"An entertaining book that deservedly highlights an overshadowed part of history that will appeal to middle-grade readers."
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Check out the Flying Fillies Official Website.
Dawn’s admiration of her aunt and the WASPs helps her through hard times and school and big life changes. Flying Filles: The Sky's the Limit by Christy Hui is set against the backdrop of World War II, Dawn, a twelve-year-old girl who wants to be either a cowgirl or a pilot, is leaving the city life of Chicago behind for her grandfather’s ranch in Sweetwater, Texas. Her aunt Georgia, has flown home from supporting the English war effort to be stationed at the nearby base, signing up for the new WASP - or Women Airforce Service Pilot program, training female flyers to relieve male pilots desperately needed for combat missions on the front line. This chapter book follows both Dawn and Georgia at times, as they settle into life in Texas and the WASP program. Through her volunteer office work, Dawn is on the base and sees the bravery of the female pilots, inspiring her to face fears in her own life as well as making her eager to join the pilots. This is an interesting chapter book that, although fictional, is based on the WASP training at Sweetwater during WWII and the dangerous work female pilots did on either side of the Atlantic to fly aircraft to and from the frontline when they were in need of repair or when new craft had been made. This is a quick read and will appeal to fans of historical fiction while also teaching about the mostly unsung role female pilots had during the war (as it states at the end of the story the WASPs were finally awarded the Congressional Medal on 10th March 2010). The ‘Looking Back’ section at the end of the book offers even more information and lots of photographs, about the WASPs, America During Early WWII and Life during WWII. Events seemed to happen very quickly throughout the book. I would like to know how much time passed between Ice setting off for Gibraltar and going missing, for example, as there were moments when I felt a little bit lost in regards to how much time had passed within the story. However, I liked the characters and feel that this book is an entertaining book that deservedly highlights an overshadowed part of history that will appeal to middle-grade readers.
Charlotte Walker, A LoveReading4Kids Ambassador
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