She´s a pilot who´s always felt more at home soaring through the sky than down on earth. but since the Germans surrounded Stalingrad, Valya´s been forced to stay on the ground and watch her city crumble.

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FROM AMAZON: 16-year-old Valya knows what it feels like to fly. She's a pilot who's always felt more at home soaring through the sky than down on earth. But since the Germans surrounded Stalingrad, Valya's been forced to stay on the ground and watch her city crumble.

When her mother is killed during the siege, Valya is left with one burning desire: to join up with her older sister, a member of the famous and feared Night Witches-a brigade of young female pilots.

Using all her wits, Valya manages to get past the German blockade and find the Night Witches' base . . . and that's when the REAL danger starts. The women have been assigned a critical mission. If they succeed, they'll inflict serious damage on the Nazis. If they fail, they'll face death . . . or even worse horrors. ( )

After the Germans invaded Russia and surrounded Stalingrad, 16-year-old pilot, Valya, is "grounded" and can no longer do what she loves to do most -- fly. However, when her mother is killed during the siege of her city Valya knows what she must do, escape Stalingrad and join up with her older sister, a member of the famous Nigth Witches, a regimen of all women pilots, and help in the war efforts. Valya makes it past the German blockade and locates the Night Witches' secret base. As she arrives, the Witches have just been given orders to fly a critical mission that will inflict serious damage to the Nazis, but Valya's sister goes missing and she is torn between loyalty to country and loyalty to family. Lasky's action-packed historical novel will not disappoint you. For 6-12 grades. ( )

When this book was chosen for book club, I had no idea it was YA. I enjoyed it, but the story was a little simple. Now that I know there was such a thing as “Night Witches,” I’ll be looking for additional books. Good strong characters, but the story was too simple for me. ( )