REVIEW: Come Fly With Me by Camille Di Maio

JayneB- Reviews / Book Reviews1960s / domestic violence / female friendship / Historical / travel / Womens-Fiction2 Comments

It’s 1962, the dawn of the jet-set era. Hope takes flight for two Pan Am stewardesses navigating an adventurous new life in a novel about love, friendship, and escape by the bestselling author of The Memory of Us and Until We Meet.

Welcome to a glamorous gateway to the jet age.

Judy Goodman and Beverly Caldwell have different reasons for putting continents and oceans between themselves and their disparate pasts, but they have the same desire—to earn a coveted position on an elite team of stewardesses for Pan American Airlines. For Judy, running away from an oppressive marriage in small-town Pennsylvania is a risk she must take. And for Beverly, leaving behind the gilded cage of New York society will allow her to pursue a future of her own making.

Embracing the culture, etiquette, and strict rules of a thrilling and unpredictable new world above the clouds, Judy and Beverly are bound for faraway destinations and opportunities that other women dare only to dream about. But as they build a deep friendship, encounter love and danger, and discover what’s truly important, Judy and Beverly must also confront the secrets that could change their lives all over again—and forever.

CW/TW – domestic violence, and

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Dear Ms. Di Maio,

This sounded like fun so I requested it and settled in to learn about when air travel was still glamorous, Pan Am stewardesses were admired, and nobody needed to bring zip ties on a flight.

There are definitely reasons why Judy and Beverly want to escape their lives. Judy made a bad marriage choice and fears her husband. Beverly has always felt the pull to travel and do more than live a wealthy NYC “ladies who lunch” lifestyle. They both know the odds are against them being selected for the opportunity to work their butts off for six weeks to master all the knowledge and skills needed to be Pan Am stewardesses. Beverly wants to prove herself. Judy wants to live.

The main focus of the book is the friendship that develops between the two as they train in the sweltering heat of Miami. Truths are not spilled immediately but each senses more behind the abbreviated stories the other tells. Luckily Judy, while in a bar with Beverly as Beverly teaches Judy about the differences between top shelf and bottom shelf liquor, spills her guts to her friend as yes, hubbie does eventually show up. Oh, right remember that Pan Am does not allow married women to be stewardesses and Judy has had to lie on her application. Honestly I thought Henry would have used this card to his advantage

Another thing the story incorporates is the beginning of women standing up for themselves and looking for something beyond getting married. Being a stewardess, and especially an envied Pan Am stewardess, added another job to the meager list that women could do then. Plus unlike being a secretary, being able to fly around the world was chic. Sure some of the businessmen could get handsy but we learn in an exchange between the stewardesses while in the air, they had means of getting subtle revenge.

The attention to historical detail is appreciated and I learned a bit about what the demands of the job, and Pan Am’s attention to perfection, involved. Pampering the travelers then is a far cry from the packs of peanuts tossed to people squashed in like sardines today. Passengers then still viewed jet trips across the ocean as a luxury and something to be dressed up for and enjoyed rather than endured.

However, nothing except stories about Judy and Beverly in the air pushing drink carts wasn’t going to fill a book. I admit to being a bit disappointed that romances for both Beverly and Judy begin to take over the narrative by the halfway point. Plus both love interests are just a little bit too perfect. Love is grand, don’t get me wrong, but where did my independent women story go and no, using reverse lampshade to acknowledge this didn’t help.

When the present day bits began to appear, at first there was no hint about which FMC is relating them. I paid attention to details and amused myself by trying to figure out which person this is. Then a name is mentioned and details about what will happen are sprinkled in. On the one hand, this will

I enjoyed the book but it is also not quite what I thought I would get. B-

~Jayne

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