Wings to Fly

November 15, 1997
Gr. 4^-7. This sequel to "Ticket to Canada" (1996) focuses on 11-year-old Josie Ferrier, whose family has homesteaded on the Canadian prairie for the past three years. Her concerns include a mysterious presence that seems to be restoring an abandoned house; the depressed mother of a close friend, who has trouble adjusting to life in a soddy; the 1918 influenza epidemic; and the excitement surrounding a female aviator. Although Josie's life is firmly rooted in traditions of the past, she senses that her future as a woman may offer many new, exciting possibilities. Based on incidents that happened to Lottridge's father and aunts, the story offers a glimpse of farm life during the waning days of the homestead movement. Pair it with Holeman's "Promise Song" (1997) for another look at rural Canada in the early twentieth century. ((Reviewed November 15, 1997))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1997, American Library Association.)