A Pair of Wings

March 1, 2024

Bessie Coleman dreamed of flying but couldn't find anyone willing to train a Black woman in the U.S. in the 1920s. She learned French and went to Europe to train with combat fighter pilots. Based on Coleman's life, pilot Hopson's debut was originally self-published but is now being traditionally published with a 75K-copy first printing. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2024 Library Journal

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 10, 2024
Pilot Hopson’s stirring debut draws on the life of trailblazing aviator Bessie Coleman. As a young Black woman, Bessie toils in Waxahachie, Tex., picking cotton and doing other people’s laundry. In 1915, when she’s 23, she leaves for Chicago, where she finds work as a manicurist. Having heard of the Wright brothers’ first flight, she harbors a dream of learning to fly. She saves what she can of her earnings and secures financial support from a real estate entrepreneur, with whom she has an affair. Though she has the money, no aviation school in the U.S. will train a Black woman, prompting her to study in France. After receiving her pilot’s license, Bessie returns to the U.S., where she’s greeted by a mob of reporters. The narrative extends through WWI, after which Bessie trains in Europe with military pilots who teach her combat maneuvers. Back home in America, she stages air shows with the tricks she learned abroad and embarks on a lecture tour, hoping to inspire other Black people to learn to fly. Hopson shines a welcome light on her indomitable and unsung heroine, and her technical knowledge enriches the many exhilarating aerial scenes. Aviation buffs will love this.

July 1, 2024
Debut novelist Hopson shines a spotlight on Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to be licensed as a pilot. Born in rural Texas to a formerly enslaved mother, Coleman comes to Chicago during the Great Migration determined to learn to fly. In Chicago's thriving Bronzeville neighborhood, she finds two wealthy supporters, pillars of the Black community, Chicago Defender publisher Robert Abbott and banker Jesse Binga. But she's unable to find a flight instructor willing to teach a Black woman. Undeterred, Coleman learns French and enrolls in a Paris flight school, where she earns an international pilot's license (the first Black person to do so) and studies with combat veterans in preparation for a career as an stunt pilot. Hopson, a United Airlines captain, vividly evokes the experience of flight and does a commendable job illuminating Coleman's struggles with self-doubt and isolation even as she becomes a media sensation. Sadly, Coleman died in a plane crash at age 34. Fans of women-focused and African American historical fiction will appreciate Hopson's meticulously researched take on the life of a pioneering figure in aviation history.

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August 1, 2024

DEBUT Hopson's first novel is a compelling fictionalized account of Bessie Coleman, the first Black American woman to earn her pilot's license in 1921. The novel begins with a dramatic crash. During her recovery, Bessie, encouraged by her staunch supporters and friends, is compelled to write her life story. The rest of the action takes place mainly in Chicago before the Great War, after Coleman leaves her childhood home in Texas to seek a better life. In a changing nation rife with racial and gender inequities, the notion of a Black woman becoming a pilot less than 20 years after the Wright brothers' inaugural flight seems unimaginable. However, through a combination of preparation, determination, and timing, Bessie's dream becomes a reality when a flight school in France admits her after the war. She goes on to earn her license and fly in several airshows, becoming a pioneer for women in aviation. This captivating novel showcases rich character development, beautiful writing, and an excellent representation of the era. Hopson (herself an airline pilot) does particularly good research, offering detailed insights into Bessie Coleman's life. VERDICT An excellent choice for historical fiction enthusiasts, especially those interested in Black history and aviation.--Sarah Stimson

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2024
A woman from meager beginnings becomes the first Black female airplane pilot in this lightly fictionalized account. Bessie Coleman was born into a Texas sharecropping family in 1892, the 10th of 13 children of a woman born in slavery. When she learned about the Wright brothers as a child, thoughts of flying began to invade her daydreams, and she became determined to fly herself one day. An opening section describes a disastrous 1923 crash that leads Bessie to set down the story of her life. Narrating in the first person, she takes readers with her to Chicago in 1915, where she lives with her brother while trying to find a way to become a pilot. But no American flight schools will take her, so she moves to France. Her training there is perhaps the novel's best part, as we watch Coleman grow from an enthusiastic young woman to a talented pilot. Hopson is a pilot herself, and her knowledge is evident in the flying scenes--perhaps a bit too evident for the layperson. It's a pleasure to follow Bessie on her life's journey right up to the night before her final flight in 1926, even though it's delineated with imperfect craftsmanship. Hopson stuffs her story to the brim with historical details and anecdotes, which are interesting in and of themselves but aren't well integrated into the narrative flow. Characters frequently provide background information without any setup or any credible reason for volunteering it. If the material were less compelling, the novel would be a slog, but even strained prose and weak similes can't detract from the gripping saga of a remarkable woman. A fascinating tale competently though awkwardly told.

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