Flygirl

Smith, S.L. (2008). Flygirl. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Author Website: Smith, S.L. (n.d.). Sherri L. Smith {writer}. Retrieved from http://www.sherrilsmith.com/

Author Info: Sherri has worked for Disney, helping with animations for films. She also worked for a construction company but she now finds herself in Los Angles, writing her fifth novel at night and working for Bongo, a comic book company. She got into writing young adult novels because she loved reading books at that age. She hopes her writing touches people and makes them feel more connected to each other. She got the idea for Flygirl after sitting in traffic, listening to a news station on the radio, and they told the story of a WASP girl. She liked the idea that people from all walks of life entered the program.

Review One: [Review of the book Flygirl]. (n.d.). Kirkus Reviews.

During World War II, a semi-military unit of women pilots, the WASPs, fought for their chance to serve their country. The WASPs did not accept "colored" women, however. That proves no obstacle for pilot Ida Mae Jones, who is light-skinned enough to pass for white, although she risks her life if she's caught and may even risk her eventual return to her family. This well-told, interesting story moves along at a good clip, as Smith paints a vivid picture of the WASPs, with the suspense of Ida Mae's deception always lurking beneath the surface. The misogynistic military and bigoted townsfolk can't stop Ida Mae and her new friends from doing their bit. Those friendships and a possible forbidden romance keep Ida Mae occupied when she isn't flying. A vibrant picture of WWII women and of Jim Crow as it was then.

Review Two: Collins, C.J. (2009, February 1). [Review of the book Flygirl]. School Library Journal.

Readers first meet 18-year-old Ida Mae Jones, a Louisiana girl who longs to be a pilot, in December 1941, on the eve of America's entrance into World War II. She is pretty and smart, but she has two huge strikes against her. She is black in an America where racism holds sway, and a competent pilot in an America in which she is denied her license because she is a woman. Smith explores these two significant topics and does a wonderful job of melding the two themes in one novel. Ida Mae is a likable character who is torn by the need to pass for white and fake a license in order to fulfill her dream. Readers learn a great deal about what it must have been like to be African American in the South during this period, as well as about the Women Airforce Service Pilots, WASP, a civilian group that performed jobs that freed male pilots for other things. The women's close friendships and the danger, excitement, and tragedy of their experience create a thrilling, but little-known story that begs to be told. The book is at once informative and entertaining. In the end, readers are left to wonder what Ida Mae Jones will do with the rest of her life

Discussion Questions:

1. If Patsy were still alive, what do you think she would have told Ida on graduation day?

2. Develop new nicknames for Patsy, Ida, and Lily and tell why you chose them.

Quote:

pg. 208 "I wish the army had taught us how to navigate feelings as easily as they did a starless night sky."