Brimming with meticulous research, this novel is a detailed look into the life of Katharine Wright and her influence on the work of her airplane-inventing brothers. It's also an intimate portrait of the entire Wright family and early 20th-century Dayton, Ohio.

Wilbur and Orville Wright enjoyed building things, like printing presses and bicycles, and they open a bike shop in Dayton, Ohio. The brothers are fascinated by flight, they study birds and wonder if a machine could be built for humans to be able to fly? Their younger sister Katharine stepped into her mother's role when she died of tuberculosis, she kept house for Wilbur and Orville and her father and studied to be a teacher.

The Wright brothers tested the latest models on the beaches of North Carolina, at Kitty Hawk and they picked the location because it was windy, had soft sand to land on and away from prying eyes. Meanwhile Katharine located the right material for the gliders and plane prototypes wings, dealt with correspondence and bike shop, and worked as a high school teacher.

On the 17th of December 1903, Wilbur and Orville made history with the first controlled, sustained flight of humankind. The Wright brothers became famous, they travelled the world demonstrating their new invention, looking for financial backers and wanting to build better planes and teach others to fly. Then they were hit by a law suit, a legal fight over what they lodged a patent for and this takes a big toll Wilbur. Katharine gave up her career as a teacher to help her brothers follow their dreams and when she wants to do the same, a childish and ungrateful Orville forces her to make a difficult choice.

I received a copy of Katharine, the Wright Sister by Tracey Enerson Wood from the publisher and in exchange for an unbiased review. The author is known for writing historical fiction based on real women and this time its Katharine Wrights turn.

At first I found Orville’s attitude towards his sister annoying, it stopped me from enjoying the narrative and then I thought about how Ms. Enerson Wood chooses to write about overlooked women and Katharine Wright was certainly one of these. Katharine made huge sacrifices for her brothers to pursue their passion and remember behind successful men are influential and supportive women.

Five stars from me, I highly recommend Katharine, the Wright Sister and Tracey Enerson Wood's previous book, The War Nurse.

Historians remember men who have made a mark in this world. It’s gratifying to learn about a woman who was left out until now – a woman who was the driving force behind the creation of a flying machine.

Katharine Wright and her two brothers, Wilbur and Orville, put their heads together with mathematics, science and instincts and worked diligently for years until the early 1900s when the first airplane was off the ground. With short chapters, the book takes the readers through the process of how they studied the movements of birds and developed prototypes until they were able to get the wings off the ground. It was slow going with each step and at times, the pages were following the slow pace. However, I enjoyed learning about the mechanics of flying along with a mysterious romance on the side.

Naturally, a woman wrote this book. She finds fascinating parts of our history and with stacks of books, newspapers and reports, she brings readers an invigorating look of how inventions have created change and progress in our country. This time Tracey Emerson Wood presented a solid look at the stages of making an aircraft. It encourages one want to travel to Dayton, Ohio to visit the Wright Brothers National Museum – a place where it all began. Well, there is a problem. It should be the “Wright Brothers and Sister” National Museum.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of September 10, 2024.

I have loved all of Wood’s novels about strong women from our past. I knew a lot about Orville and Wilbur Wright, but did not know about Katharine. She gave her entire life to her brothers and was often the brain with ideas. The counted on her for so much.

The brothers owned a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. While the world was wanting a flying machine, Orville and Wilbur decided to try taking on this challenge. They tested different models, while Katharine worked behind the scenes. They were at the forefront as the demonstrated their machine, trained others and kept improving their inventions.

When a tragedy pulled them, apart Katharine has to make a hard decision. The writing, research and story are well-done and had me invested in this wonderful lady.

Thank you to @netgalley and @SourceBooksLandmark for this ARC. When Katharine and her two brothers, Orville and Wilbur went ice skating for the afternoon and ran into a playground bully, it changed the course of their lives forever. After Wilbur recovered from his injuries, he would no longer be going to Yale to study physics. Instead he spent his afternoons with his siblings studying how birds flew. This began a lifelong passion for all three to invent a "flyer". From that day forward, they committed their entire selves and lives to each other to reach their goal. Most people know the Wright brothers invented the airplane and were the first to fly at Kitty hawk with their creation. Most people don't know how instrumental their sister was to the ideas and the delivery of necessary inventory. Another good read of a woman in history that was never given her due! #KatharinetheWrightSister #TraceyEnersonWood #SourceBooksLandmark #Sept2024

Interesting story about the woman behind the Wright Brothers. Based on factual information, this was a fast read. Told from the point of view of Katherine and her brothers, which allowed an interesting look but was sometimes confusing.

Thanks to NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
I was really excited to read this book because I have heard amazing things about her book The Engineer's Wife, and thought I would love to have this book in book club at my library, especially since we are in the Dayton area.
Katharine Wright had a fascinating life and was at the right hand of the Wright Brothers and their history making work in the area of controlled flight. The last name Wright is on everything here from streets to museums to a university to businesses. It's always amazing and important to hear about the women behind famous men to see the importance of their roles in the invention and the stories of America.
For me though, this book went from fascinating to boring quickly. I wanted SO MUCH MORE than hearing about Katharine cooking and doing her brother's laundry. The chapters where the story is all about her are painfully short. I wanted more of her college years, her work as a teacher, or her marriage and friendships. In the beginning when she is biking with her brothers and flying kites and watching how the birds are flying had me hooked - but as the book progressed if anything happened away from the brothers, the chapter was 2 pages. I was left with no positive feelings about Orville either. I'm just bummed. Ill give it three because I loved the beginning and the end.
3*

I read an ARC of this novel thanks to Sourcebooks, Netgalley and the author. I was really excited for this book and thought the premise of the book was great. I did enjoy the story of Katharine, the Wright Sister as I had never thought about her, or really heard much of her. I think from a historical fan perspective it is a great novel.

I did have a bit of trouble staying engaged with the novel at times due to just being overstimulated or it feeling to historically factual. That could just have been my own mood while reading though!

Katherine, The Wright Sister by Tracey Enerson Wood is a fascinating book about The Wright brothers and Katherine’s place in the family and her place in aeronautical history. Read the book I think you will find it interesting.

I was really excited for this book but ended up not finishing it because I found it so boring. I love historical fictions, especially those that are not set/about WWII. I don't know very much about the Wright Brothers, but thought that getting their sister's side of the story would be a great way to learn lots and enjoy a histfic. The title is a bit misleading though because this book is really more about the brothers and features snippets of Katharine's life and role supporting her brothers. In fact, Katharine is only one of multiple narrators in the book, both brothers have multiple chapters dedicated to following their journey. I would understand a few chapters interspersed because there may have been critical moments in the story that readers needed to hear from the brothers' perspectives because Katharine was not present, for example, but there were sections that could have been written from her perspective but were not and honestly, some of her sections felt more like a quick interlude before getting back to what the men had to say. I love the premise and think this is a great idea for a book, but the execution wasn't up to my expectations unfortunately.

Thanks to the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

I don't believe my review would benefit the author at this time as I am not in a place to review it.

This remarkable story sheds light on the Wright sister, the mastermind of logistics behind the achievement of human flight. She was the powerful force and voice, full of enthusiasm and persuasion. Along with her two brothers, she was one of the architects striving to make the world a better place.

The story begins in Ohio in the latter part of the 19th century and reveals the Wright siblings’ passion, which started with a helicopter toy from their childhood. Their passion for flight persists throughout their lives, though it ebbs and flows with demands of busy lives. The secret to reigniting their passion is their sister, often overlooked in many stories.

The progression of the story reveals the detailed steps the brothers took and the crucial moments when their sister stepped in to keep the dream alive, starting with their strong traits.

Wilbur and Orville Wright were skilled at fixing things, and during the bicycle craze, there was a constant need for repairs. With the idea of flight at heart, they set up a bicycle business, working on bicycles in the front of the shop and building flying machines in the back.

They observed the birds to understand the mechanics of flight and read books by men obsessed with manned flight.

Meanwhile, Katherine pursues her studies at college, and upon returning home, she noticed that her brothers were so busy with the bicycle shop that their dream of aviation advancement was taking a back seat. Thus, she challenged them to refocus on their passion.

As the brothers tested new models on the beaches of North Carolina, Katherine stayed home to manage the bicycle shop, as they needed the income to fund their dream. She also became the mastermind behind securing the necessary supplies and convincing people to support their goal.

The reader witnesses the meticulous thought process which reveals the science of flight, the thrill of the first take-offs lasting for seconds, and the persistence to make flights last longer and climb higher.

The characters are further developed through their thoughts of caring for each other, as each flight carries its risk.

Filled with dreams, obstacles, attempts, persistence, and above all, support for each other, the story also highlights Katherine, an incredible woman who craved to live her own life despite the obstacles she faced as a woman in a male-driven world.

This in depth journey brings to life fascinating characters and their strong will and support for each other, leading to one of the greatest advancements in aviation.

Review originally posted at mysteryandsuspense.com

“Katharine, the Wright Sister” by Tracey Enerson Wood
Sibling’s Love, Support, & Sacrifice
History comes alive in this story. A story of family, love, promises, the joy of successes and pain of losses. I had never given much thought to the saga of the race to achieve controlled, manned, powered, flight. This is a different love story and one I fell into whole-heartedly. Make this your next read, and, be sure you read it cover to cover; you will be glad you did. Happy Reading ! !

Katharine, the Wright Sister by Tracey Enerson Wood is the perfect mix of historical fiction and captivating storytelling. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Katharine Wright in this novel based upon her life and her individual achievements as well as her contributions to the success of her brothers Orville and Wilber. I also learned more about the famous aviation brothers.
Told from three perspectives (Orv, Wil, and Katharine) in the narrative voices based upon personality traits that were known of the trio. So much fun to learn and go on their journey while engaging in thoughtfully designed storytelling. Made me Google for more details after completing the book.
Personally, one of my favorite types of books! I enjoy historical fiction with a strong heroine whose story needs to be told. This engaging novel does not disappoint. Loved it!! 5 stars!

I was more interested in Katherine than I was with the Orville brothers. Considering that there was quite a bit of detail about the mechanics, I lost interest. I'm glad I finished the book as the writing was good and the research as well. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this advanced reader's copy. All opinions are my own.

This book was a little slow going for me until about the half way mark. The title and the description are somewhat misleading - although much of the book is focused on Katharine Wright, the sister of the famous Orville and Wilbur Wright, the POV alternates between the three of them which I wasn't expecting. I knew nothing about Katharine prior to reading this historical fiction novel and I am glad she is finally getting some attention.

Katharine is the youngest Wright, with four older brothers. She is educated and longs for romance, but after her mother dies Katharine takes on the role of homemaker for two of her brothers and her father. She agrees to put off marriage and to take care of them in addition to helping Orville and Wilbur achieve their dreams of flight. She is often stuck managing the family bicycle business and has to stay "home" while her brothers perfect their flying machine and travel across the country and to Europe. She does contribute to their success with many ideas and if it weren't for her support they couldn't have accomplished what they did, but it was sad that she had to give up so much of her own life to do so.

I found the science and technical descriptions difficult to follow and was often looking up photos online of the flyers to understand it better. There was not a lot of action in the first half of the book and I just felt bad for Katharine who was stuck in an unfortunate situation. Once the brothers achieved their goal Katharine was able to enjoy her life a bit which was heartening to see.

Three stars.

Katharine is the lesser known Wright sibling who devoted her life work to her brothers, Orville and Wilbur. She supported their dreams of flying, worked out kinks, promoted them, and created a backbone to their endeavors. The chapters alternate from each sibling’s POV. She’s a strong character and you wonder if things would’ve turned out the same without her push. My main complaint with historical fiction lately has been that authors basically take a historical figure and write a fictional book, with little detail. This was not the case! I’m happy to say that this had a lot of information, most new to me, and I learned a lot. That said, it was a little long and I did think the specifics and technicalities were a little much at times. Overall, I’ll definitely look for other books by this author as she has some very interesting subjects and I enjoyed her writing.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am sorry to say I dnfed this book at 40%. The premise was good, but for me it read more like an biography or a complicated work manual. It Just was not a book for me. Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion

This was a really interesting and informative book; outlining the tremendous role that Katherine Wright played not only in the development of the airplane, but her support of her brothers throughout their lives. She was the “organized one “ who took care of them and their businesses. She gave up much of her life to the family cause. She was a true pioneer and like many women of her time did not get the credit she deserved. My only complaint was that the first half of the book was way too technical. This, in my opinion, detracted from the story.

Living in a town named for Octave Chanute I was anxious to read this book. It continues to astound me how many women have been ignored by history. Katharine was essential to her brothers success and she deserves to be remembered.