The Girl and the Bombardier

June 22, 2020
In this poignant and unique debut history, Ankeny combines her father’s WWII experiences with the impressions of a young Belgian woman who helped rescue him from Nazi-occupied France. Drafted one month before his college graduation, Dean Tate trained as a B-17 bombardier in the U.S. Army Air Corps after failing the pilot qualifying test by one point. On his fifth mission, Tate’s plane was strafed by a German fighter and caught fire. He bailed out over a village in northern France and was taken in by members of the French Resistance, including 17-year-old Godelieve Van Laere, whose parents agreed to hide the downed airman. Drawing from her father’s journals and letters, Ankeny recreates his journey to safety through an escape network responsible for rescuing more than 100 Allied servicemen. After her father’s death in 2003, Ankeny reached out to Van Laere and traveled to France to meet her and other people whose families rescued Allied airmen. Ankeny fluidly intertwines both sides of the story, and provides necessary historical context. The result is an intimate and inspirational account of ordinary people committing heroic acts under extraordinary circumstances. Agent: Jennifer Weis, Ross Yoon Agency

August 1, 2020
Flying over France during WWII, the author's father, Dean Tate, parachuted out of his B-17 plane when it was hit by German airfire. The bombardier and several of his flightmates made it to the ground, but that's where the danger really began. Evading capture, they were taken in by Godlieve Van Laere and her family, members of the Resistance. After months of being shuttled from house to house (or barn), town to town, and from one Resistance member to another, Tate was shipped to England and, from there, eventually back to America. Years later, he attempted to write his memoir, but never finished it. When Ankeny discovered letters from Godlieve, written years after the war and expressing gratitude for the Allies' bravery, she was compelled to delve into the documents and tell her father's story herself. Through archival documentation, she paces the story with considerable literary skill, stringing moments of tension throughout. This is a thrilling and masterful telling of brave Resistance members risking all, and a wonderful homage to the author's equally courageous father.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)