Flygirl (a young adult book)

WWII was in full swing & women were desperately needed to fill formerly "men only" jobs. The Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) were formed to fill the void of men male flyers who had been drafted and sent overseas. Flygirl, by Sherrie L Smith, tells the story of Ida Mae Jones a young African American lady who wants to be more than another housemaid. Ida Mae's father taught her to fly before he passed away, so she applies for the white only WASP organization and because she was light skinned "passes". ("Passing" was a term for African Americans who lived as if they were white, often forsaking their friends and family. ) Ida Mae studies hard and overcomes many obstacles. She makes new friends and loses some along the way. This is an excellent read for anyone wishing to learn more about the WASP. I am an afficionado of World War II, but I still learned several new things about the WASP that I hadn't known!

This review is by Lori B.

This book can be found in our catalog: http://www.newberglibrary.org/