Beautiful Journey

by Kenna White

Book Overview

Katherine Kit Anderson is an American pilot who is determined to do her bit in the Battle of Britain. However, it's gorgeous young British literature teacher Emily Mills who has her flying in circles.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1594931283
• ISBN13: 9781594931284
• Release Date: August 2008
• Publisher: Bella Books
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

What a Wonderful Tale

Kenna White has consistently written wonderful stories. It seems no matter how many she actually gets published, there is no end to her imagination. No two of her books are alike. Here she takes us to wartime in England. It was a time when women weren't allowed in combat and when ladies were ladies. Opening the book is Kit Anderson, an American woman who transports war planes for the British. She lives a simple life. She doesn't have a girlfriend. She rents a room from a local family. She has few friends. All of that changes when her landlord's brother's home is bombed and she is forced to find a new home. Kit rents a cottage from Lady Marble, a local bit of pseudo-royalty with a granddaughter, Emily, who doesn't appreciate Kit's presence. Of course, Lady Marble is happy to have Kit at her home and asks her to help Emily find a job at the airfield. Emily seems to be haunted by bad luck and it reflects somewhat poorly on Kit. At the same time, Emily and Kit have a tenuous relationship that surprisingly develops into something undeniable. It's not easy to tell if it's them or their circumstances that push them into thinking about the future. Either way, their story draws the reader in and doesn't let go. Bottom Line - Kit, Emily, and the supporting cast come together to act out a timeless tale of strife and romance. Truly one of the strongest voices in the genre, White is at the top of her game and I hope she stays there for a long time to come. Don't miss this one.

Touching and mesmerizing historical romance, 3-1/2 stars

I have no expertise on which to base the historical accuracy of this novel. I know little to nothing about WWII aircraft, or the geography or logistics that went into staging the British defense. If I had that expertise, I may have been annoyed at any inaccuracies. But I still get the sense that this was a well-researched book, and enough of the details were correct to accurately outline the experiences of women in the ATA, which was the real point of the book (apart from romance). So outside any possible historical inaccuracies, I found myself enchanted by the vivid picture Kenna White painted of the women serving in the ATA during WWII. Her descriptions of flying and the rigors of a nation at war were thrilling and heart-rending. Rather than be frustrated at the societal strictures of the time as I'd expected, I was taken by the strength and the heroism of the women living their lives to the best of their abilities, making sacrifices for a greater good, and helping lay the groundwork for succeeding generations of women to stretch the "norms" of society. I wasn't expecting much going in, and ended up being delighted and inspired. The characters were well-drawn. The atmosphere was palpable and present. The flying was exciting. The emotions expressed seemed realistic. My biggest quibble is probably the ending, and it's one that I have repeatedly with works in this genre. Many authors do a great job at the set-up, and working through the meat of the issues and circumstances that create the drama, but then they reach the end and suddenly everything wraps up neatly and happily with nothing more than a couple of statements from one or both of the protagonists. It kind of leaves the reader hanging, and I don't particularly like it. This novel was no exception. Also, I'm not a big fan of the great emotional manipulation of tragedy being necessary to jolt our heroes into doing what we think they should. But it's handled more deftly than usual here, the groundwork being laid in advance, and it's more realistic in a war-time setting, so this was just a nitpick. I've enjoyed the works I've read by this author, and this one rises well above the average. I expect I'll pick it up again in the future, and I'll definitely read more from this author.

Beautiful Journey is a beautiful story.

Having just finished this story I had to immediately write a review. I do have a tendancy to write reviews on the books I love and this is one more that I think everyone will enjoy. In WW2 the men of the UK were off fighting the war and they were losing pilots quickly during the Battle for Britain. A way was needed to move damaged planes to areas where they could be worked on, and then shipped back to the fighting squadrons again. How to do that without pulling needed combat pilots away? The ATA (the British Women's Air Transport Auxiliary) was created for that purpose. In addition to women of the "empire and commonwealth" (Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, etc) many American women also joined. These are the facts...now to the story... Kit Anderson, an American from Kansas, leaves a partnership in a commerical flying enterprise, to join the ATA for an 18 month enlistment period. She is the flight leader of a group of women who work hard to overcome the prejudices that they face every day. They suffer through poor food, poor housing, shot up airplanes and hostile attitudes to ensure that planes are moved to be repaired and then put back in service. Through all of this they care for each other and support each other and, as we find out while reading, they also love each other. Yanks weren't accepted with open arms, and that's quite clear in Kit's case. She gets pushed out of her humble room to make way for some of her landlady's family who get bombed out of their home in London. She finds a nice cottage, owned by Lady Marble, and moves in only to be told my Lady Marble's granddaughter, Emily Mills, that she must move out immediately. Lady Marble insists that Kit can stay and later enlists Kit's help to get Emily a job in the support area on the air base. Kit agrees but soon wonders what she ever did to deserve what happens as Emily becomes an "accident waiting to happen" in the multiple jobs she's given. Sparks fly between them, first in hostility, later in a passion that threatens to destroy them both. The only problem that I had with this story was that it ended too soon. I felt myself wanting to hear more, to understand more about what drove women to stand up and fight during these times. Read this story. This is the 2nd story that I've read by Kenna White. I enjoyed them both (the other was Skin Deep) but this is my favorite.

BEAUTIFUL story

Kenna White can tell a tale. I have enjoyed Kenna's tales before and look forward to her work. This storyline lead me to the stories my father told about his experiences on an air craft carrier before during and after WWII. Hearing about the old planes and the problems they faced brought up many a memory. My Mom helped put many a plane together here in Arizona at Thunderbird air field. So the memories evoked by this book were part of my enjoyment. The work itself was well written, I could visualize the events in the story line. I became a part of the story as a watcher and felt for the characters. They are strong women. Enough of the storyline was held back so that I was surprised at some of the outcomes. A good read that left me wanting to know more.

A really enjoyable story

If you like historical period stories, Kenna White's Beautiful Journey is the book for you. If you like a good story, you still have the right book. In the early years of World War II, before the United States entered the war, many Americans volunteered to serve in countries that were under attack. American Kit Anderson is a volunteer in the British Women's Air Transport Authority (ATA) where her job is to shuttle planes to the bases where fighter pilots are stationed and take damaged planes to repair facilities. Kit is very good at what she does and the work takes her mind off of the broken heart she left back in the States. What she doesn't count on is coming into contact with Emily Mills, a literature teacher and the only grandchild of Lady Lillian Marble. These two are meant to clash from the time Emily finds out her grandmother has rented a cottage to Kit through the experience of having Emily come to work on Kit's base. The British government has decreed that every woman had to work in the war effort and that includes Emily. As a favor to Lady Marble, Kit signs Emily's work request as her reference, only to find she is held responsible for every mistake Emily makes and there are many mistakes. Emily just seems to be a walking disaster. Kit's good nature is often tested by Emily's unpleasant attitude and then her bumbling. As they are drawn together by the war however, Kit and Emily discover love and courage. It will take tremendous courage not only to survive the war, but to battle the prejudice and bigotry they will encounter as their relationship comes to light because homophobia is strong in Britain at the time. Kit is forced to face the fact that the quality of your work does not equate with acceptance of your lifestyle and the women will face a choice when Kit is threatened with losing her wings. The atmosphere of this book is perfect. The reader feels immersed in the lifestyle of the English countryside and gets a real grasp of what the people were forced to endure as bombs rained from the sky. It is clear that Kit is an American imbedded in a different culture as she adapts to the English, they don't adapt to her. The story is full of appealing characters, some suspense, some humor, a tragedy and an interesting romance. The plot flows from page to page easily and pulls the reader's interest along with it. This is definitely one of the books that you can't wait to read and don't want to end. The only readers who might not find this book appealing are those who like the highly charged adventure stories, but there is a little of that, too. Beautiful Journey is a well-written, enjoyable story. This is a book that is a pleasure to recommend. Great literature, no, but still a terrific book to read.