of those books that make me happy to read historical fiction, through Mary/Miri I learned of the brave women who were WASP’s.  Mary/Miri’s character grabbed me in both the past and the present.  Even as an 87 year old, Mary/Miri showed mettle, spunk and humor through her interactions; and even though she was still hiding her true identity, she never lost the personality of the determined teenager who risked everything to fly.  Miri’s character overcame a lot of diversity; she was discriminated against for being a woman and faced adversity for being Jewish. Eventually, this led to an entire identity change.  It was very interesting to read about Mary finally coming to terms with her true self as she delves into her past with Elyse.  On the other hand, Elyse was a typical 15 year old girl with typical teenage problems. Her character was well developed and does grow throughout the story, but I really wanted her to have more passion so there would be an even stronger bond between her and Mary.  The writing took me back and forth through time from WWII with Miri’s point of view to the present alternating between Mary and Elyse.  I do love a good dual time story, but every once in a while in the present, it took me a second to realize the point of view.  While I did see the overwhelmingly endearing ending coming from a mile away, it did wrap up everyone’s story very neatly and was very emotional and heartwarming.  Overall, a sweet historical fiction that focuses on finding your true self.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

What would it take to make your dreams happen?  When Miriam Lichtenstein (Miri) was a young girl in the early 1940’s, it meant becoming a ‘fly girl’.  Now many years later, Miri, known as Mary Browning, spots an announcement in the paper that Congress was preparing to award women who’d served as Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) during WWII.  Along with that article was a picture that Mary was familiar with … one that caused all the memories she’d buried to come flying back.  It was Murphee Sullivan, Grace Davinport, and Miri dressed in their flight suits standing alongside their plane, a Fairchild PT-19.

There’s a new girl that joins Mary’s writers group.  That, too, takes her back to the past because fifteen-year-old Elyse reminds Mary of her sister, Sarah, who she’d not seen since 1945.  Soon she begins to bargain with Elyse to write her memoir … tell her story of how she became a fly girl and how she served as a WASP.  What she didn’t expect was the close relationship that would build between her and Elyse.

Even though I really liked the character of Elyse, I felt her background overpowered the plot of Mary Browning and her past and her growing readiness to share that narrative in a memoir.  The story’s chapters alternated between Mary Browning, both now and when she was a young girl during WWII, and Elyse.  Mary’s personality was fun.  I loved her spunky and energetic spirit; I loved finding out the secrets she’d kept hidden for so many years; and I loved the connection which helped both her and Elyse to move forward.  Rating: 4 out of 5.

A decision made in the name of love reverberates decades later. That is the theme of The Secrets of Flight by Maggie Leffler. Told in alternating voices, the book weaves past and present into a story of how Mary Browning was once Miriam Lichtenstein. With a tenuous connection between past and present and a melodramatic ending, the book does not quite ring true, but it is still a quick and entertaining read.

Read my complete review at: Memories From Books - The Secrets of Flight

Reviewed based on a publisher’s galley received through Edelweiss