Guy Friday- WWII

Katz, Gwen. Among the Red Stars
October 3rd 2017 by HarperTeen
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline

Valka has trained as a pilot, and idolizes some of the Russian women who have made the news for the aviation exploits, but has had no luck finding a job. When the Germans attack the Russians, Valka answers a call for a women's  air unit. Her long time friend, Pasha, joins the army. The two were just friends, but start to realize, through a series of letters, that they are fonder of each other than they thought. Valka has to learn how to fly for combat, how to get along with superior officers, and how to deal with the fact that she or her comrades could die at any time. Pasha also has to deal with these things. Eventually, Pasha goes on a mission behind enemy lines and needs to be rescued by Valka.
Strengths: World War II is still a really popular topic, and I'm always looking for books on different facets of it. Riordan's The Sniper covers women in the Russian military, but I didn't know how much more involved Russian women were in the military. Plenty of air missions, which is not as much covered as army fighting, so this had several things to recommend it.
Weaknesses: I could have used more of a plot. Once Pasha started trying to recover some photographs and Valka's unit got involved, I was able to connect more to the story, but I struggled for the first part of the book because I couldn't quite tell where the story was headed.
What I really think: Definitely purchasing. Liked it MUCH more than Lasky's Night Witches, which was just too brutal.