The Girl Who Took Flight

The Airline Girls #2

by Lizzie Page

Air hostess Lola has made her home in the skies, starting afresh after losing everything. But when her past comes calling, can she face it head on – or will it destroy everything she’s worked so hard for?

England, 1948. It’s been ten years since Lola arrived from Germany as a scared, trembling Jewish refugee. Even now, she can’t think about the family she lost back in Berlin, or her heartbreak will destroy her.

Instead Lola looks to the the new family she’s found working in a job she adores as one of England’s first airline stewardesses, and the butterflies she feels around handsome pilot Brian – even if the thought of opening her heart again terrifies her. But when news of the Berlin Blockade reaches England and the Allies decide to provide supplies to the desperate people of Berlin by air, Lola’s boss offers his fleet to the cause.

Lola’s chest squeezes painfully tight at the thought of putting herself in danger to help the country that took everything from her. But when she sets foot on German soil once more, will confronting her past open up old wounds – or finally help them heal for good?

An emotional, uplifting and inspiring historical novel that will break your heart and then put it back together again. Perfect for fans of Sandy Taylor, Call the Midwife and Come Fly With Me

377 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication August 6, 2026

About the author

Hello and thank you for stopping by.

I love reading ALL the books, and I've always loved reading the adventures of women in the past so it seemed natural to me to write historical fiction.

I live with my family by the sea in South East England. And with my dog. How did I forget my dog? I enjoy traveling and lived in Japan for several years. I've had lots of different jobs from waitressing and teaching to admin and bingo-calling - but being a writer is my absolute favourite.

I hope my novels help shine a light on the achievements, love and relationships of twentieth-century women, and that the books are entertaining and moving.

I'd love to hear what you think - feel free to send me a message on twitter @LizziePagewrite or on FB or leave a review here.

Happy reading,

Love Lizzie xx

Reviews

[theliterateleprechaun]

4⭐

Review to be posted August 07, book tour date.

[Sarah (BookedMyShelfSolid) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture for the eARC of The Girl Who Took Flight by Lizzie Page, expected publication August 6, 2026. All thoughts are my own. I rated this 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars on Goodreads.

As someone who reads a lot of WWII historical fiction, I love finding books that explore the aftermath and years following the war. The Girl Who Took Flight fits that perfectly.

Lola Klein and her brother Saul are German Jews who escaped to England on the Kindertransport in 1938, leaving their family behind. Years later, Lola has become a Dream Girls airline stewardess and finds herself returning to Berlin during the Berlin Airlift, a place she promised she'd never go back to. Once there, she's forced to confront the city she fled and the memories she left behind.

This is the second book in the Airline Girls series. While it absolutely works as a standalone, I wasn't fully invested at first. There was quite a bit of background on Audrey and Cheryl, Lola's best friends and fellow flight girls, and I found myself wanting to get deeper into Lola's story. I also initially wondered if this was YA and even looked it up because the tone felt younger than I expected. There's nothing wrong with that, it just wasn't what I was expecting.

Once the focus shifted to the Berlin Airlift, I was hooked. It's such an important moment in history that I feel often gets glossed over. I have similar feelings about the Kindertransport, it's another chapter of history that deserves far more recognition. I actually wished there had been even more emphasis on it in this book.

My favorite part of the story was watching Lola wrestle with the conflict of returning to Germany, a country that took so much from her, while also feeling an undeniable need to help the people still struggling there.

The historical research shines throughout the novel. In addition to the Berlin Airlift and the Kindertransport, I also loved the smaller historical details woven into the story, including the mentions of Dutch Olympic champion Fanny Blankers-Koen, which helped bring the late-1940s setting to life without ever feeling like a history lesson.

This isn't a nonstop, action-packed historical fiction novel. It's a character-driven story about healing and resilience after unimaginable trauma. If you enjoy historical fiction that explores the lasting effects of WWII long after the fighting ended, I think this is one worth picking up.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tremendously enjoyed this second novel of the series (can be read as a standalone as well!). Again, the author wrote about a topic which is very sensitive, and she did it with much warmth as well as delicacy as well. Topics such as Berlin after WWII, seen through the eyes of a young Jewish woman who had come to England on a Kindertransport; Germans seen through the eyes of the same young lady: what thoughts go through her mind??? Should she help those people? Were they (still) Nazis? What about the children? I don't even mention the survival's guilt !!!
Indeed, through her job as an air hostess and her secretive boss, Lola is sent to Tempelhof airport in Berlin in 1948 to do what exactly????
Many questions will be raised which will have a deep impact on her lufe now and later...
A great novel with meticulous historical research which will move the reader, and bring her/him to reflect on guilt, forgiveness (?) and hope for a peaceful future.
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I have voluntarily written an honest review.

[Dawn Lawrence Read_with_Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book the 2nd instalment in the Airline Girls series. It was lovely getting to know Lola better, the author is so good at writing sensitively when the subject is difficult. Lola is loving working as a flight attendant alongside her friends, fairly early on she has a very bad experience on a flight which shakes her to her core and brings back memories of having to flee Germany as a child. The story follows the girls through their ups and downs. It can be read as a stand alone but I would start with the first book. A, because it’s brilliant and B, because you will get to know Audrey’s story. It’s an interesting read, it’s set after WW2 has ended but the war is still affecting the world they live in. Highly recommend, Lizzie Page is such a great author!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. Publication date 6 August 2026.

[Christine M in Texas (stamperlady50) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Girl Who Took Flight
By: Lizzie Page
Pub Date: August 6, 2026
Publisher: Bookouture

I love this series. This is the 2nd in The Airline Girls series. The First was “The Airline Girl”.
England, 1948
Ten years ago, Lola arrived in Germany as a Jewish refugee. Sadly, she lost her family in Berlin. She is now working as one England’s first airline stewardesses. She is smitten with Brian who is pilot. She has been trying to move forward. As of news of the Berlin Blockage reaches England, her boss offers their fleet to help with supplies. Her heart is pounding and memories are coming back. She has to return to Germany where she lost everything.
Full of emotions, and will tug and every emotion. Will she be able to heal and help when needed?
I hope the author continues this series. This author knows how to tell a heartwarming story and I was invested in the characters.

[Booklover BEV · Rating 5 out of 5]

Southend England 1948.
Air hostess Lola Klein from the dreamgirls.
This was such a very informative read through every page.
The girl who took flight is unique as Lola experiences the world from a whole new perspective.
Brilliant read unabled to put it down.

[Kimberly Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read and enjoyed the first novel in this series, so I was happy to join the second to follow along on the early days of passenger airline travel in England.

This novel follows Lola Klein, one of three airline stewardesses we meet in the first novel. Lola came to London as a child, an evacuee from Berlin before war broke out. Today, Lola serves as a stewardess and travels around Europe, spends time with her fellow stewardesses and best friends, watches her brother withdraw as he begins to build his new life, and navigates a potential love interest.

But as the Soviet Union places a stranglehold on Lola’s former hometown of Berlin, she observes as airlifts begin to ferry in needed supplies. Soon enough, Lola is brought in on some of the missions. In doing so, Lola grapples with a return to a country she vowed never to step foot in again and is forced to come to terms with her painful past. The story unfolds between Lola’s present and her childhood within Berlin’s Jewish community, increasingly under threat by the Nazis.

This is an enjoyable and well-researched novel, which can easily be read as a stand-alone. I highly recommend this novel and he series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy - all thoughts are my own.

[Dee Groocock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of advanced copy received from NetGalley and the publisher.

This is the second book in the series, but it can be read as a standalone.

It’s been ten years since Lola left Germany on the Kindertransport and came to England with her brother. Working now as one of the first airline stewardesses, Lola struggles when she finds out about the Berlin Blockade and wants to help out in some way.

When her boss offers his fleet to help drop supplies, Lola has to face her past and go to Berlin again for the first time since she was a child.

It was lovely to be back with Lola, Audrey and Cheryl again. Although this is mainly Lola’s story, the other two still have a role to play in this book.

I found this to be an emotional and inspiring story, and my heart went out to Lola. I enjoyed seeing her grow and develop throughout the book.