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Alone with the Stars
Listening time 2 hours 10 minutes
In the summer of 1937, Amelia Earhart is the most famous woman in the world - a record-breaking pilot, a best-selling author, and a modern woman shattering the glass ceiling in the early days of aviation.
And then she vanishes.
In Tampa, Florida, 15-year-old Lizzie Friedlander spends her afternoons glued to her father's radio, tapping into the enormity of a world she longs to travel. Lizzie can hardly believe her ears when she picks up a radio signal from a faraway source that sets her heart racing: "Amelia Earhart calling SOS!"
As Lizzie copies down the transmissions, it's clear that the Amelia Earhart is not lost at sea, as the newspapers are dreading, but alive and calling for help. In a race against time, Lizzie must convince the local Coast Guard that the radio transmissions were real and that Earhart's life hangs in the balance. But will anyone believe her?
Written for audio by David R. Gillham, the acclaimed, New York Times best-selling author of City of Women, and performed by Emily Bauer and Hilary Huber, Alone with the Stars is a breathtaking and illuminating tribute to a woman who risked her life in pursuit of new heights, and the young girl who tried desperately to save her when everything went wrong. Inspired by actual events, Alone with the Stars reveals, in riveting detail, the final moments in the life of a great heroine, whose courage changed the world forever.
In the summer of 1937, Amelia Earhart is the most famous woman in the world - a record-breaking pilot, a best-selling author, and a modern woman shattering the glass ceiling in the early days of aviation.
And then she vanishes.
In Tampa, Florida, 15-year-old Lizzie Friedlander spends her afternoons glued to her father's radio, tapping into the enormity of a world she longs to travel. Lizzie can hardly believe her ears when she picks up a radio signal from a faraway source that sets her heart racing: "Amelia Earhart calling SOS!"
As Lizzie copies down the transmissions, it's clear that the Amelia Earhart is not lost at sea, as the newspapers are dreading, but alive and calling for help. In a race against time, Lizzie must convince the local Coast Guard that the radio transmissions were real and that Earhart's life hangs in the balance. But will anyone believe her?
Written for audio by David R. Gillham, the acclaimed, New York Times best-selling author of City of Women, and performed by Emily Bauer and Hilary Huber, Alone with the Stars is a breathtaking and illuminating tribute to a woman who risked her life in pursuit of new heights, and the young girl who tried desperately to save her when everything went wrong. Inspired by actual events, Alone with the Stars reveals, in riveting detail, the final moments in the life of a great heroine, whose courage changed the world forever.
2 pages, Audible Audio
First published January 30, 2020
41 people are currently reading
548 people want to read
About the author
David R. Gillham
5 books380 followersDavid R. Gillham is a New York Times bestselling author. His latest novel, SHADOWS of BERLIN, was released in hardcover in April of 2022, and is now available in PAPERPACK, E-Book, or the award-winning Audio Book.
David loves to join book club discussions, virtually or in person. See his website at davidrgillham.com for the book club kit!
Author Bio: The author of CITY of WOMEN and ANNELIES, Gillham studied screenwriting at the University of Southern California before transitioning into fiction. After moving to New York City, he spent more than a decade in the book business, and now lives with his family in Western Massachusetts.
David loves to join book club discussions, virtually or in person. See his website at davidrgillham.com for the book club kit!
Author Bio: The author of CITY of WOMEN and ANNELIES, Gillham studied screenwriting at the University of Southern California before transitioning into fiction. After moving to New York City, he spent more than a decade in the book business, and now lives with his family in Western Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 359 reviews
March 9, 2020
Goodreads, STOP DELETING AUDIBLE ORIGINALS. I will keep adding them back if someone else hasn’t already. THEY ARE BOOKS.
March 11, 2020
GOODREADS THIS IS INDEED A BOOK!
Obviously audiobooks are allowed because there are 10 gazillion of them in here (I counted, naturally). Why suddenly are you not allowing Audible Original Books?? Even more importantly why are you being sneaky about it and deleting them sans notice? RUDE!
STOP THE MADNESS!
For those of you that are interested in this particular audiobook: It was a mixture of fact and fiction. Perfect blend. If you are slightly interested in Amelia Earhart you will enjoy this Audible original audiobook. But you have been warned the Goodreads librarians have sticky fingers and they keep stealing these books from history.
Obviously audiobooks are allowed because there are 10 gazillion of them in here (I counted, naturally). Why suddenly are you not allowing Audible Original Books?? Even more importantly why are you being sneaky about it and deleting them sans notice? RUDE!
STOP THE MADNESS!
For those of you that are interested in this particular audiobook: It was a mixture of fact and fiction. Perfect blend. If you are slightly interested in Amelia Earhart you will enjoy this Audible original audiobook. But you have been warned the Goodreads librarians have sticky fingers and they keep stealing these books from history.
March 20, 2020
This was a free Audible original a couple of months ago -- I'm glad I gave it a try! The audiobook tells the story of Amelia Earhart's disappearance, and how "AE" influenced the life of a teen-aged girl who happened to pick up her final radio signals. Only about 2 hours longs, it's a quick listen, but very moving.
June 2, 2021
A relatively short Audible story that shares the story of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance, and a young girl, an avid fan of Earhart in Florida who picked up her radio signals, and tried to convince the experts of what she had heard.
Growing up, Earhart was one of my heroes, which pleased my father to no end as he was a pilot. I’d read a biography about her when I was young from the school library, probably in 2nd grade, and have never forgotten how inspired I was by her. So when I saw this, I knew I wanted to listen to this one.
Loved the narration and the way this story evolved, it’s fairly similar to a news story I read sometime in the somewhat recent past about new information and speculation that had been released.
A wonderfully shared and beautifully narrated story.
March 10, 2020
This is a short, sweet little fictional account of what may have happened to Amelia Earhart. I loved the historical setting; there were things I didn't know about this famous woman. And of course the whole girl power aspect is compelling. The narration by Hillary Huber and Emily Bauer is excellent.
May 6, 2022
A mix of fact and fiction in this short listen from Audible original.
The narration skips between Amelia Earhart as she prepares for and embarks on her final flight and a teen girl Lizzie, obsessed with Earhart and following her flight and, perhaps, getting the distress call everyone else missed.
The narration skips between Amelia Earhart as she prepares for and embarks on her final flight and a teen girl Lizzie, obsessed with Earhart and following her flight and, perhaps, getting the distress call everyone else missed.
April 11, 2021
A touching story of women who have sacrificed her life and another woman who tried to help her by trying to persuade others.
I listened on Audible; it was free of charge. Glad I gave it a go. It was a quick two hours listening by very captivating and involving, also emotional.
I listened on Audible; it was free of charge. Glad I gave it a go. It was a quick two hours listening by very captivating and involving, also emotional.
October 18, 2020
☆4¼☆
Narration was excellently performed. A really interesting glimpse of what may have happened to Amelia Earhart.
Narration was excellently performed. A really interesting glimpse of what may have happened to Amelia Earhart.
March 15, 2020
I could swear I reviewed this thing after I finished it, but apparently that review (along with the version of this audiobook I had added) has disappeared from GR. From what I remember, this was a fairly "meh" kind of experience even for a freebie.
July 15, 2020
I would not recommend this audio book to anyone, especially to young readers as intended, because of strong language, prejudices, and questionable “facts.” Very negative tone. Too bad—it could have inspired young women to follow their dreams.
March 10, 2020
[Note: I had read this in February, but the version I reviewed before seems to have been deleted?? I wish Goodreads would email me when editions I review get removed from the site, *sigh*]
This is an audio production of an alternative historical fiction young adult story set in the 1930s and 40s. One of the February free-for-members Audible Originals, "Alone with the Stars" is about a girl named Lizzie who uses her father's radio antennas to pick up SOS signals from Amelia Earhart's crashed plane. Lizzie tries to convince her local Coast Guard's office to redirect the search for Amelia Earhart's aircraft to where she picked up the SOS signals.
This is a cute premise for a story, and definitely of appeal to fans of Amelia Earhart's legacy. It is wrong to expect too much from a less-than 3 hour audio production, but I wish there had been more action in this than there was. I loved all the parts with Amelia Earhart herself, and wish we had spent more time with her. If this had been split 50/50 between Amelia's and Lizzie's stories, I thought there could have been some insightful parallels made.
Instead, listeners spend most of their time with Lizzie, and she has a lot of thoughts but doesn't get a lot of things done. Her father is really supportive, but the Coast Guard commander is an asshole. The voice in the Coast Guard scenes just feel way too modern for me. It feels like David Gillham couldn't make up his mind whether to truly alter history in this fictional work, or to write a truthful historical work. Either way, this is fine to listen to, but it could have been a lot better.
This is an audio production of an alternative historical fiction young adult story set in the 1930s and 40s. One of the February free-for-members Audible Originals, "Alone with the Stars" is about a girl named Lizzie who uses her father's radio antennas to pick up SOS signals from Amelia Earhart's crashed plane. Lizzie tries to convince her local Coast Guard's office to redirect the search for Amelia Earhart's aircraft to where she picked up the SOS signals.
This is a cute premise for a story, and definitely of appeal to fans of Amelia Earhart's legacy. It is wrong to expect too much from a less-than 3 hour audio production, but I wish there had been more action in this than there was. I loved all the parts with Amelia Earhart herself, and wish we had spent more time with her. If this had been split 50/50 between Amelia's and Lizzie's stories, I thought there could have been some insightful parallels made.
Instead, listeners spend most of their time with Lizzie, and she has a lot of thoughts but doesn't get a lot of things done. Her father is really supportive, but the Coast Guard commander is an asshole. The voice in the Coast Guard scenes just feel way too modern for me. It feels like David Gillham couldn't make up his mind whether to truly alter history in this fictional work, or to write a truthful historical work. Either way, this is fine to listen to, but it could have been a lot better.
April 3, 2020
This was fine. I liked how it showed how important Amelia Earhart was to young girls. She empowered so many people to dream big and go for it. I had a hard time with the fiction part of it. It felt like it was extreme the story they made it out to be. Like most of these Audible originals it felt like it just fell flat.
March 13, 2020
This is a re-posting as the original rating and review were deleted in the 2020 Audible Original new purge by Goodreads. Based on 2019's experience new postings and/or outlier editions of these audiobooks will appear that will allow you to restore your rating and review if you have written and saved it offline.
Original Review:
Dreamy picture of historical fiction jolted by foul language
Review of the Audible Original audiobook edition (January 30, 2020)
[Warning: There is a brief section of obscenities and racist invective towards the end of the book]
The above-the-clouds imagery used in the cover picture might give an impression of inspirational hopes and dreams. The actual book is rather bland though and actually becomes disturbing at one point with an unnecessary obscenity-laced rant when a Coast Guard officer (who was an apparent romantic rival of the girl's father) curses out the girl who attempts to alert the authorities to Amelia Earhart's final transmissions which she had inadvertently picked up on ham radio.
Alone with the Stars was one of the free Audible Originals for members for February 2020. It was available as of January 30, 2020 to members and to the general public for a standard price.
Original Review:
Dreamy picture of historical fiction jolted by foul language
Review of the Audible Original audiobook edition (January 30, 2020)
[Warning: There is a brief section of obscenities and racist invective towards the end of the book]
The above-the-clouds imagery used in the cover picture might give an impression of inspirational hopes and dreams. The actual book is rather bland though and actually becomes disturbing at one point with an unnecessary obscenity-laced rant when a Coast Guard officer (who was an apparent romantic rival of the girl's father) curses out the girl who attempts to alert the authorities to Amelia Earhart's final transmissions which she had inadvertently picked up on ham radio.
Alone with the Stars was one of the free Audible Originals for members for February 2020. It was available as of January 30, 2020 to members and to the general public for a standard price.
May 31, 2020
В книге так мало фактов и так много домыслов, что невольно задаешься вопросом: зачем писать inspired by true events? Скажи прямо, I want to write fan fiction about Amelia and you can't stop me.
May 21, 2020
An Audible original - one of the free picks - which I got because it fit my Star theme this year. This was a short 2-hour listen. A 15-year-old girl hears an SOS call from Amelia Earhart listening to her father's shortwave radio. An interesting "what if" as the now adult woman recalls her efforts to try and get someone to believe her. A warning for one disturbing Anti-Semitic scene, but probably true to the times.
Description: Written for audio by David R. Gillham, the acclaimed, New York Times best-selling author of City of Women, and performed by Emily Bauer and Hilary Huber, Alone with the Stars is a breathtaking and illuminating tribute to a woman who risked her life in pursuit of new heights, and the young girl who tried desperately to save her when everything went wrong. Inspired by actual events, Alone with the Stars reveals, in riveting detail, the final moments in the life of a great heroine, whose courage changed the world forever.
Description: Written for audio by David R. Gillham, the acclaimed, New York Times best-selling author of City of Women, and performed by Emily Bauer and Hilary Huber, Alone with the Stars is a breathtaking and illuminating tribute to a woman who risked her life in pursuit of new heights, and the young girl who tried desperately to save her when everything went wrong. Inspired by actual events, Alone with the Stars reveals, in riveting detail, the final moments in the life of a great heroine, whose courage changed the world forever.
October 28, 2020
Alone with the Stars is a short audible original set in 1937 and told from two perspectives. We hear from Amelia Earheart during her attempt to circumnavigate the globe and her last moments. We also hear from Lizzie, a fifteen year old girl living in Tampla, Florida as she intercepts Earheart's last transmissions on her father's hobby radio.
The plot device of Amelia Earheart is captivating but this short is truly about a woman's place in the world and the generational struggle to break the glass ceiling when no one takes Lizzie seriously and then Earheart's plane isn't found for another 50 years because of it.
Alone with the Stars is historical fiction so no, not all of it is historically accurate. This isn't meant to be a history text, it's a story. I don't know much about Amelia Earheart and I'm inspired to seek out more information now and the story wraps up with a strong message so this was four stars for me.
The plot device of Amelia Earheart is captivating but this short is truly about a woman's place in the world and the generational struggle to break the glass ceiling when no one takes Lizzie seriously and then Earheart's plane isn't found for another 50 years because of it.
Alone with the Stars is historical fiction so no, not all of it is historically accurate. This isn't meant to be a history text, it's a story. I don't know much about Amelia Earheart and I'm inspired to seek out more information now and the story wraps up with a strong message so this was four stars for me.
April 6, 2021
This story is beautifully short, it not only informs the reader about Amelia Earhart and the multitude of aircraft flown during that era, some also by famous women, but it connects the listener with the human being Amelia Earhart. Affectionately coined “AE”, Amelia sends out a final distress signal that is picked up by a young girl thousands of miles away. The story not only paints a picture of AE during that time but also of young Lizzy and her battle against the scrutiny of sexism during that time period. Even the emotions of the story illuminate how it must have felt to have your lives buried beneath cooking and cleaning to take care of your man and family. It illustrates how some women rose far above these things to attain an equitable position in life. I believe the message of the story is clear, gender does not define the soul.
July 16, 2021
Book was slow. I listened through Audible and it brought more depth to the characters than reading it. I did like that though the story was about Amelia Erheart, it was also about her biggest fan, and the regret of not being able to help Amelia in her time of need. The story was laced with Girl Power and its potential, and how it was hindered in centuries past. The book was creative and thoughtful, but not a whole lot interesting.
April 12, 2020
I realize that the Audible Originals that they "give away" each month are going to be short, but sometimes they are just too short to accomplish really telling the story they set out to tell. The concept of a young girl who hears transmissions from Amelia Earhardt on her last flight is intriguing, but there's just not enough story to full develop it.
December 31, 2023
I’m just under the wire on my 2023 goal so am counting this 2 hour audio book! Interesting story about Amelia Earhart, whose story has always fascinated me - along with the seemingly infinite revisionist histories.
March 21, 2020
Quite sad considering that it was based around Amelia Earhart but certainly worth a read!
June 26, 2020
3 stars
Definitely wasn’t anything remarkable, but it was a nice little story. Probably won’t be re reading in the future, it just didn’t sway me enough to want to revisit it.
Definitely wasn’t anything remarkable, but it was a nice little story. Probably won’t be re reading in the future, it just didn’t sway me enough to want to revisit it.
September 5, 2020
There were wonderful moments, but the transitions between perspectives through time was a bit hard to follow. Not to mention, the story feels incomplete.
December 7, 2020
Presented well, and it really opened my mind to the Ameila Earhart story. I would say it has more of a children's feel in the genre, but not much.
April 7, 2021
3.5*
Historical fiction about Amelia Earhart's last flight & a teenaged girl in Florida...
This digital audiobook was narrated by Hillary Huber & Emily Bauer.
Historical fiction about Amelia Earhart's last flight & a teenaged girl in Florida...
This digital audiobook was narrated by Hillary Huber & Emily Bauer.
September 1, 2022
night at the museum did it better
October 30, 2022
straight forward. about how it’s hard to shatter glass ceilings and isms and blaze trails, and about how the torch is being picked up, even if one fails.
December 30, 2022
Nice story about what could have happened with Emilia Earhart
March 8, 2020
This was mildly interesting. The plot could’ve been much more interesting, since it’s actually based on true events. However, I felt like it barely skimmed the surface of the details.
December 9, 2020
Nice short story about Amelia Earhart and a girl that idolizes her. I enjoyed it as a quick listen, and I always like the personification of figures from history as a narrative tool.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 359 reviews