Read Sherri L. Smith's posts on the Penguin Blog
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.
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