Friday, March 6, 2009

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith





Abstract: During World War II, a light-skinned African American girl "passes" for white in order to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots.




Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 275 p.

2 comments:

Peace, Love and Veganism said...

I absolutely loved this book. A strong character, Ida Mae also has to deal with sexism, as well as racism. It was complex and the ending wasn't tied up too neatly.

Teresa said...

I agree. The author does an excellent job of imagining the turmoil and danger of "passing" as well as making this reader feel as though I was flying along with Ida.

While the author shares there is no record of African-American women who pretended to be white in order to become a WASP, the possibility is not difficult to imagine. The novel movingly portrays one African American family's experience during World War II.