Although I haven't read a lot of Fannie Flagg, this story is very similar to the others I have, light and easy reading focusing on accomplishments of women. The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion switches between the life of Sookie today and the history of Fritzi in early 1940.
Sookie has a loving husband and four grown children, a beautiful home and several close friends in her small Alabama hometown. It seems like she's living the life of Riley, and she would be, if only her perfect mother didn't live two doors down and wasn't the talk of the town! Sookie believes she has never lived up to her mother's expectations and has spent her entire life trying to dance to her mother's tune.
Fritzi is a strong-willed daredevil who wants to be in the limelight. She can fix a car and fly a plane and is always on the lookout for a challenge or an adventure. When WWII breaks out, Fritzi wants to enlist, but instead has to settle for running the family gas station in Wisconsin. Eventually, the US military accepts a small group of women to aid in transporting aircraft to vital locations. Fritzi immediately joins the WASP's.
These two lives merge when Sookie receives a letter from Texas with some unbelievable news that causes her to rethink her life and herself.
Personally, I wore a little thin hearing Sookie's constant pity party and had a hard time believing her response to the surprising news, but I enjoyed the history of the WASP sections. If you liked Fried Green Tomatoes you'd probably like this book too.
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