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BOOK REVIEWS:
THE WOMAN IN THE WING
Reviewed on
Booksie's Blog
The Woman In The Wing is a
mystery that follows the adventures of Charlotte Mercer and other members of
the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) during World War II. This
organization, made up entirely of women, was loosely attached to the Air
Force and did routine flying missions within the United States, such as
delivering planes to new locations, or towing targets for gun practice, so
that male pilots in the Air Force would be freed for fighting missions
overseas. The women in the WASP were not considered full service people, and
had no benefits such as medical insurance or even money to cover funerals
when a woman died during a mission. Still, women flocked to serve as
opportunities to fly and serve the country were rare. Charlotte, know as
Char is crushed when weeks from getting her wings, she encounters a Air
Force Major who refuses to pass her for graduation unless she performs
sexual favors for him.
When Char refuses, she is taken off the flying rotation and given an
alternate assignment. She is assigned to work undercover in a plant that
builds aircraft, and that has been experiencing sabotage and accidents. Char
is to room with an FBI agent named Ellie, and they work at riveting plane
wings while trying to discover the spy responsible for the problems. People
start to die, both plant employees and women pilots, and the book revolves
around the investigation until the spy is captured at the book's climax.
This book is recommended, both for mystery fans and for those interested in
World War II history. While I'd heard of the stereotype of Rosie the Riveter
and the work these women performed, I had never heard of the WASP, and the
women who served their country in this fashion. I found the history as
interesting as the plotline and welcomed the chance to learn more about a
time that helped lay the groundwork for the women's liberation movement in
the next generation.
Reviewed by:
Kay Spang,
author of ‘Away Games’
Jean Sheldon’s, ‘The Women in
the Wing’, aptly depicts the role of women pilots and factory machinists
during WWII, who worked backstage and without social
recognition. Insightfully, Sheldon utilizes the ambitious and dedicated
characters of her book to set a metamorphic stage for the role of women
today.
…I found the story to be well
crafted, layered in mystery and suspense and the characters were believable
and likeable.
…I thoroughly enjoyed the
pictorial creations of the characters, their antics, personal demeanor and
clothing styles.
…I could easily relate to the
struggle of the women to make contributions and to the passion of the women
pilots to explore flight.
…I welcome the inclusion of
the book to libraries, where young children can round out their pursuit of
historical events. ( i.e. WASP and women in the workforce.)
Reviewed by Douglas R. Cobb
BESTSELLERSWORLD.COM
Like reading high-flying WWII
novels of adventure and mystery? Then Jean Sheldon's excellent page-turning book
The Woman In The Wing is a novel you're sure to enjoy! Sheldon, the
author of the popular mystery series featuring Chicago police Detective Kerry
Grant, sets this book also in Chicago, but during the WWII era. The
contributions women made to the war effort are often overlooked, but they made
many crucial contributions and sacrifices that greatly aided the Allies in their
defeat of Nazi Germany under Hitler. The Woman In The Wing chronicles the
emergence of the brave, gutsy, and determined women flyers who flew and
transported planes as the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) and the countless
numbers of "Rosie the Riveters" who worked building planes. Also, the main
character, Charlene (Char) Mercer, working at the fictional WASP airfield near
Douglas Aircraft (where O'Hare Airport is today), has to contend with ruthless
Nazi spies and the misogynist Major Deavers on her way to earning her Silver
Wings.
You might reasonably ask, "What does the title The Woman In The Wing
refer to?" After all, pilots fly the planes, one might reason, so
shouldn't the title be more like, say, The Woman In The Cockpit? I'm glad
you asked that question. Char, prevented from getting her Silver Wings (at
least, temporarily) by Major Deavers because she won't show how much she wants
to fly by having sex with him, instead is given the mission to work at Douglas
Aircraft as a riveter. Neither one knows that what she's really being asked to
do is to work with her partner, FBI Agent Ellie Frazier, posing as a riveter to
stop Nazi saboteurs bent on hampering the United States and its allies from
defeating Germany. Riveters worked as teams of two, one outside of the wing with
a riveting gun and one inside known as a "bucker" because she'd hold something
called a "buck board" against the holes where the rivets would go in. The one
inside would, literally, be a woman in the wing of a plane. Also, the title
likely refers to the fact that women had begun to play a larger role in the war,
rather than being relegated to being "in the wings."
The camaraderie that develops between Char and her fellow flight trainees and,
later, with her co-workers at Douglas Aircraft, helps give her and the other
characters in the novel an added amount of three-dimensionality that makes
whoever reads the books care for the characters more, and root for them to
succeed despite the many difficulties that confront them. Char applied to be a
WASP with her best friend, Maxine (Maxi) Davies, who shares her interest in
flying. A lot of men at the time wanted to see the WASP program fall on its
face, thinking unjustly that wars and flying airplanes are not ladylike
pursuits, and that women should not and weren't meant to be active participants
in such previously male-dominated arenas.
However, not all men were unenlightened Neanderthals, and some believed that a
woman could do and be anything she set her mind to being and doing. For
instance, there's Ellie's brother, the FBI Agent Dave Frazier, injured during
the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He grew up nurtured and surrounded by his
sisters and other women, and does all he can to making sure that Major Deavers
doesn't thwart Char's getting her Silver Wings. By being the love interest of
the WASP Commander Mathison, he also injects a bit of romance into this
intriguing historically based mystery novel.
The Woman In The Wing evokes a sense of the struggles and hardships women
had to endure to begin playing a more active part in WWII. Though a fictional
account of the WASP, Jean Sheldon's research of them was thorough, and she cites
many references at the end of her book for anyone who wants to learn more about
them. It's also a very suspenseful mystery, with enough Nazis, murders, and
sabotage to hold the interest of the most jaded mystery fans. The Woman In
The Wing is a book you'll want to add to your reading list today!
Charlene (Char) Mercer works as a
WASP on the airfield at Douglas Aircraft. She has to contend with Major
Deavers, a misogynist who stands in the way of her winning her silver wings. She
has refused to sleep with him.
Char is given an assignment to
work as a riveter at Douglas Aircraft. She has a partner, FBI agent Ellen
Frazer. They are to stop the Nazi saboteurs who are bent on hampering the U S
and Allies in their attempt to defeat Germany.
The Woman In the Wing
chronicles the story of the brave and determined women who flew and transported
planes as the Womens Air Force Service Pilots and of the "Rosie the Riveters"
who worked to build the planes. It is a suspenseful mystery with the Nazis,
murder and sabotage. But it also describes the struggle and hardship the women
had to endure to begin an active role in World War II. Many men wanted to see
the program fail, believing that flying was not "a woman's pursuit."
There are references at the end
of the book about the role of American women serving in World War II for any
reader who wants to know more.
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