“Following the German invasion of Russia in the summer of 1941, the Soviet government authorized the formation of three squadrons of female pilots. One of those, the 588th Night Bomber Squadron, became known as the ‘Night Witches.’ Equipped with obsolete, open-cockpit biplanes built in the 1920s, these women flew some of the most daring combat missions of World War II.” – Tom Townsend

Nadia is just seventeen years old when Hitler’s Nazi forces murder her family, sending her fleeing into the woods in terror. She is rescued by Lilly, a Night Witch, inspiring her to become a pilot herself in order to join the women’s Night Bomber Squadron to fight the Germans. The squadron’s Po-2 airplanes were outdated and unarmed, but they were simple to fly and cheap to repair, and having young women fly them allowed the Soviets to save the good planes and the important missions for the men.

Nadia is paired with Shenya as her navigator, and the two young women run mission after mission together in the dark of night, battling not just the Nazis but also often harsh conditions alongside Lilly and the other Night Witches. The strategy is terrifying: fly to the target, cut the engine, dive silently down and drop bombs on the target, restart the engine, and get away before being blown out of the sky by German ground forces or shot down by the more modern German fighter planes. Nadia and Shenya witness plane after plane—woman after woman—lost to the superior technology of the Germans.

And yet they continue to fly their missions, ardently devoted to the cause of defeating the Nazi invaders and saving their country. With each mission, Nadia hones her skills, and soon she is more than an excellent pilot; like the other women of the squadron, she is also a skilled mechanic, wrenching on her own plane, which she and Shenya have named the Bluebird, when the mechanics are overwhelmed with other damaged aircraft. These women were talented, adaptable, and unwavering in their commitment to their duty and their loyalty to their country.

But as much as this book is a detailed account of the war from the perspective of the Night Witches—the missions, the planes, the conditions both on the ground and in the air—it is a book about relationships—about friendship and love, hope and heartbreak and loss. Against a backdrop of ruthless conflict, this story offers readers a perspective that is beautifully, touchingly human, moving beyond our differences to the common experience of wanting simply to live a good and peaceful life. Although this is Nadia’s story, it is also a poignant look at patriotism and love through the eyes of young women at war.