If you've always wanted an insight into the life of a flight attendant - Fly Girl is the perfect novel to unfold the mystery of what happens behind the scenes.
Ann Hood's first hand recount informs the reader of what it was like to work in the golden age of flight, when she worked as a flight attendant on TWA. A flight attendant's job may appear to be glamorous, but Hood lifts the lid of her journey from applying to actually working up in the skies. Whilst there isn a lot of gossip or entertaining stories - it's a simple, entertaining read.

A joy of a book! I love Ann Hood’s novels and was equally transfixed by Fly Girl, the story of her adventures and life as a stewardess/flight attendant, after college and before publishing her first novel. A childhood of family trips inspired her interest in flying so working as a stewardess seemed a natural choice. And it was definitely the hot job at that time for young women who wanted to travel (and according to the advertising, those who were looking for a husband)!
In Fly Girl, Ms. Hood entertains and informs us with history and anecdotes about the old days of flying: free gourmet and multi-course meals, playing cards with the airline’s logo, smoking sections, etc. She also took us behind the scenes into what the life of a stewardess was really like, with a number of elements that are likely still common today.
Thanks to Netgalley and W.W. Norton & Company for the opportunity to read Fly Girl in exchange for an honest review.

I adored reading Ann's memoir of her travels and tribulations as a flight attendant for TWA. Ann transports us back to the glamorous beginnings of commercial aviation where she worked both nationally and internationally. She is an inspiration to us all, not least to aspiring writers!

Soooo fascinating! I actually hate flying and am terrified to, but this book made me feel a bit better about it :) I think it’s unreal to think about the amenities that used to be on flights compared to today where it’s all about profit. Great memoir!

Ann Hood proves, once again, that there is no genre she can't handle, moving with ease between novels to memoirs to essays to YA. She has a gift for emotional resonance without pretension or self-consciousness that is a treasure in everything she writes for every reader who gets to read her work.

Thught the book would be more enjoyable. Had to put it down.
Interesting book idea, but it dragged too slowly for me.

I'm sure others will love it, just not for me.

As a former flight attendant I was eager to get my hands on this memoir. It was worth the wait. A thorough and well researched memoir by former flight attendant turned author, Ann Hood, this was a great trip down memory lane!

Fly Girl is a great sneak peak into the world of flight attendants, especially the time of transition from being a well-paid career to being a treated (and paid) as a basic service job.

My only complaint was the repetition found chapter to chapter. Editing that out would make for a much better book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

This is the first memoir that I've read, and it did not disappoint! Ann Hood was able to take the reader with her on her journey of becoming a flight attendant and the different responsibilities and scenarios she had to live through. I am an avid traveler and I know that being a flight attendant isn't easy, so it made reading her experiences even more interesting. Learning about her training, the changing regulations they had to navigate and all the moments she had as a flight attendant both on the plane, and off, was fascinating. This book definitely gave me even more appreciation for flight attendants and all that they deal with.

3 nostalgic stars
“Life unfolds on airplanes.”

Dreams of traveling the world led Ann Hood to apply for flight attendant positions after college. She takes us through the rigorous application process. From weight checks, where a pound could be cause for dismissal, to airline deregulation, Hood tells the story of her becoming a TWA flight attendant in the late 1970s. She gives a brief history of ‘stewardesses.’ I enjoyed these historical details tremendously. Flight attendants had to be single until 1968, could not have children until 1970. People could smoke cigarettes on planes until 1990.

Occasionally, details bogged the story progression down. The ‘plot’ follows a few years in a notable period of air travel. ‘Characters’ we meet on a flight are not heard from again. That’s the nature of this transitory industry. We hear often how Ann loves her job. It is far more than a glorified waitress job. There are furloughs and strikes and airlines going bankrupt. No personal disasters and only mention of airline hijackings or crashes. Lots of drinks are served, a few spilled. Like on planes, usually not much happens. Nonetheless, we keep flying because hope might meet us at the destination gate.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a delightful taste of nostalgia! From the beginning to the end, story after story kept me entranced. Living history. A great read for anyone who has ever wondered about the life of a flight attendant.

One of my favorite books is “The Book that Matters Most” by Ann Hood. So, I was amazed to read that before being a writer, Ann Hood was a flight attendant. In this memoir, we hear her story of what it meant and all the hard work involved being a flight attendant (not a stewardess) during the era when they were looked upon as mere Barbie dolls on an airplane that would serve you a drink and a meal and make your flight pleasant. And doing so while walking in those heels! Amazing. I thought it interesting to hear how this role has evolved through the years and that this job was more than a glorified waitress, as many of her friends stated, but truly a job of many dimensions. The reaction of the high school counselor to Ann’s career goal of first a writer, and then a flight attendant was very telling. I enjoyed all the anecdotes but would have enjoyed even more. Well written but not a page turner. It was a good read and informative.

Many thanks to #netgalley #annhood #flygirl for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Really interesting memoir about author's experience being a TWA stewardess; so many great stories and bits to share with the reader. It was such a different time for travel! Most enjoyable and eye opening.

Fly Girl was a fun read - a real life Flight Attendant tells her story of how she got into the business - and things certainly were different in the times of PanAm and flying as a luxury!

You may have heard of American author Ann Hood. But have you met Ann Hood, flight attendant?

Ann’s latest release is a memoir of her time as a flight attendant in the 1970s. She smartly explains the history of the career and the jaw-dropping sexist standards in addition to her personal experiences and the effect it had on her life, growing her into the strong, confident, established woman and writer she is today.

Like Ann, I love the coziness aboard a flight, often finding myself easily falling asleep. I still get giddy when I feel my head thrust back into the seat as the nose of the plane rises into the air. I imagine little angels dancing and playing on the clouds as we soar high above. It really wasn’t a question of when I read the book. I wanted to wait for my next trip – a 5 hour flight from TPA to LAX and back.

As we flew, and as I progressed through the book, I observed each flight attendant. I took note of their well-trained pragmatics, their adherence to the standard set by those before them. I watched as they moved up and down the aisle, through the concourses, and of course, compared the uniforms to Ann’s description of her beloved uniform. I no longer wonder what is packed into their small carry-on bags. The answer is: everything. I have a new-found incredibly high respect for their responsibilities and their training. These men and women are capable of saving our lives, calming us in a moment of panic or sadness, or providing us a pleasant experience no matter how impatient, judgmental, or crass a passenger may be.

Ann takes us through the highs and lows of training. She highlights the impact of the unions and deregulation of airlines. The life lessons learned. The people she met and the world she experienced. I have to admit I would love a bit more expansion on 47F or a few other passenger encounters. I no less found myself enthralled. I teared up as I read of the gentleman with the Christmas presents and the one who lost their family, including Ann. I sat enraged at the disgusting mistreatment of young, professional women in the not-so-distant-past. I also found moments of my husband looking at me questioningly on several occasions as I giggled away.

All in all, I enjoyed every minute of it. It’s a quick, easy read for anyone fascinated with women’s history, travel, air travel, or memoirs.

I also recommend her Treasure Chest series where “History meets Mystery”, but that’s a review for another day.

https://www.mockingowlroost.com/blog/2022/05/27/the-mockingowl-roost-fly-girl/

Ann Hood writes a wonderful memoir of her time as a flight attendant until the 1980s. She discusses the difficulties of going against her family's wishes for her to be a teacher, as well as jumping through the hoops to become an attendant. She even talks about some of the funny (and weird!) people she met while traveling.

It was very interesting to go back and read some of the history of flight attendants and where Ann Hood came from. At times, the book felt repetitive but it pulls you in from the start.

Thank you NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

It's interesting timing that the book, Fly Girl, would be released after the HBO binge-worthy show, Flight Attendant. Though the timing is likely fortuitous, it will likely help the book get traction. I have read Ann Hood's books and columns since my daughter was a toddler (a long time ago), and have always enjoyed them. I like her introduction that says something like, "When I start a story with "when I was a flight attendant', people are always interested. (I paraphrased).

The book is a coming-of-age story revealing what it was like to want to be a flight attendant in the 1960s and what the realities were. In fact, to this young woman, the realities were very glamorous and some of the abhorrent "Mad Men" behavior was the price to be paid. It is also the story of the same young woman developing into a writer. Both traveling the world and writing are dreams that Ms. Hood attained. These dreams were achieved by her work, determination, and confidence to pursue them.

It was a good read.

3.5 Insight To The Field Stars
* * * 1/2 Spoiler Free
As someone who was a flight attendant, I was totally drawn to this book. This gives insight into the industry and also how it has grown and changed over the years.

This book was not what I thought it was going to be. There was too much information on the history of flying and flight attendants. Although, there were some stories I thought interesting, funny, even sad as to how women were perceived in the early days of commercial flying. The book just did not hold my attention.

I've enjoyed Ann Hood's fiction in the past, and she writes just as clearly and elegantly in this non-fiction account of her time as a flight attendant. I learned so much about the era and the duties and responsibilities of a flight attendant. I'll never look at that man or woman in the aisle in the same way.

At the same time, there's a lot of personal introspection that is very appealing. Overall it was a great read, and I kept coming back to it eagerly.