A GIRL'S GUIDE TO MISSILES Growing Up in America's Secret Desert

Karen Piper's fascinating memoir is brought skillfully to life by Rebecca Lowman's intimate narration. Piper recounts her Cold War-era childhood and adolescence at the naval research facility at China Lake, California, where both of her parents worked on missile development. She weaves military, political, and cultural history with important moments in her own life--Reagan's election and her sixteenth birthday, for example. Lowman maintains an easy, natural tone, drawing the listener along as the subject matter veers from missile science to Piper's slow discovery of the world outside China Lake. The author reflects on her unusual childhood with a refreshing lack of judgment, and Lowman's narration captures both her dry humor and her generous but frank assessment of herself and her family. E.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2018]