Recent Reads: Alone with the Stars by David R. Gillham

Alone with the Stars by David R. Gillham
Narrated by: Hillary Huber, Emily Bauer
Length: 2 hrs and 10 mins
Original Recording Audiobook
Release date: 01-30-20
Language: English
Publisher: Audible Originals
Categories: Fiction, Historical

 

Format:  Audible Audiobook
Source: Audible Freebie, February 2020

Rating:







Goodreads Synopsis: 

In the summer of 1937, Amelia Earhart is the most famous woman in the world - a record-breaking pilot, a best-selling author, and a modern woman shattering the glass ceiling in the early days of aviation. 

And then she vanishes.

In Tampa, Florida, 15-year-old Lizzie Friedlander spends her afternoons glued to her father's radio, tapping into the enormity of a world she longs to travel. Lizzie can hardly believe her ears when she picks up a radio signal from a faraway source that sets her heart racing: "Amelia Earhart calling SOS!"

As Lizzie copies down the transmissions, it's clear that the Amelia Earhart is not lost at sea, as the newspapers are dreading, but alive and calling for help. In a race against time, Lizzie must convince the local Coast Guard that the radio transmissions were real and that Earhart's life hangs in the balance. But will anyone believe her?

Written for audio by David R. Gillham, the acclaimed, New York Times best-selling author of City of Women, and performed by Emily Bauer and Hilary Huber, Alone with the Stars is a breathtaking and illuminating tribute to a woman who risked her life in pursuit of new heights, and the young girl who tried desperately to save her when everything went wrong. Inspired by actual events, Alone with the Stars reveals, in riveting detail, the final moments in the life of a great heroine, whose courage changed the world forever.

Review: 

I really enjoyed this Audible Original, I wanted it to be a full length story but it was only a short one. The story is told in mostly alternating chapters from the POV of Lizzie and Amelia as the young girl hears her distress calls and as Amelia is calling out in distress. 

I found out after the fact that there is a real person who overheard the radio call, and her name was not Lizzie, which I found to be odd. Given that I did not know about her before this point, it was a really great listen. There was a lot of struggle in this short book. Amelia trying to fly and it not going well, her distress call not being heard but then also Lizzie's distress as she listened to the call and tries to make men believe what she has heard in a world were women and girls should not be listening to radios.

The male/female conflict weighs heavily in this story and is a lot of the issue throughout. The overall story was so interesting but it is so depressing that Amelia wasn't helped because of men's issues with her flying at all, and because a girl overheard the call when they did not. 

If you are interested in Amelia Earhart and the idea of a dramatized version of how the distress call came in and was heard, this is a great listen and worth your time. I do understand that some are upset about how the character of Lizzie was handled, because there is a real story here, but if you don't know that story this is a good icebreaker into learning more.