Flygirl

FLYGIRL is, quite simply, remarkable. It succeeds on many levels: as history of a little known aspect of World War II, as insight into being a patriotic black woman who yearns for the white male world of flying, and best of all, as pure, engrossing story. Sherri L. Smith has clearly done her research in depicting the WASP experience, and she brings Ida Mae and her friends to vivid life. The world Ida Mae inhabits at the beginning of WWII is very limiting for too many people. By the end of the story, it's clear the world has changed. Ida Mae is not going to go back to cleaning houses, and I like to think of her creating a path that will let her fly not as a "colored" girl passing for white, but as simply Ida Mae Jones, pilot. I noticed that an earlier review by a flying buff criticized the story for not showing pre-flight checks, but the gentleman must not have read carefully. The flight checks are there, and given exactly as much weight as they deserve by showing that the girl pilots know what they're doing. I look forward to reading more of Sherri L. Smith's book

I have so many good things to say about this book, I don't know where to start... First, I loved the heroine, Ida Mae. Ida is a small town farm girl whose father introduced her to crop dusting at an early age. Ida loves to fly and when America enters World War 2, she gets tired of collecting silk stockings and cleaning houses and decides to join the WASP. Despite her amazing flying abilities, the WASP will turn her away simply because she is half black. Ida's desire to fly and aide her brother overseas in the only way she knows how overcomes her fears and she passes herself off as white so that she may do so. Her mother gets upset, her best friend gets upset, but Ida doesn't let them stop her and off she goes Sweetwater, Texas to fly. On top of getting a firm feel for life at Avenger Field during world war 2 and the flight training and procedures, readers also get a look at what it is like to be black in the 1940s. Ida is always having to worry about her hair curling too much or somebody figuring out her secret because back then, her secret could get her killed. On top of the racial tension is the fact that she is a woman to boot. I doubt anybody had it harder back then. Women in general had it rough, but being a black woman... most of us would not have had Ida's courage. Also in the story is how Ida deals with conflicting emotions regarding her family in New Orleans (she feels she is denying her own heritage and family, especially when her mom comes to visit and has to act like her maid) and her family in Sweetwater. How would her newfound white friends act if they knew the truth? My only complaint about this novel is we never found that out. There is also a situation with the loss of a friend. Ida has to deal with her grief as she watches a friend die and her conflicting emotions about the situation as she realizes it could happen to her. I absolutely loved the courageous flight Ida takes with Lily in a B-29. Great way to end this novel. Readers see how the WASP was literally used and discarded. I feel for all the women that were involved. Yet, this does not stop Ida Mae. Despite the fact that the Army betrays her and her female comrades in the end, Ida Mae still wants to fly, not as a white woman, nor a black woman, but as Ida Mae. Ms. Smith, I would like to see a sequel to this book. I would like to see Ida Mae go work for Walt and come clean about her heritage. I'd like to see her overcome the 1950s and keep on flying despite all odds. We need more books with strong female heroines, white, black, latina.... Thumbs up, Ms. Smith.

"'Yes, indeed.' Audrey salutes me this time. 'Isn't it funny, ladies, how there's always a man at the bottom of everything we do?'" After reading FLYGIRL, I still have not the slightest desire to learn to fly an airplane. There are just too many problems that can pop up with such complex mechanical things. When something unexpected occurs with my Toyota pickup, I simply pull over and pull out the cell phone and the AAA card. One doesn't have the same luxury with an airplane, as we see all too vividly in FLYGIRL, Sherri L. Smith's high-flying tale of a young, light-skinned, southern woman of color who "passes" for white during World War II so that she can compete for a position flying in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program. Ida Mae Jones and her fellow women pilots go through months of rigorous training so that they can assume responsibility for military flight tasks on the homefront. The WASP pilots thereby free up the Army's male pilots so that the men can then head into combat overseas in the European and South Pacific theaters. Ida Mae grew up in her father's crop duster -- after her father blazed his own trail by heading north to Chicago in order to get pilot's training and a license -- and she lives to fly. But now her father is dead in a tractor accident, there is gasoline rationing because of The War, and her big brother, Thomas, has enlisted as a medic. Free as a bird in the air, this young woman is one smart, careful, and damned-near fearless flygirl. Ida Mae's difficulties are, instead, encountered when she is back on the ground: "Pretending to be white is like holding your stomach in at the lake when the boys walk by. You know they're looking, but you don't want to be seen the way you really are, tummy all soft and babyish, with a too-small chest and behind. So you stand up tall, suck it in, tilt it forward, and try to do the best you can." I love how Ida Mae offers this comparison with which we can all relate. How many times do we feel the need to pretend we are someone we aren't for the sake of feeling better (or less bad) about ourselves? As we know, such a survival strategy might help in the short run, but what are the long-term psychological effects of being forced to deny or hide our identities because of discrimination? We can only imagine the psychic costs to Ida Mae and countless real life Americans who have had to either hide a piece of themselves or else forego life-changing opportunities. It is for this reason that we evolved for the better, from the "melting pot" philosophy of assimilation that was widely taught during my childhood to the "salad bowl" philosophy of multiculturalism that has been the norm during my children's formative years. It is for this reason that for so many of us of my generation the REAL American Dream is the one that we heard articulated from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial the week before I began third grade: "I have a dream that my four little childr

It's unusual for a YA novel to be about an adult woman -- and although Ida Mae is young, she is definitely an independent, grown person. FLYGIRL still works as a young adult novel, however, because the story is about first setting out into the world and trying to balance between the girl you have been and the woman you want to be. The dilemmas Ida Mae goes through while passing for white are multidimensional, and I liked that Sherri Smith did not present the readers with a pat answer by declaring that Ida Mae was "wrong" or "right" in her decision. The '40s era is so well-portrayed that I have found myself humming big-band music ever since I started reading. And the friendships Ida Mae builds with characters like Patsy, Lily and Walt -- as well as her friendship with Jolene at home -- all feel very true. And I was fascinated by the WASP program and astonished that we haven't heard more about these courageous women. My only complaint was that I wanted MORE of this book, but I am very happy with FLYGIRL as it stands.

World War II is raging across the globe and Ida Mae Jones is doing everything she can on the homefront to support the war effort. With her brother, Thomas, off fighting in the Pacific, Ida Mae wants nothing more than to see the boys come home safely. Donating bacon grease and nylon stockings is not enough. Ida Mae cannot just sit at home when she knows that so many are dying overseas. When she sees an article in the newspaper announcing a new army initiative - WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) - she knows that she has found her calling. Like the Russians, Uncle Sam is finally letting women do more. Flying has always been a passion for Ida Mae, since the first time her daddy took her up in his "Jenny," a Curtiss JN-4. She might not have a license, due to a sexist flight instructor, but Ida Mae is an experienced pilot. In fact, she feels more at home in the sky than on the ground. Her father flew to dust crops, and now Ida Mae wants to fly in the army. There is just one problem. WASP is a program for white women, and Ida Mae is colored. With her light skin and brown hair, she just might be able to pass for a white woman. To pursue her dream of becoming a WASP, Ida Mae must deny her identity and face unimaginable dangers. Graduating from the rigorous training in Sweetwater, Texas, to become a full-fledged WASP will be no easy task. Can one colored girl prove to herself and the world that the sky really is the limit? Sherri L. Smith smoothly incorporates extensive historical research to paint a bold and extraordinary portrait of the courageous women of the WASP. Like her idols, Jackie Cochran and Nancy Love, Ida Mae is a plucky, adventurous heroine, defying race and gender barriers to surpass even her own expectations. Smith is honest in portraying the often rough and unfair treatment that women of WASP endured, the unappreciated sacrifices that these women made all in the name of a country that did not see them as equals to men. Ida Mae herself says it best - "We don't get any medals for the things we do. We don't get a parade when we go home." Even without the fanfare and celebrations that they deserved, the WASP played an essential role in winning World War II. And for Ida Mae? "It's all the reward we need." Reviewed by: Amber Gibson