All Ida Mae Jones wants to do is fly. Her daddy was a pilot, and years after his death she feels closest to him when shes in the air. But as a young black woman in 1940s Louisiana, she knows the sky is off limits to her, until America enters World War II, and the Army forms the WASPWomen Airforce Service Pilots.Ida has a chance to fulfill her dream if shes willing to use her light skin to pass as a white girl. She wants to fly more than anything, but Ida soon learns that denying ones self and family is a heavy burden, and ultimately its not what you do but who you are thats most important.

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

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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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Summary