by Candace Fleming
Libby audiobook 4 hours
Read by: Holly Adams
Published: 2011 (this version 2023)
Genre: Juvenile non-fiction, history
I've always admired Amelia Earhart, but listening to this book changed my mind a bit. She was more arrogant and privileged than I had realized. Yes, she had determination and strength, but she seems to also have been a bit of an entitled jerk.
It didn't help that Adams voiced Amelia in a breathy, girly voice. Why? Did Earhart actually sound like that? It was very off-putting.
But when she ignored the advice of more seasoned fliers, refused to learn how to use her new radio / signaling equipment, and basically made up her own rules as she went along . . . it was hard to feel sorry for her going down in the Pacific. That sounds callous, but it seems as though she could have made better choices to avoid the end of her story.
And I had no idea she had married George Putnam! Reading up on him and his first wife a little . . . oh my. At least Earhart didn't break up a happy marriage.
The story was mostly chronological interspersed with the drama of finding her and what we know about what happened on July 2, 1937, when she and Fred Noonan didn't land on Howland Island for refueling.
Oh! It also bothers me how much money the U.S. government spent on her! She was a private citizen, but they build a landing strip on Howland Island and launched an extensive search when her plane went down. That's crazy to think about!
Basically, the story was well-written and interesting, but it made me lose some respect for Amelia Earhart. She seemed to have been selfish and entitled.
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