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Girl at the Edge of Sky cover art

Girl at the Edge of Sky

Written by: Lilian Nattel
Narrated by: Stephanie Belding
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Publisher's Summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Girl at the Edge of Sky is a unique, thrilling, sometimes terrifying novel based on the life and death of Lily Litvyak, a female Soviet flying ace and fighter pilot shot down behind German lines in the Second World War. From the bestselling author of Web of Angels and The River Midnight.

Lily Litvyak is no one's idea of a fighter pilot: a tiny, dimpled teenager with golden curls who lied about her age in order to fly. But in the crucible of the air war against the German invaders, she becomes that rare thing—a flying ace, glorified at home and around the world as the White Lily of Stalingrad. The real Lily disappeared in combat in August 1943, and the facts of her life are slim, but they have inspired Lilian Nattel's indelible portrait of a courageous young woman driven by family secrets to become an unlikely war hero. Even more powerfully, Nattel takes another big leap, asking the compelling question: what if Lily survived that last crash and became a prisoner of the Germans?

Lily lives in a world of horrifying risk, where the life and death stakes are high in the air, but also on the ground. In the Soviet system, everyone is an informer, even your best friend. Lily lives in constant fear that she will be found out, arrested and executed as the daughter of an "enemy of the people." When she ends up a German prisoner, as a Soviet officer and a Jew, the need for deception becomes even more desperate.

Girl at the Edge of Sky is a masterwork of the imagination, subtle and bold all at once, bringing us deep into the precarious life of a remarkable woman who lies to fight for the country that would disown her, and then lies to survive the enemy that would annihilate her.

©2019 Lilian Nattel (P)2019 Random House Canada

What the critics say

"Like the glow of the moon over a frostbitten field, Girl at the Edge of Sky illuminates the darkest days on the Eastern Front, revealing all the spark, courage, and tenderness of one of the most fearless fighter pilots you can imagine. Lilian Nattel portrays the remarkable story of Lily Litvyak with striking detail and imagery that is as beautiful as it is chilling." (Ellen Keith, author of The Dutch Wife)

“Lily Litvyak is the kind of character readers hunger for: larger than life, yet so real she inhabits the mind like one you’ve known and loved. A dark and dazzling novel, Girl At the Edge of Sky swept me up from the opening line and kept me spellbound. Nattel writes as well—and as wildly—as her unforgettable heroine flies.” (Alissa York, author of The Naturalist)

“Artfully imagined. . . . Impressive. . . . Given that [Nattel’s] skill is considerable and her craft formidable, the readers are the great beneficiaries. Lily Litvyak does indeed come to full animated life in a suspenseful, heart-rending story that is difficult to put down. . . . Girl at the Edge of Sky is rich with history and fictional engagement. . . . Nattel is superb.” (The Canadian Jewish News)

What listeners say about Girl at the Edge of Sky

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Wow!

What an amazing book! I listened every chance I could get. An important story to hear and to ponder as we think about the lessons of WWII. it has much to say to our day and time.

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Good read!

Before reading this book, I had never known about the women fighter pilots in World War II and it’s crazy to think at an age when I was learning to drive a car, those young women were learning to fly airplanes and preparing for war. It is a good story, and I appreciate how much research had to go into the story with all of the real characters she incorporated into it.

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LOVE LOVE LOVE IT

i absolutely loved it! it was such an amazing story! I could not stop listening!

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  • Cj
  • 2020-09-25

Boring.....

Very boring story line. Hard to follow. Did not hold my attention for more than half the book

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