Review: Flygirl by Sherri E. Smith

Flygirl by Sherri. E Smith
Release Date: September 16, 2012
Publisher: Scholastic
Format: Paperback
Pages: 269
Source: borrowed

Ida Mae Jones dreams of flight. Her daddy was a pilot and being black didn't stop him from fulfilling his dreams. But her daddy's gone now, and being a woman, and being black, are two strikes against her.
When America enters the war with Germany and Japan, the Army creates the WASP, the Women's Airforce Service Pilots - and Ida suddenly sees a way to fly as well as do something significant to help her brother stationed in the Pacific. But even the WASP won't accept her as a black woman, forcing Ida Mae to make a difficult choice of "passing," of pretending to be white to be accepted into the program. Hiding one's racial heritage, denying one's family, denying one's self is a heavy burden. And while Ida Mae chases her dream, she must also decide who it is she really wants to be.

My Review: I am not a huge historical fiction fan. If I do read historical fiction, it's a Dear America book. Which takes like an hour to read. This was definitely very different from a Dear America novel and I'm here to tell you why I liked that.
   First, the characters. Ida or "Jonesy" as called by Patsy is an african american woman. She was very strong willed and never wanted to stop flying. She was very opinionated and always stuck to her opinion, which was usually right. Jolene was only there for a short time but I really didn't like her. I think she was just way too jealous for my taste. She was also always rude to Ida Mae. Sometimes I wanted to jump in there and slap her. (Ha). Patsy and Lily were just so sweet and they were just like Ida. Patsy was a little more spunky though.
   Next, the plot. We follow Ida Mae Jones. She was born in raised in Louisiana. Her daddy's family has always married whites so that they're children can become lighter and lighter and lighter. Ida Mae's daddy married her dark mom which made his mom very mad. Ida's dad passed away a few years ago in a farming accident. Ever since then she has always wanted to fly and be a pilot. She knew she could since she looked like a white woman and could fly. She goes off to train to become a WASP and there she meets Patsy and Lily. They go on lots of fun adventures together and are just fun.
   Overall. Flygirl was a terrific book. I felt that it did get slow in some important parts and that some of the twang was hard to understand. I would still pick it up and give it a shot though. I recommend this for anyone who wants a great, quick read.
                                                                      4/5