I cannot believe this book hasn't gotten more hype! Eyes Turned Skyward was a remarkable WW2 historical fiction story of mother-daughter relationships, love, and family. It was told in a dual timeline through a woman and her mom, which proved to create such depth to the story. What a thought-provoking and wonderful story was woven between its pages. So much so that I found the book unputdownable and sad to turn the final page. There was a lot I learned and many takeaways, which is always a win when it comes to hist fic. I was especially inspired by the women's strength and tenacity. Truly it checked all the boxes for what makes for a stand-out read for me, and I couldn't have been more impressed by Alena Dillon's writing. I am eager to read more by her!

Many thanks to William Morrow and Netgalley for the gifted e-copy!

This was such a wonderful story of family love, learning, and mother-daughter relationships. Kathy is struggling to be the soul provider for her family by returning to work when her husband is laid off, all the while caring for her ailing mother. When a Congressional Medal ceremony invitation arrives, she begins to learn more about the courage and fighting spirit of her mother, as she had served as a WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilot). Kathy learns a whole other side to her mother which helps foster the relationship and understanding between the two. Classic historical fiction, it is also a great example of family dynamics, and how not everything is as easily explained when secrets abound. I'm a fan of historical fiction, so enjoyed this one! Thanks so much to Alena Dillon, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this e-arc!

Loved this book! This historical story was told in dual timeline via Kathy and her mom, Peggy. In present time, Kathy’s husband lost his job and Kathy is just starting back in the workforce as a nurse. Then her mom breaks her hip and the story evolves as Kathy struggles caring for her obstinate mom and her new job all while dealing with her husband and her siblings. In the process, she find out her mom might have a hidden past. Peggy, back in 1944, had joined the WASPs to help fight World War II. I enjoyed both storylines in this novel. It was a nice mix of complex mother-daughter relationships and historical fiction .

This was a very insightful and thought provoking book. I look forward to more by this author. I enjoyed the writing style and thought the story was great.

This is an amazing historical fiction story that was told so well! It is not the first genre of book I usually pick, but I am grateful to have had the chance to check this one out!!

I enjoyed reading this historical story. This is a new author for me which I really enjoyed and look forward to seeing what is next for her. I enjoyed how the author used her writing skills to pull me into the world of history where women are the heroes. I found this book to be well written and hard to put down. A story that pulls at your heart strings and characters creative with emotions. I enjoyed how they pulled me into the story from the start. They have great growth and I had no problems picturing myself being a part of their world. This is a fast paced, hard to put down story that you don't want to miss. I highly recommend this book.

Peggy learned to fly from her crop-dusting father, although neighbors wouldn’t hire a woman for the job. When an opportunity to help her country came up at the outset of WWII, Peggy signed up for the WASP program. She endured a rigorous training program and was trained to fly military aircraft as many other pilots were sent overseas. Kathy, Peggy’s daughter. Kathy is going through some big changes, returning to the workforce as a nurse now that her children are grown and her husband is unemployed. Peggy’s health has started to fail, and Kathy is the closest child so caring for her falls to Kathy. This book is a mix of historical fiction, mother-daughter relationships, and caring for aging parents.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy!

Eyes Turned Skyward by Alena Dillon

As I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, I love historical fiction. Add in a dual timeline and I have to read it. This book was no exception.

1940’s- Peggy joins the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS) and the things she went through for this were incredible. I never knew about this group!

2010- Peggy’s daughter Beth is doing her best as a working mom, caring for her aging mother, and her husband is unemployed. When her mother receives a surprise invitation, Beth learns of her WASP service, which changes everything for this mother daughter dynamic.

Thank you @alena.dillon, @williammorrowbooks , and @letstalkbookspromo for the gifted copy of EYES TURNED SKYWARD and for including me in this wonderful book tour!

Thoughts 💭: There are far too few in between narratives about women who participated during conflicts and war as anything other than as nurses and caretakers.

Dillon’s powerful novel speaks about complex and nuanced mother-daughter relationships are. We meet the main character, Kathy Begley who is the primary caretaker of her mother, as well as, her husband who has been recently laid off. Moreover, she is returning to work life after 2 decades and dealing with a difficult boss. To her surprise, she learns about her mother, Peggy Mayfield’s past as a Woman Airforce Service Pilot, and was one of the first women to fly military airplanes. At this time, she broke barriers and wore men’s uniforms, studied, and fell in love with her life of adventure. To make sure her mother’s achievements are recognized, Kathy makes sure that they are recognized. This novel is memorable to speaks to untold tales of female heroism, reconciliation, and transformation of misogyny.

This novel spoke to me at a personal and emotional level. I used to think that because she was only staying at home, her sickness was because she wasn’t doing something in her life. Looking back, of course I was thinking naively and wanted to blame her sickness to something (which didn’t make sense, but that’s what grief does I guess). After all, she had a successful PhD in organic chemistry. However, after she left us, I somehow found on her iPad that she had been applying for jobs even while she was sick. It made me realize that often as children, we underestimate our parents. I wish I could have reconciled as we were always at odds about this issue, but alas. Families are complicated and I miss and love her deeply. I am equally grateful that I had her in my life for as long as I did.

If you love dual timeline historical fiction mixed with complex mother-daughter relationships, this book is for you. And it certainly was for me.

In the 1940s, Peggy helps operate her father's crop dusting business, learning to fly at his side. When the call goes out for women to help support the military growth needed to fight WWII, Peggy jumps at the chance to do more and becomes one of the first women to join the WASP - the Women Aiforce Service Pilots. The work of these women and the training they went through was fascinating and impressive.

In present day (2010), Peggy's daughter Beth is juggling family demands - an unemployed husband, an aging mother, and a new nursing in a doctor's office. And Beth knows nothing about her mother's prior service until an unexpected invitation arrives at her mother's door step.

I loved the dynamics between Peggy, bold and demanding, and Beth, compassionate and hard working. As more is revealed, the two develop a heartwarming bond and deeper understanding of one another. I thoroughly enjoyed the two perspectives and, as always, learning about the WASP and the camaraderie and adventure was captivating.

I highly recommend this one to all historical fiction fans for its excellent portrayal of women's roles both then and now, their sometimes overlooked responsibilities and accomplishments.

A very thoughtful novel of the examined life, and what it means to truly live. It also is a great reminder that people aren't always what they seem - there are layers to them, and they may be hiding a most spectacular secret.
This is the first novel I have read by Alena Dillon, and I was pleasantly surprised. This book is a excellently researched, and it felt like I was there in WWII. Wonderful, captivating writing and original plot gives this novel the depth and ability to pull in any reader. I enjoyed this novel and anyone who is a fan of WWII feminine novels will enjoy this.

4 1/2 stars

This book provides an interesting look at the history of the first American women allowed to fly US military aircraft during WWII. These young women had to prove their mettle and demonstrate their ability to handle massive military planes and understand all the necessary science behind how they work, including routing, maintenance, weather, and more. The women went through seven months of intense training; that training was at least as rigorous, if not more so, than the male recruits underwent.

The characters were varied and relatable, and followed from their time in the service into the 1970s. These women were willing to put their lives on the line; they were extremely patriotic and determined to do all they could to help win the war. Despite the patriarchal society that did much to hold them back, these women stepped forward in their nation’s time of need, did what they were allowed, and then were dropped without any recognition for their service. It was sad to know just how much these women had to sacrifice, to the point of having to pay their own way home when they were dismissed, to needing to take up collections to pay for the transportation of coffins of those women who died.

The book also looks at the long-term effect of their service on their families. It shows secrets kept over years and the heartbreak of loss. It demonstrates how each person has their own personality and skills, and how you can’t expect them to be someone else.

While this book focuses primarily on the characters and the history of what they were doing, it also includes a theme of romance. I believe I’d primarily classify it as a character study, followed by historical, followed by romance.

I really enjoyed this book.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley. I thank all involved for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions expressed in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

This dual time narrative explores two women and their roles in a male dominated career.
Kathy begins a new job - with an unemployed husband and acting as primary caretaker to her ailing mother, Kathy needs to the socialization. And the money. But her boss is a man. One who fails to care about boundaries.
Discovering her mother's time as a woman air pilot, Kathy finds empathy for her mother.
Peggy lived an amazing life as a WASP - freedom, seizing the chance to have purpose, she grasped this opportunity to show what she could do.
Very emotional and touching story about a mother and daughter.

This is a beautiful historical fiction story that sheds light on the amazing heroism of women during WWII when they were called to action to the WASP to help the military when the men were needed on the war front but planes still needed to be flown in the States. It is told from the dual point of views and alternating timelines of the mother when she was the fearless female pilot during a time when female pilots were acknowledged for their service and the daughter who discovered her mom’s life long secret. It is more than just a historical fiction but also pulls back the layers of the rawness in the relationship between a mom and daughter when the roles are reversed, shedding light on the powerfulness of how perspectives shape a relationship, and sometimes those perspectives are changed when roles are changed later in life. In addition to bringing to the forefront the sacrifices these women made during the war and the years it took to get the deserved recognition. This is an emotional and powerful story. Make sure to have a tissue box nearby.

I loved this book, the characters and the storyline! Told through a dual timeline story, we follow the life of Peggy during WWII and as she is in her octogenarian years with her family trying to understand why their mothers was the way she was and finding out a past that may just explain everything. Peggy was never one to follow the ladylike rules and jumping at an opportunity to get her out of the town where everyone looked down her, she takes a chance to take what she loves and put it to use. Flying! Having taken over crop dusting for her father, she feels she is already qualified and is excited for this opportunity. Finding herself while she does what she loves, she is still reminded every day that she is a female and that her work does not matter, it is only temporary. Decades later, when a wrong is being righted, Peggy isn't sure she wants to acknowledge what she did and was during the war, but her family has made the decision for her and it may just be what she needs to heal. This was such a good read about the WASP women and what they all had to endure. Thank you to Let's Talk Books Promo for the invite and to the publisher and author for the free novel!

A dual timeline historical novel about the Woman Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of WWII. I haven't read a historical fiction book in a little while, I was getting slightly burnt out on them but this one piqued my interest because I had not heard of the WASP. Ultimately, I didn't feel the dual timelines worked for me. There were a lot of holes in terms of Peggy's life as a WASP and then as a mother that I wanted to know more of so that her character would feel more whole to me. I enjoyed the historical parts of it and seeing Peggy as a mother showed a different side of her but I wanted to continue learning about the WASP women - I would've even liked more detail. I also would have liked more insight into her marriage to the Colonel and why they made some of the decisions they did about divulging their past. I guess the present day did show that sexism and gender roles still play a part in women's lives now as they did a generation ago as well but I would have preferred to just have more time with the WASPs.

Kathy is carrying her family., both by taking care of her ill mother, and her out of work husband. She finally gives in and get herself a job, even if she does have to deal with her highly inappropriate boss. Little did she know, her mother was a WASP, one of the first American women to fly airplanes for the military. Now that her mom Peggy is facing the end of her life, she is looking back on her regrets from the past.

Alena Dillon can do no wrong. Seriously, though, she is such an amazing writer. I was fascinated by the story of Peggy and her time as a WASP. I grew to love her and the women she flew with, and I truly felt every good, bad, happy, and sad moment. I also really felt for Kathy to. Her husband drove me a little nuts, and I completely understood her frustration with the life she had built. The entire situation of the WASPs being used when men weren’t available, but dropped as soon ad the men came back infuriated me. While it’s a bit different, this book definitely got me ready to vote this coming Tuesday! (Review written the first week of November)

In present day, Kathy Begley has returned to work after two decades after her husband has been laid off and the children are grown and out of the house. Her elderly mother has just had a hip replacement and is being transferred to a rehab center.

Then a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony invitation arrives in the mail, and Kathy learns that her mother Peggy had a secret life she never shared with her daughter. In WWII, Peggy had been a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP).

Peggy had grown up flying with her father and then joined him in his crop-dusting business. So, when the opportunity presented itself to become a WASP she jumped at it.

I enjoyed this dual-timeline story (1944 and 2009) with its history and family dynamics. This is a story many of us encounter, that of not recognizing our mothers had a life before we were born. I loved that Kathy was determined to get her mother the recognition she deserved, even though her mother denies being a WASP.

I really liked Kathy as she had empathy for the patients and was able to deal with her highly inappropriate boss. She was a strong woman, much like her mother. Peggy was a bit harder to like. But one must remember that everyone deals differently with what hand has been dealt to them. Those experiences helped shape the wife and mother she became. The dynamics between mother and daughter were actually the core of the story.

Dillon did some great research in order to provide us with a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the WASPs. These were some tough women! Since male pilots were all in Europe fighting the war, women were recruited and trained to fly non-combat missions, but sometimes they got caught in dangerous situations.

I recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction and mother-daughter stories.

Pilot Jacqueline “Jackie” Cochran had an idea as the world was poised on the brink of war in 1939. If women were recruited and trained to serve as pilots flying non-combat missions, more male pilots would be available for combat missions and to perform other necessary duties. The Woman Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) ultimately boasted 1,074 members who tested, trained, and flew a whopping sixty million miles. But efforts to grant them military status were defeated in Congress, and all remained civilians lacking the recognition and benefits conferred upon veterans.

As Alena Dillon’s Eyes Turned Skyward opens in 2009, Kathy Begley has secured a position as a nurse in a busy obstetrics-gynecology practice. Although she has been out of the workforce for twenty years, during which she raised a son and daughter, she maintained her licensure and kept up to date on medical advancements. Her husband, Neil, is a victim of America’s economic crisis. Having been laid off his job, he is moping around the house and growing more despondent as his prospects for another high-paying job dim. More than his personal hygiene is suffering. The stress is pushing the couple apart. Kathy is growing tired of Neil’s surprisingly chauvinistic attitude about money and her return to work, something she is looking forward to after spending two decades as a homemaker and mother. Neil is uncharacteristically resentful, which Kathy chalks up to pride and frustration that he has been unable to secure a job comparable to the one he lost.

Kathy’s three brothers all moved away, making her the primary caregiver for their mother, Peggy Mayfield, who is now eight-seven years old. Because their father, William, who died fifteen years ago, was a colonel, they moved numerous times growing up. Kathy marveled at how Peggy kept the family on track, setting up households in varied locales and getting the kids settled into new schools, in addition to being a gregarious hostess. But Peggy also had a dark side, and sometimes disappeared. To Kathy, her mother frequently seemed haunted. She “often looked at Kathy as if she saw somebody else and spoke to her as if she hoped a different voice might respond,” but Kathy never understood why.

Now Peggy is unable to continue living alone, and one of Kathy’s brothers pulls strings to secure a spot for her in an assisted living facility. The brothers insist that Kathy be the one to break the news to Peggy, but when she finally finds the courage, Peggy predictably, and vociferously, refuses to go. She also declines to undergo life-saving surgery, a decision that will eventually prove fatal. In a moment of weakness, Kathy agrees that Peggy can live with her and Neil, intending it to be a temporary arrangement.

Suddenly, Kathy finds herself trying to balance her responsibilities, including the demands of a new job, including her immediate realization that she is working for a man who engages in inappropriate commentary in the workplace related to both age and gender. With Neil unemployed, Kathy needs to work, and the combination of her age and having been out of the workforce for two decades make the prospect of finding another position especially challenging. She is also trying to hold onto her marriage and restrain her resentment about Neil’s reluctance to help more with household tasks now that she is working full-time while he remains at home. Still, she is happy that he has returned to woodworking, a hobby he enjoys and she encourages. She feels alone and isolated when navigating and responding to her mother’s needs, as well as the demands of her pushy, know-it-all brothers who want to manage the situation from a distance rather than show up and help in person.

In a dual narrative, Dillon takes readers back to 1943. Peggy Lewis was just eight years old when her father, who ran a crop-dusting service, began teaching her to fly. So she was an experienced pilot when she learned that women were being trained to fly military aircraft. “She was called to higher altitude, where she could look down at the world where she never quite belonged” and determined to join the WASP, even if it meant going to Sweetwater, Texas, seven hundred miles from home and her beloved parents, for the seven-month training. Only eight percent of the applicants were accepted, but Peggy met all of the qualifications. She struggles to reach the one-hundred-pound weight requirement, but with clever assistance from Georgia, a fellow applicant, she barely manages to tip the scale at ninety-nine point seven pounds and convince the doctor to round it up to one hundred. She passes the written examination and the interview with Jackie Cochran herself, and is accepted into the program. She and the other young women study weather, aerodynamics, principles of flight, military courtesy, engines, navigation, Morse code, first aid, and instruments under the command of William Mayfield, a tough, no-nonsense leader. Peggy and Georgia quickly become best friends and confidantes, supporting each other and their fellow cadets during the intense program.

When Peggy receives an invitation to attend a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony honoring the WASPs, Kathy is certain it was misdirected because she has no knowledge of her mother’s service. Returning to her mother’s home, she searches through Peggy’s belongings and is stunned when she finds evidence that Peggy was, in fact, a member of the elite corps. Why did Peggy keep her history as a pilot a secret from her children? Kathy is determined to find out.

Dillon’s characters are believable and their stories engrossing. Young Peggy and Georgia, in particular, are endearing as they meet and embark upon a mission that will change them forever. Like so many of the cadets, Peggy is away from home for the first time and discovers a sisterhood she has never previously experienced. Flying military bombers is vastly different than operating a crop-dusting plane, and Peggy finds it challenging, terrifying, and invigorating. She is determined to succeed and, along with the other women, is hopeful that the U.S. Government will acknowledge their service, but the WASP militarization bill is ultimately defeated in Congress by just nineteen votes. Readers accompany Peggy on a journey of accomplishment – after graduating, she is assigned to test repaired aircraft and sends three hundred and twenty planes back into combat – as well as heartbreak when a tragedy leaves her guilt-ridden. Another gut-punch is delivered in October 1944 when Peggy is informed the WASP program will be deactivated on December 20 of that year because the women’s “volunteered services are no longer needed. The situation is that if you continue in service, you will be replacing instead of releasing our young men.” The dismantling of the program, along with the lack of recognition of the WASP's contributions, make Peggy bitter and her guilt about a tragic event during training inspires her silence about that part of her life. She marries her commanding officer and becomes a traditional housewife, supporting him in his military career. But "Peggy never learned how to fold her grief . . . and her revoked purpose into her life." Nothing could change how hurt, angry, and frustrated she felt in those moments when she read the letter announcing the termination of the WASP program and her service. “They were civilian castoffs, chewed up and spit out. They were just women.” Looking into the future, “she saw down the narrowed corridor of her life all that she was allowed to be and all she wasn’t.”

Like her mother, Kathy is relatable and credible. She is a woman juggling numerous responsibilities while feeling unappreciated and undervalued. Dillon crafts a portrait of a woman at a cross-road. She knows that her mother’s life expectancy is shortened by her refusal to have surgery, and her steadfast refusal to attend the ceremony is Washington, D.C. confuses and aggravates Kathy until Peggy finally discloses what transpired all those years ago. Kathy of course understands her mother’s reticence to accept belated recognition (it “wouldn’t undo all the casseroles she’d baked and put her back in military uniform”) but insists that she will go to the ceremony, even if Peggy refuses and the acknowledgment of the WASP is inexcusably overdue.

With the truth revealed and Peggy living with Kathy and Neil, Kathy finally has the chance to get to know her mother for the first time and is determined to make the most of the opportunity while there is still time. In the process, she also gets to know herself better and becomes empowered in ways she has never been before. She finds the courage to assert herself in her relationship with Peggy, as well as demonstrate compassion to the mother she has always loved, but never understood. With knowledge comes an appreciation of her mother’s legacy and forgiveness for the times Peggy was emotionally distant and judgmental. Kathy realizes that Peggy was hardest on herself. She also summons the strength to speak up at work on behalf of herself and her female colleagues, and finds new satisfaction in her marriage.

Eyes Turned Skyward is a fast-paced, absorbing, and emotionally riveting story about a mother and daughter who are able to repair the fissures in their relationship as, individually, they attain an enhanced sense of self-worth, accomplishment, and place in the world. For Peggy, reckoning the emotional traumas of her past frees her to heal her relationship with her only daughter, while Kathy finds her voice and learns to express her desires and feelings, and insist upon being treated with respect. Dillon presents the story from an unabashedly feminist viewpoint, but never permits her narrative to lapse into a heavy-handed tone. Rather, she effectively explores her themes through the experiences of and challenges her characters face, allowing plot developments and her characters’ reactions to them to illustrate the various ways in which they are subjected to sexism and misogyny.

Ultimately, Eyes Turned Skyward is an homage to the brave women of the WASP who served their country selflessly on a volunteer basis, contributing to America’s victory. Because of outdated notions about the role of women in the military, and society as a whole, they were denied the recognition they deserved alongside male pilots. The WASP were finally granted military status when President Jimmy Carter signed the G.I. Bill Improvements Act of 1977, which even he initially opposed. Still, few people know that the WASP, culled from a candidate pool of 25,000 and an entering class of 1,830, flew a total of sixty million miles in seventy-eight different types of aircraft, delivering over 12,000 planes. “They towed, transported, tested, and taught. They broke barriers. . . . But they had been the ones to demonstrate possibility.” At the age of fifty-five, the fictional character of Peggy Mayfield and the real, heroic WASP finally, “quietly became war veterans.” And now, thanks to Dillon, more people know about their sacrifice and achievements.

Women Airfield Service Pilots (WASP), the first American women to fly military planes in the 1940s are brought to light in this book. We learn about the training, and the courage it took to undertake this. And then it was over, and these women were left to make lives for themselves, unrecognized for their efforts. This story also reveals a relationship between mother and daughter at the end of her life and the importance of family.