Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
Apr. 22nd, 2009 11:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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50books_pocTitle: Flygirl
Author: Sherri L. Smith
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.)
Author: Sherri L. Smith
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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Date: 2009-04-22 08:08 pm (UTC)I think Flygirl is her best to date; her others skew younger.
Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet (I may be getting the flavors mixed up) is about a biracial Black Chinese kid. The story itself is rather slight and I have a few quibbles with the Chineseness, but give it major points for actually having a non-white multiracial protag.
Sparrow I like for the bits about family and how the book didn't quite turn out as I expected, although I have a few quibbles with the differently abled friend.
Lucy the Giant is a cool look at life on a fishing boat in the Bering Strait. It's harsh but spare and I love all the details of the job, much like I loved all the flying details in Flygirl.