Radar Girls: a great story about a forgotten piece of WWII history

Radar Girls by Sara Ackerman is a story inspired by the real women of the Women’s Air Raid Defense (WARDs). Daisy Wilder is a woman who prefers horses to people, bare feet and the ocean to high heels and parties. As an outsider, she was always told she wasn’t smart enough, wasn’t important enough. Then, in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack, she enlists in a top secret program. Under the constant fear of another invasion, the WARDs guide pilots into the blacked out airstrips and track unidentified planes across the Pacific skies. Not everyone is convinced the women are not smart enough to handle the job. They must rise above their differences to band together and work side by side, to show that a woman can do the task at hand. With the lives of the pilots, and America’s future on the line, Daisy is determined to prove herself worthy. She cannot fail, especially when the man she loves is among the pilots depending on her. 

Just when you think there are no more stories to be found from World War II, there comes the radar girls. When researching the women of WARD, the author came across a quote from one WARD, who said, “When the fly boys got lost, we brought them home.” A great statement to the important place these women had in the war effort and a place in our history.  Radar Girls is a beautiful story of determination, friendship and love in wartime. Set in the beautiful islands of Hawaii, the readers take a journey from radar towers on remote mountaintops to underground bomb shelters where these women answer the call of duty and help win the war. It is a story of self-discovery, to rise above the opinions of others that one is not good enough, to find strength and courage to prove them, and yourself, wrong. I loved all the characters who, by the end of the book, felt like family and dear friends, I was sad to see them go. I loved Radar Girls and highly recommend it. 

Radar Girls is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook.