I received an ARC of this title from School Library Journal in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Using a collected biographical approach, Sheinkin, in Born to Fly, has presented the history of early American aviation and the changing role of women in society, culminating in the Women’s Air Derby of 1929. The twenty women who participated in the derby came from all walks of life. Most Americans recognize the name of Amelia Earhart as an aviator pioneer, but Sheinkin introduces many other female pilots, like Marvel Crosson, Ruth Elder, Bobbi Trout, and Pancho Barnes, who all shared in the daring and fearless days of flight in its infancy. Flight races were particularly thrilling for spectators and participants alike as the inherent danger usually meant that at least one pilot died per race. Women made up a small percentage of pilots in the 1920s and societal norms prevented them from competing in air races until the 1929 derby. While women had received the right to vote in 1920, the facade of female frailty was still used by many in 1929 to protest the all-female air derby that stretched from Santa Monica to Cleveland. The question of sabotage, engineering design flaws, and interpersonal relationships makes an inherently difficult undertaking exponentially more dangerous for all the pilots in the 1929 Air Derby. Sheinkin’s thorough research and attention to detail make the era come alive for readers. Fans of Fly Girls by Keith O’Brien will greatly enjoy Born to Fly. Highly recommended for all middle school libraries. ( )

The book centers on the 1929 Women's Air Derby, the first cross country race for women pilots. Profiling individual participants, the most enduring famous of which is Amelia Earhart, and detailing the race from San Bernardino to Cleveland. From tragedy, potential sabotage, support, and detractors, the recounting of the event is full of big characters and ordinary women trying to follow their dreams in an era where many didn't think it was their lane. ( )

"They were the kinds of kids who jumped off the roofs of buildings." From the opening line, we know we are about to meet some very interesting people. The Golden Age of Flight was part of a time when women were expected to be and act a certain way in society. Not for the women who signed up for the first women’s air race across America. These were girls who grew up bucking traditional roles and followed their hearts including the most heralded one of them all, Amelia Earhart. An accessible, compelling work overall. ( )