UNDER AMELIA'S WING

Determined to become a pilot, Ginny Ross leaves Newfoundland and, at Amelia Earhart’s suggestion, studies at Purdue University, where she helps broaden views of what women can do.

Several years have passed since Ginny announced her desire to fly in Amelia & Me (2021). It’s an unusual goal for a girl in the 1930s, but Ginny is more confident now that her mother supports her. With her role model Earhart joining the staff at Purdue, Ginny applied and was accepted. Being a woman in the engineering program is hard—not so much the studies, but confronting, let alone changing, attitudes about the role of women in society. Professor Jones, for example, repeatedly tries to derail her, but new friends, including a love interest, bolster her. Personal matters and historical events begin to collide in the last third of the book as it races to cover Earhart’s around-the-world flight, her tragic end, and the ominous events in Europe leading to World War II. The last chapters, taking place in 1940, set the stage for the next adventure. If earning her degree was a battle, a larger one looms ahead for Ginny. This entry—also based on the author’s own family—with a default White cast works as a stand-alone. As in the previous volume, Ginny’s spark, compassion, and resiliency are appealing.

A satisfying read for those seeking heroes who steadily, believably break the mold.