Flying Fillies coming-of-age with a historical fiction, female, WWII twist

There’s an advertisement on the radio that so sweet and schmaltzy that your initial reaction is to quickly change the station like some Pavlovian dog. But you’re too late and four seconds into the ad you’re disarmed by its quaint music and down-home copy. By the end of the ad its name is stuck in your head and you’re pining for a pint of that stupid ice cream that you know you shouldn’t eat. It shamelessly reminds you of a different era, a time when things were different, slower, and more patient. Flying Fillies: The Sky’s the Limit is upper-elementary and middle school mglit that harkens back to that feeling. It’s mglit that dances between a coming-of-age story, the non-fiction world of WASPs, and the backdrop of early 1940s WWII paranoia and pride with ease in a way that gives those younger readers an age-appropriate view into trailblazers that you never knew about.

Flying Fillies is the nickname that the book’s main character, Dawn Springfield, has given to a newly created group of women pilots in the early days of WWII. The WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots) were a real organization that served as ferry pilots for various aircraft between Great Britain, the U.S., and Canada. They were a small, volunteer division based out of Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas that had one position for every 25 applicants. This was a time when patriotism in the United States was high, people were willing to make great personal sacrifices, yet there was still a degree of racism and sexism within society.

Can women fly planes? Can women fly planes in combat? A woman can be a pilot? A woman can be a pilot. In today’s society, it’s common knowledge that a woman can do these things, but in 1941 that was still being debated. This is where the quaint reference in our first paragraph reared its head. It’s a period of time when things were drastically different but still very close in the Venn Diagram of human history.

It’s challenging for most of today’s mglit readers to think of a time when people weren’t allowed to do things simply because of their sex, color or beliefs. However, it’s important to acknowledge that even today those same characteristics are used in decisions every day all across the world. Flying Fillies does not reference any of the prejudices or biases that are happening today. Its story is entirely based in 1941 and deals with women pilots in the military and how they were able to thrive in the training facility that was carved out for them.

Dawn is a teen whose life has been transplanted from the big city to a small, rural town in Texas. She’s having difficulty making friends, has a desire to find her people, loves horses and is eager to meet Georgia, her aunt who is one of the first to make it into the WASP program. Flying Fillies starts out with Dawn’s story from her perspective, blends in Georgia’s perspective and melds the two into the same narrative when the WASP program is established at Avenger Field.

Flying Fillies has enough details, action, and historical fiction to reel in those mglit readers who want to read something fun but need to read something non-fiction. The Sky’s the Limit is fiction, but it’s based on a real group that existed and has many non-fiction details that happen in the story to connect the dots and move things forward. The differences between the two are laid out in the final paragraph of the book when Dawn rides off into the sunset on a horse.

After that final narrative chapter, there’s an even longer, non-fiction chapter about the real WASP program in WWII. This chapter is jammed with dozens of photographs, captions that spell them out even more and dozens of real posters that were printed to bolster the war efforts. These posters include those that promoted victory gardens, the importance of rationing, saving scrap metal and rubber and more iconic moments that you might not have seen, but will recognize its importance in pop culture.

So, will mglit audiences want to read Flying Fillies? Its period and fictional approach to a non-fiction organization make it a challenge for those ages to instinctively seek out on their own. However, just like the commercial that I find to be too folksy, it will endear itself to those readers who do read it. This is mglit that will reward those readers who want a good story with a non-fiction root. It won’t bait the hook for reluctant readers, but that’s not the book’s purpose. The WWII elements and the fact that this is a niche, little-known corner of the war’s history will entice those readers curious about combat or women’s rights as well. If you had “a historical fiction, mglit book aimed at ages 8 who might be interested in WWII, aviation or women’s rights” on your bingo card you can cross that off now. Yeah, it seems like an unlikely combination, but the result is a sweet book that’s loaded with heart and very difficult to dislike.

Flying Fillies: The Sky’s the Limit is by Christy Hui and is available on Kokomo Entertainment.

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