The Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead is a big epic adventure novel, based very loosely on the life of Jean Batten and other female aviators during WWII. The protagonist, Marion Graves, escapes a sinking ship with her twin brother when they are only babies. Raised in Missoula Montana, by a largely absent uncle, the kids grow up wild and free. When barnstormers come to town, Maggie knows she will do anything to fly and thus begins her lifelong obsession.

Maggie is a brave and fearless person who never really feels at home amidst people, and although she has one or two loves in her life, hers is mostly a solo journey. At 600 pages, most of the book is about her life leading up to her attempted flight around the world. Shipstead intersperses Maggie’s story with a second story of a present day disgraced Hollywood actress who gets a second chance by playing Maggie in a movie. I’m not entirely sure if this story line was necessary and the book might have been better, and a more manageable length, without it.

However, overall I loved the book. Shipstead is a great storyteller and Maggie is someone you want to get to know. A great Summer read.