Frances Finkel and the Passenger Pigeon

This historical, YA book takes the reader on a journey of belief in oneself, the ambition to reach for ones dreams. An entertaining tale, the sort that sweeps you up, that History and English teachers should urge students to read in school. Newly published on 17 April 2022, I found this an interesting and compelling read, one for fans of YA and historical fiction, for enthusiasts of aviation during WW1 and WW2, and for youngsters yearning to reach out and grab their dreams. Frances Finkel knew what she wanted, she believed and worked hard to overcome the obstacles.

It was not an overly long read but it swept me up straight away and kept me captivated throughout, perfect for teen readers. The writing ran easily, with expertly illustrated landscapes that I wished to physically be in. The descriptions of the flights and the aircrafts pulled the reader right into the scenes; these were strong aspects of the novel for me, along, of course, with the distinctive subject of female pilots flying as part of the war effort and the interesting and scarcely heard of US Army Pigeon Service, with the technical details displaying the author’s obvious knowledge.
Over the years, I have read many articles on the female ferry pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) in Great Britain during WW2, and so reading this novel from the perspective of a young American woman, who was more than capable for the job, was a refreshing and intriguing read; I am sure to enjoy reading more of ‘Project Peanut’, Nancy Love and the WASPS further. It was also an interesting insight into the passenger pigeon and the Pigeon service utilised during the war. While many bestselling or popular YA books are fantasy or romance, I would encourage any young reader to pick fiction exactly like this up; based on history, on remarkable actions, during serious times but highlighting the inspiring feats achieved by those in the past.

I normally prefer books written in the third person narrative voice, like this one is, however, I found myself thinking that it may have been more fulfilling to have this particular tale told in first person; I wanted to grab a stronger, more connective sense of the main character, Frances, especially in her thoughts and emotions with her recent experience involving her brother, her family history and relationship with them, though her courageous journey, in the face of her grief and feelings of obligation to family vs desires to reach for her dreams, was fascinating enough to keep me attached. While the readers’ imagination is open (there are certainly hints there) to what Frances’ future holds, I admit I found the ending paragraph abrupt and on the subject of an underdeveloped thread. The planes, Frances’ love of flying, her pigeon Easter, would all have been ideal, impactful aspects of the tale to close on.

Overall, an appealing tale tailored to teenage girls but one with a premise sure to also inspire aviation and historical fiction admirers. Throwing light on the contributions women pilots in America made to the war, D. M. Mahoney has a wonderful tale here that I am sure many would enjoy.

This book is a gem. A story with positive things that happen with the main character. Not that Fran doesn't have her bumps along the way. It's an interesting story of the history of women pilots and pigeoneers as well. Beautifully told story of a girl who grew up in Oregon helping her father fix planes, test them and train others to be pilots. She had more experience than most entering the war in flying, with the bonus of being a mechanic. She had wanted to help in the war effort and couldn't understand why, if she had these talents, she couldn't use them because she was female. Then she saw a magazine article about a debutant who had gotten her pilot license and was ferrying planes. Fran's journey is an interesting one, with special people along the way to learn about as well. Adventures, love, loss, romance, travel, new professional lessons and highs. Excellent read.

I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
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