I am quite certain that I am not a member of the target audience for whom this book was written. It is likely I never would have read it were it not for a book club to which I belong. But now I have read it and it was an exasperating and bizarre experience that I will now have to accept as part of my reality, that so many of the women around me love a book that I find objectionable on many levels. But we carry on. 
 This review contains spoilers 
 (view spoiler)[The book is built around the true story of the WASPs, the Women Airforce Service Pilots who flew domestically during WW2; truly amazing women who were discriminated against and thrown out on their ear as soon as it was convenient and then erased from history for quite some time. They deserved much better and I am grateful that Ms. Flagg is bringing attention to this group of women and all they experienced and endured. Much respect to them as people and to their contribution to the advancement of women's rights as well. 
 I will say also that I do agree with the blurb on the book jacket that Ms. Flagg is "a natural storyteller" and that her characters are likable and drawn well enough that you do care about what happens to them despite the fact that they are very very simple and despite the books other flaws. The characters and story were so superficial for the first few chapters that I almost quit reading. It felt like I was just bumping my forehead against a wall, and why would I do that voluntarily? Thankfully a little more texture was added once Sookie gets "the letter" so I was able to engage and Not Fail At Bookclub! 
 So those are the positives I experienced. The negatives I can summarize thusly: that the book is terribly superficial yet still uses heavy subjects that require much more attention and complexity and strength than is afforded them here. Smoothing everything out into a nice pleasant story as people of good breeding prefer is incredibly offensive and gross. 
 In fact, this book could easily be put in a category entitled "Books Appealing Almost Exclusively to White Middle and Upper class Women." I think I will make that category for my books, by gum! Because review after review that finds this story so pleasant, "humorous," "delightful," and "zany" is written by the women in the category above. I, and perhaps a few other million people on the earth not in the category above, do not find celebration of economic inequality "zany" as Lenore blatantly does and which Sookie only tut-tuts out of politeness while still inherently accepting it. She still clearly values her membership into exclusive clubs. Granted this was indoctrinated into her but I think by 60 you have had more than ample opportunity to question what you've been told. And if you don't have the motivation? The word for that is "privilege." 
 Also not "zany:" celebrating one's family history of slave-owning Southerners - actually no, even worse - finding that history so desirable as to *make up* a story that your family were slave-owning Southerners. Which is what you are doing when you loudly and proudly proclaim that your Grandmother owned a plantation. A PLANTATION. Now I'm not without empathy for Lenore's character, I realize she desperately wove together her identity after the horrific incident discussed above (when i write it), but what does it say about Southern culture, or at least the culture of the elite of the South, as Lenore's family was, that the most respected class is the old wealthy slave-owning and/or Confederate-army-leading class? For the love of God, there's even talk of Lenore being proud that "her people" were among the first White settlers in Virginia. Flagg has to know this is code for white-supremacy. David Duke's - of the KKK - website VDare.com is dedicated to the first white baby born in Virginia. It used to be blatantly racist, with an intro by Mr. Duke "We aren't afraid to tell the truth about race and IQ," but that has since been removed and the racism is slightly more subtle. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]