Where the Sky Begins

Pancho Barnes is one of the most unconventional heroines in historical fiction—loud, cigar-smoking, foul- mouthed, and utterly fearless. Did you find her likable or not? How does the authors’ portrayal challenge traditional ideas about what a “heroine” should look and sound like?

The women in the derby face not just physical danger from sabotage and treacherous flying conditions but constant social pressure to quit, go home, and “act like ladies.” Which of these two kinds of opposition— the physical or the social—did you find more insidious, and why?

How were the women in this story shaped by the time period they lived in, and how did they shape the era? Do you think the opposition they faced in 1929 still exists in some form today?

Will Rogers nicknamed this race the Powder Puff Derby after witnessing the women pilots hastily powdering their sweaty faces for a newsreel interview after they’d just finished flying a leg of the race over the blistering hot desert. Do you think this nickname was helpful or hurtful to the women’s image with the public?

Pancho and Marvel Crosson develop a friendship that becomes one of the emotional cores of the novel. What was it about their dynamic that made their bond feel so immediate and genuine? How did Marvel’s death affect your reading of the rest of the story?

Agent Pullman begins as an obstacle to the women and ends up as something close to an ally. If we trace his transformation, what finally convinces him to act on their behalf, and what does his journey say about the cost of doing the right thing within a rigid institution?

The novel is set in 1929, a year that ended with the stock market crash. Although it’s not discussed in the story, Pancho lost most of her fortune in the crash, and of course, Amelia disappeared in 1937. How does the sense of a gilded era about to collapse shape the story’s atmosphere? Did knowing what’s coming historically add tension to your reading?

Amelia Earhart is portrayed here not as an icon but as a complex, sometimes frustrated woman carrying the weight of unearned fame. Did this portrayal surprise you? How did it change or deepen your understanding of her legacy?

The sabotage in the race is never officially confirmed, and the women’s pact of silence after the race would last decades. Why do you think they chose silence? Was it the right decision? What would have happened had they spoken out?

Several of the men in the novel—Rankin Barnes, Dr. Ayers, Horace Aldridge—believe they’re acting reasonably and even justifiably. To what extent does the novel ask you to understand their perspective, even while condemning their actions? Are these men merely products of their time, or do they bear personal responsibility for their decisions and actions?

The race route itself becomes a kind of character— blistering desert, blinding dust storms, dangerously short runways, and uncontrolled crowds. How did the authors use the physical landscape to mirror the obstacles the women faced off the ground?

Louise Thaden’s vision of organizing women pilots into a formal group—which would become the Ninety- Nines—grows directly out of the bonds forged in this race. How does the novel make the case that sisterhood and collective action are as essential to progress as individual courage?

Pancho’s marriage to Rankin is a study in two people who genuinely don’t belong together but are bound by
social convention, law, money, and a child they both love. Did your sympathy for either of them shift over the course of the novel? How did their final phone call reframe your understanding of both characters?

The afterword reveals that almost everything in the novel—the sabotage, the corrupt officials, the botched
investigation into Marvel’s death—is based on real events. How did reading the historical note change your emotional response to the story? Did any detail from the afterword stay with you the most?

The novel opens with a dedication: “For every little girl who looks up at the sky and dreams of going there.” Nearly a century after this race, women still make up only about 9 percent of commercial pilots and 6.5 percent of military pilots in the United States, and it wasn’t until 1973 that Bonnie Tiburzi became the first female pilot for a major US commercial carrier when she was hired by American Airlines. What do these numbers tell us about how far the work these women started has—and hasn’t—come?