helens78: Cartoon. An orange cat sits on the chest of a woman with short hair and glasses. (Default)
Helens ([personal profile] helens78) wrote in [community profile] a_reader_is_me2009-04-22 10:57 am

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith

Title: Flygirl
Author: Sherri L. Smith
Book number/goal: 6/10

Review: Flygirl is the story of Ida Mae Jones, a African-American woman whose father taught her how to fly. When the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) program starts during World War II, Ida Mae is determined to join -- even though it means passing for white.

This book is excellent; grounded in the realities of the time, full of well-researched (but not dry or over-described) historical details, well-told and well-plotted, and it digs deep into the emotional complexities of passing, as well as the difficulties of being a woman in a highly sexist time and place.

Highly recommended, and I'd definitely look up more books by this author! (The author's blurb says she started writing Flygirl as her master's thesis project after hearing about the WASP program on public radio.)

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