Aging daughter of the South Sookie Simmons Poole has trudged along cheerfully through life under the shadow of her overbearing mother, Lenore. Faced with empty-nest syndrome, Sookie knows she won't be too bored, since Lenore lives right next door and still has her mail delivered to Sookie's house. When a mysterious letter arrives, Sookie questions everything she ever knew about her family, and her story soon dovetails with that of a proud Polish family from Wisconsin. The Jurdabralinskis' gas station was nearly shuttered when all the area men joined up during WWII, but the family's four girls bravely stepped up. Eldest daughter Fritzi was already a great mechanic, having been a professional stunt plane pilot in the 1930s. When Fritzi joins the WASPS, an elite but downplayed female branch of the U.S. Air Force, the story really comes to life. Flagg's storytelling talent is on full display. Her trademark quirky characters are warm and realistic, and the narrative switches easily between the present and the past. HIGH DEMAND BACKSTORY: Flagg's fans won't be disappointed in this one, and there's a lot to be said for giving tribute to the real-life WASPs (the official records of the force were classified and sealed for nearly 35 years). Great possibilities for nonfiction pairings abound for book clubs.--Vnuk, Rebecca Copyright 2010 Booklist

Structured much like Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, Flagg's latest novel alternates between the pedestrian life of Sookie Poole, a timid middle-aged southern woman and that of her brash, adventurous ancestry, a quartet of polish sisters who ran a filling station and flew planes during WWII. The cataclysmic event that unites these narratives is Sookie's discovery that she was adopted. Her journey into the history of her biological family is excruciatingly slow, but the history-particularly of the WASPs, a division of all-female pilots who flew support missions for the Air Force and were written promptly out of history after the war ended proves more entertaining and helps redeem the plot. The language is accessible and much of the backstory is delivered via letters, rendering the voices of the characters authentic, even if they are a bit stock-the archetypal aging southern lady heroine, for example, has a wacky new-age best friend, an overbearing mother, and a Yankee psychiatrist. Readers looking for nuance will not find it here, but there are plot twists, adventure, heartbreak, and familial love in spades, making this the kind of story that keeps readers turning pages in a fever. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Southern charmer Flagg's (Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe) latest work follows two women, decades apart, as they find themselves and, ultimately, each other. Sookie Poole has just married off her last daughter and now only has to deal with her overbearing mother. When Sookie accidentally discovers a secret about her past that her mother has kept from her, she begins a journey of discovery. Decades earlier, groundbreaking Fritzi takes off on her own adventure, one that will one day intertwine with events in Sookie's life. Flagg narrates this story of humor, love, and heartbreak, and readers who stick with the slow start will be delighted with the way the story develops. VERDICT Suggested for fans of Flagg, Sue Monk Kidd, and Rebecca Wells. ["Yet again, Flagg...delivers a book full of heartwarming charm that is sure to provoke lighthearted laughter. A complex story told simply and honestly," read the review of the Random hc, LJ 11/1/13.]-Donna Bachowski, Orange Cty. Lib. Syst., Orlando, FL (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.