Kris Nail's book is hilarious, enlightening and...deeply moving. -- Richard Clement, author of the novel, Midnight Choir
Kris Nail's strong female characters and the circumstances in which they find themselves are captivating -- Florine Gingerich, author of the novel The Day the Music Died
This novel captures the spirit of ordinary women caught up in extraordinary circumstances. -- Jeffrey L. Waters, author of the novel, Rozner's Contstant
Product Description
It is World War II. Seattle, like many other cities, is bursting at the seams as women pour in to work in the factories while the men are away fighting in the trenches and on the high seas. At the Boeing airplane factory, a random pick by a sleepy file clerk throws four unlikely women together into tight living quarters. The result is a hilarious and, at times, deeply moving story of friendship as these women work through the hardships of war, the tenderness of love, and the sadness of loss in THE GIRLS FROM HANGAR B, by Kristin Campbell Nail (Goodfellow Press; $22.00; September 2001).
Here they are, four eager, patriotic women who are as different in appearance as they are in upbringing. They know nothing about building anything, but they are about to begin working on some of the largest, most complicated and vital machines ever built.
First there is Annie, a tall Scandinavian redhead from Coos Bay, Oregon. She feels useless waiting at home while her brothers and fiancé risk their lives overseas. To break free from the tight web of obligation and predictability that has surrounded her for the last year, she decides to join the war effort by moving to Seattle and working in the airplane factory. And to add more confusion to her new situation, she meets Cain Adamson at the factory.
Then there is Birdie, an African American mother of four from Georgia, who leaves home to come all the way to Seattle to earn some extra money for her family. She fights to hold her family together with work, tears, and a little culinary magic. Then there is Birdie, an African American mother of four from Georgia, who leaves home to come all the way to Seattle to earn some extra money for her family. She fights to hold her family together with work, tears, and a little culinary magic.
Gloria, a rich society girl, decides to get a job at the airplane factory after learning in her sociology class how badly the war is going. So she too finds herself at the Boeing factory, helping with the war effort, and, for the first time, unsupervised by her family. Her adventure leads her to meet a handsome Navy sailor who sweeps her off her feet and ultimately, quite a bit farther.
Finally there is Sparkle - the ex-hooker - who wavers between her old profession and this new ambition at the factory. Sparkle is often the subconscious of the group as she is brutally honest and does not keep her thoughts to herself.
As the months pass by, these women come to rely on one another and will stop at nothing short of victory. In THE GIRLS FROM HANGAR B, Kristin Campbell Nail has created four wonderful female characters that you will not soon forget.
Goodfellow Press, the publisher of THE GIRLS FROM HANGAR B and the first Northwest fiction publishing house and teaching press, was founded seven years ago. Its goal is to discover, encourage, and nurture the unique talent of new writers, book designers, and editors from the Northwest. Founder and publisher, Pamela Goodfellow has been an editor for over twenty years. In launching Goodfellow Press, she has achieved a personal goal - to develop the highest standards of fiction, while introducing to the general public, new authors from the great Northwest.
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