So I'm going to tell you a secret! Historical Novels are one of my favorite genre of books. It doesn't really matter what the time period is, I just happen to be very adept at getting my mind into whatever period I am reading about!
Panda Girl by Lawrence Drake is one of these books. Set in the period of the Second World War, just after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, this novel had me right from the opening few sentences of the Prologue.
Based on true life experiences, Panda Girl captivates and sheds some light on a part of WWII that many people don't know anything about. It certainly was the case for me. We think of the war as taking part mostly in Europe, but there was a whole contingent of the War that was taking place in China, Burma, and India.
Known collectively as the CBI Theater of WWII, the Americans, while fighting Germany and the Japanese in the Pacific, also vowed that Japan would not overrun China.
Victor Dance (the main character) knows little about the world beyond his family's dairy farm in Montana. He is reserved, shy, a hard worker and well liked. He's also a talented artist in his own right.
When Pearl Harbor was bombed and the scope of destruction was realized, Victor and many of his friends enlisted in the Army to do their part for America and world peace. Victor knew he wanted to fly! It was a dream of his since he once witnessed Lindbergh flying over the family farm.
When Victor and his friends had enlisted, their minds were full of thoughts of flying to France or England, they had never in their wildest dreams thought they would end up in India and thought much less of the terrain they would be flying in.
Lawrence Drake does a wonderful job of bringing the realities of some of these missions to the pages of this book. At times I felt that I was drowning in the heat that many of these pilots had to endure and just as I was getting comfortable in the heat, I'd find myself freezing right along with them when they were flying at 20,000 ft. I can't imagine the shock to the body when those kinds of extremes are happening within a short span of time.
Missions over the Himalayas were treacherous as winds, clouds and some of the highest mountains in the world stood between the pilots and their missions to take out Japanese tankers, railroads, bridges and transfer stations.
Sometimes the only thing that kept these guys in the air and focused on their missions were the thoughts of those people back home who were counting on their success in this War. Letters from home were the only way many of these men kept going. Hobbies helped too, as Victor in his "off time" was often drawing. His talents as a pilot and an artist were in high demand, but you will have to read the book to see why.
War is never an easy thing and writing about it in a way that makes you fully understand the sacrifices is a real gift for us who have never had those experiences. Truly it makes you even more thankful that we have not had to take part in this kind of "action".
If there is someone on your list of friends that enjoys Historical Novels, then this book gets a big Green Light from me. I really enjoyed the story and came away with a much better understanding and thankfulness for all the sacrifices these men and women made for us.
You can get your own copy right here and I do hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
