The Wild Blue Yonder
Books about Female Pilots
A tale of serendipity: I was at the public library downtown planning to pick up two books that have been on my list for a while. When I found them, I realized they were a perfect pair. One of them was a historical YA book about a female pilot in the WASP of World War II. The other was a sci-fi reimagining of the space program centering on a former WASP. My kid said, These books are about the same thing. Is this for a blog post? Well, it is now! This synergy led to the recommendations below on lady pilots.
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith (2008)
Ida’s has loved to fly since her dad taught her how with his crop duster. When racism and sexism keep her from getting her pilot’s license, she makes a radical choice. She passes for white, “borrows” her dad’s license, and enters the WASPs. The training is challenging, but she makes friends who get her through it. As Ida continues hiding her true self, she feels the strain. She can either do what she loves and fly or be who she really is and be grounded forever.
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (2018)
Elma York, who has a brilliant mathematical mind, works for the nascent space program alongside her husband in 1952 when a meteorite hits the east coast of the United States. Though their lives are spared, everything is changed by this disaster, especially when Elma calculates that the collision has likely set off an extinction-level event. She works to convince the government to start colonizing other planets. A former WASP, she dreams of going to space herself and slowly pushes the program to look further than the white men they currently consider as astronaut material. The first in a series!
Born to Fly: The First Women’s Air Race Across America by Steve Sheinkin and Bijou Karman (2019)
This YA non-fiction book by the always masterful Sheinkin focuses on the 1929 Women’s Air Derby. The story takes us through the pilots’ childhoods, what drew them to flying, and then through the breathless race. Some of the names are familiar — Amelia Earhart flew in the Derby — but many of the others were new to me, and I enjoyed learning about these pioneers in the air and for women’s rights.
Stateless by Elizabeth Wein (2023)
Just before World War II, teen pilots from across Europe compete in a race to symbolize peace and cooperation. But when one of the contestants disappears (perhaps murdered), the pilots have to race against more than the clock. The main character is flying for England, while keeping her Russian origins secret.