Cover reveal! From the bestselling author of Code Name Verity and the acclaimed author of Flygirl comes the thrilling and inspiring untold true story of the desegregation of the skies: American Wings.

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Cover design by Kristin Boyle, Cover photography: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM 87-15492)

In the years between WWI and WWII, aviation fever was everywhere, including in Black America. But what hope did a Black person have of learning to fly in a country constricted by prejudice and Jim Crow laws, where previous Black aviators like Bessie Coleman had to move to France to earn their wings? 

American Wings follows a group of determined Black Americans with a dream of taking to the skies: Cornelius Coffey and Johnny Robinson, skilled auto mechanics; Janet Bragg, a nurse; and Willa Brown, a teacher and social worker. Together, they created a flying club and built their own airfield on Chicago’s South Side. As the U.S. hurtled toward WWII, they established a school to train new pilots, teaching both Black and white students together, proving in a time when the U.S. military was still segregated that integration was possible.

Complete with black-and-white photographs throughout, American Wings brings to light a hidden history of pioneering Black men and women who, with grit and resilience, battled powerful odds for an equal share of the sky.