The Night Flyers (American Girl History Mysteries, #3) by Elizabeth McDavid Jones

The Night Flyers (American Girl History Mysteries, #3) Reviews

• 
  Stasia

  I think that somewhere along the line, American Girl has sidetracked from what they originally set out to do as the Pleasant Company- it used to be about making American history interesting, making any girl feel that she could have been apart of it. Now, what are the goals? Just selling dolls and clothes. I say that because, AG never needed to market dolls with this series. These books stood on their own, they were well done, and a tasteful way of introducing young girls into a more 'grown up' genre, while still educating and giving a sense of historical interest and accuracy. I'm still enjoying how well written this series is, and touching some history that I'd forgotten I'd learned. And I'm not slamming AG for their dolls, because of course, I dreamed about having my own Felicity doll to enjoy reading the books with (and so I grew up and became a collector of AG dolls, lol), but in the new catalogs and websites, it feels only about selling dolls in trendy clothes. The sense of history and teaching girl history has been lost along the wayside, and I'm sorry for that.
• 
  Andrea Cox

  This was a cute and informative mystery. I liked the pigeons and how well the leading gal worked with them. I didn’t know about this angle to WWI, so I was glad to learn about it. I might just have to research more about it now.
  
  Content: two profane words, replacement expletives, smoking (including underage smoking)
  
• 
  Jennifer Hunt

  These AG History Mysteries are a lot of fun. They are about standalone characters but teach kids about a piece of history not covered by the main AG characters. The mysteries are not gruesome (no murder), but suspenseful enough to keep the reader’s interest. This one was quite well written with beautiful prose and realistic regional dialogue. Enjoyed reading it with my 10-year-old daughter.
• 
  Sesana

  The now-defunct History Mysteries were each one-off stories, set in different times and places in American history. They're a little longer and aimed a little higher than the main American Girl books. The Night Flyers is set in World War I era North Carolina. This particular plucky girl detective sets out to discover who's stealing her birds and if the new man in town with a strange accent is a German spy. There's actually quite a bit going on here, but it all ties together fairly well in the end.
• 
  Amanda

  This book is good it tells you that things aren't always like they seem. Also tells you that the people you don't like sometimes aren't all that bad.
• 
  Renee

  This was an excellent history mystery by Elizabeth McDavid Jones. I remember distinctly not liking one of her books, so I was hesitant to read this one, but it was very good! I would love to read more of her books to see if I like them!
  This story is about Pam Lowder, a young girl who has an excellent talent with training animals. She and her Papa have trained some of the best pigeons in the country. But when her Papa goes off to fight in the Great War, Pam is left to take care of the pigeons by herself. Eventually you find that an interesting new stranger has arrived in Pam's small, seemingly insignificant town. He has a foreign accent and his behavior is relatively strange to everyone in the town. He is very secretive and unusual. The townsfolk are sure that he is a German spy. What startles Pam is that he is extremely interested in her Papa's pigeons, which she refuses to sell to him, even for a shocking offer of two hundred dollars. Around the time that she refuses to sell the birds, they start to go missing. Pam is sure that the foreigner is connected with the missing birds, and she is willing to spy on HIM to find out the truth.
  This book won an award for children's best mystery, and I can honestly say that I can see why. This is one of those mysteries that makes sense when you look back at the plot after you've read the book. I loved reading it, and devoured the book in two days!
• 
  Dena

  Yes, this is another of my collection of books acquired from teaching 4th grade. And yes, it's an American Girl book. But soooo good for a quick little read! Loved it. History, regional culture, and a cool little mystery and a heroine that anyone could identify with. Good story that I cannot wait to pass onto to one of my nieces! I also liked that the approach didn't make Pam perfect and addressed some of the issues of the time and place like poverty and discrimination. And
• 
  Meghan

  I think the story had the potential to be more interesting but setting it a month before the end of the war (WWI in this case) made the stakes seem much lower. It was pretty easy to tell that the person Pam was convinced was the culprit wasn’t it, but the revelation of the true culprit keeps you guessing.
• 
  SFrick

  Just one of the many reasons I like to read books for young adults is explained in
  detail at
  https://www.theguardian.com/childrens....
  
  And I quote from their website which is very well written.
  "It’s not a secret that books written for children, teens and young adults (YAs) often sell far more copies than even the most popular adult reads. Although a relatively new market, having only really fully developed over the past 50 years, the children’s book industry has grown astronomically to become worth millions of pounds worldwide, with authors such as JK Rowling, Suzanne Collins, Michael Morpurgo, John Green, and Jacqueline Wilson quickly becoming household favourites.
  
  Perhaps one of the most important things to note about the teen and YA market in particular, though, is that the majority of its readers (55%, according to a 2012 study) are actually adults. Yes, you read that right: adults.
  
  Once upon a time it would have been shameful for adults to read books written for teenagers, never mind admitting that publicly, but nowadays it has become so common that many have even taken to blogging to discuss and review what they have read. At YA events such as book signings and author talks, a staggering number of attendees are aged 18 or over – showing that the prior societal damnation of adults reading books for young people is no more.
  
  Perhaps the real mystery, then, is not why the works of the authors above have been so successful commercially (it’s because they’re amazing books), but why they, and other books like them, have appealed to so many people beyond their target audience. This in itself creates a sub-mystery, too: why do these books remain popular years after they are first published, and what is it about our current society and world that means that their messages and values are still applicable to us?"
• 
  Melissa

  A fun little mystery, with a few historical details. It's not a big winner for me because of some of the deception and attitudes, and yet usually the mother did try to correct her daughter, so you can look at it in various ways. It was a nice way to pass the time when I was recovering from sickness.
• 
  Alicia Mesa

  Part of the America Girl History Mystery series… enjoyable and educational with a spunky and snarky main character. Excellent intro to pigeons and how the helped the war effort. Good book for all ages.
• 
  Jessika

  I will never be able to get over how American Girl made such an impact on the historical fiction for young girls genre. I truly believe that they are one of the biggest reasons why I became such a history lover and why, to this day, historical fiction remains one of my preferred genres.
  
  But anyway, enough rambling.
  
  This was a great story that I read in an afternoon. I remember reading it when I was younger and enjoying it, and reading it as an adult, I still very much enjoyed it. Jones has a way of driving the story forward with a mystery that even as an adult, I wasn't able to solve. I grew fond of Pam, and I appreciated how her story offered a glimpse into the time period. Plus, I liked how that "glimpse" was historically accurate and how it tied into the historical text at the end. Not to mention that Jones' writing was beautifully descriptive--I mean, I was there with Pam in the woods and in the swamp.
  
  Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I'd recommend this one if you are looking for a great historical fiction for the young reader in your life...or if you are a young reader yourself!
• 
  Janel

  Our first World War I read aloud for history. A good mystery for young ears.
• 
  Grace Lynch

  Greta mystery and great read!
• 
  Kelly

  I love AG books becuase they introduce you to things you'd never think would be interesting or even think of. This wasn't a super mysterious mystery, but I did like it. Learned a lot.
• 
  Linda Hanson

  This was my first American Girl History Mystery. I think it was very well done for middle graders. There was just enough suspense and mystery to get you worried, but not freaked out.
• 
  Jacinta Meredith

  Childhood favorite - love hearing and learning about homing pigeons!
• 
  Brittany

  Very good story.
• 
  Laura

  I really liked this book because it's two of my favorite genres: mystery and historical fiction. It follows a girl named Pam who lives during WWI and takes care of her dad's homing pigeons. She soon finds out an enemy spy is trying to use those pigeons and she has to find out who and stop them. The mystery wasn't my favorite, but I still really enjoyed the story. Would recommend this.
• 
  Melissa

  Captures life on the WWI home front in rural America - fear of the enemy, loss of family members serving overseas, sacrifices made by those left behind. Great highlight of a little-known aspect about how messenger pigeons were used in the war. Enjoyable read.
• 
  Mark

  School library. The kids fight, hate, disobey, lie, etc. but the historical value outweighs the bad, in my opinion. It passes.
  (but I'm really tired of American Girl. Maybe it has something to do with my girls being so enchanted)