Mar. 17-31, 2020
Looking for a page-turner while you’re stuck inside? Our Driftwood editors and faculty advisor will be passing on some of her favorite light reading picks to pass the time while cooped up at home.
Ms. Rysavy recommends: The Huntress
by Kate Quinn
While most of the Allied countries during WWII prevented women from flying in combat, did you know that Russia had an elite squadron of female bomber pilots? Flying bare-bones, open-cockpit Polikarpov bi-planes, Russia’s all-women 588th Night Bomber Regiment dropped more than 23,000 tons of bombs on Nazi targets. Because of the whooshing sound their plywood planes made as they flew overhead—and their formidable skill in finding their targets—the Nazis called them die nachthexen, or “the Night Witches.” Even while enduring freezing temperatures in their open-cockpit planes, hand-me-down uniforms, and a lack of the parachutes and radio or navigation equipment the male pilots had, the 588th would become the most decorated regiment in the Soviet Air Force.
The Huntress focuses on Nina Markova, who leaves her whole life behind to join the Night Witches. Stranded behind enemy lines after an otherwise successful mission, she becomes the target of a lethal Nazi assassin, the Huntress. Their cat-and-mouse chase takes them from Russia through Europe and to Massachusetts, where they will have their final confrontation.
This book features edge-of-your-seat pacing, deft plotting, fascinating historical detail, and a courageous bisexual heroine to admire and root for.
To learn more about the Night Witches, you can also check out the free e-books and videos available virtually through our campus library website, including the documentary film Wasps and Witches: The Women Pilots of WWII.
The Huntress focuses on Nina Markova, who leaves her whole life behind to join the Night Witches. Stranded behind enemy lines after an otherwise successful mission, she becomes the target of a lethal Nazi assassin, the Huntress. Their cat-and-mouse chase takes them from Russia through Europe and to Massachusetts, where they will have their final confrontation.
This book features edge-of-your-seat pacing, deft plotting, fascinating historical detail, and a courageous bisexual heroine to admire and root for.
To learn more about the Night Witches, you can also check out the free e-books and videos available virtually through our campus library website, including the documentary film Wasps and Witches: The Women Pilots of WWII.