Flygirl

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith is about one of the pilots of the WASP - Women's Airforce Service Pilots - of WWII.

Ida Mae Jones loves to fly. Her daddy taught her in a JN-4 "Jenny" that he used to crop dust fields outside of New Orleans. When the US gets involved in WWII and her brother Thomas quits medical school to join the Army, Ida Mae wishes there was something she could do to help.

Then her little brother sees an ad in the newspaper for WASP. She is thrilled until she remembers that the Army only wants white women pilots. But she loves to fly and will do most anything for the chance.

Ida Mae's light skin allows her to pass for white though it is very dangerous. When she is allowed to join the training program for the WASP she has to go to Texas - an even more harsh place for African Americans than where she grew up. If she is caught she will likely be sentenced to death.

But she loves to fly and the WASP program will give her the opportunity to fly so many types of planes...

Smith, Sherri L. (2008). Flygirl. New York: G.P.Putnam and Sons.