Questions About Flygirl

by Sherri L. Smith (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (8)

I have a question: Ida Mae is black, but the illustrated girl looks white. Is anyone else bothered by it? With so few famous POC main characters (who aren't played by white people in movie versions), Ida Mae's race should be shown, especially since it's essential to her story. Ignoring the race of POC on the part of a book (about racism, no less) that visually represents the book's contents is wrong.

Hannah I think that's the point of the book. She looks white: "Just Little Miss Pretty Hair and Her Creamy White Skin." In the media, there's a light-skin bi…moreI think that's the point of the book. She looks white: "Just Little Miss Pretty Hair and Her Creamy White Skin." In the media, there's a light-skin bias, where black women are depicted as beautiful with lighter skin, and sometimes magazines will lighten a black woman's skin. Because Ida Mae is black but has lighter skin, I bet she has more privilege than a darker black woman. I haven't read the whole book, but I bet that this book calls out the bias against blacks with darker skin and shows light-skinned privilege (aka, a combination of white privilege and racism). I don't think it visually misrepresents the book's contents. I think it's calling out our society's bias.

This book kind of reminds me of Puddn'head Wilson by Mark Twain because the main female character has black ancestry but looks white, and people don't realize she's black until she starts talking. Then, they treat her differently because she has black cultural features. (less)

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To be a WASP pilot how old do you actually have to be? In real life, where did WASP pilots train?

Faith Snyder The Women of the WASP trained in Texas at the Houston Municipal Airport. You can visit the WASP memorial monument at Avenger Field in Sweetwater TX. T…moreThe Women of the WASP trained in Texas at the Houston Municipal Airport. You can visit the WASP memorial monument at Avenger Field in Sweetwater TX. These awesome women had to have at least 1,400 hours of flight time, on top of learning military euphemisms and codes before even being initiated into the branch, on top of fulfilling other requirements. They didn't receive any of the benefits that military men received upon joining the military such as healthcare, uniforms or housing, but they did get a mascot and it was drawn by Walt Disney and Roald Dahl! The age requirement was initially 21 but it was lowered to 18 and 1/2 in 1943. I'm in LOVE with WASP history! So glad to help!(less)

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This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Caitlyn That's the thing: we don't know. The author left the ending open. We truly don't know what happened to Ida Mae. At the end of the novel, it was implie…moreThat's the thing: we don't know. The author left the ending open. We truly don't know what happened to Ida Mae. At the end of the novel, it was implied that Ida was going to tell Walt that she was black in a letter, and she was going to see if he would accept her as she is or not. She didn't want to keep lying to him or take his offer of flying for him and having to hide her family and her heritage from him and the world for the rest of her life.
We don't know how Walt would have taken it. Maybe he would read the letter and decide he never wanted to see her again. Maybe he was ahead of his time and decided he loved her regardless of race.
Personally, I like to imagine that she told Walt, and he accepted her as she is. They would run their private charter airline company, eventually get married, and have kids. Sure, she may have to hide her race from the public (interracial marriage wasn't universally allowed until 20+ years later), but her kids would grow up knowing their grandma and their uncles. I also like to imagine that she would soon after tell Lily, and that Lily wouldn't care either (especially, as she was Jewish, and often faced antisemitism), and that she and Ida would remain close friends to the end of their days.
That's what I like to imagine, at least. I'm a sucker for happy endings. But, sometimes life doesn't always have happy endings, and sometimes people aren't always as openminded as we hope they would be. I think only the author would be able to tell you for certain what happened to them. (less)

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is this book clean?