Besides knowing that Orville and Wilbur Wright were the first in flight, what do you really know about the Wright Brothers (besides also selling bicycles)? Did you ever hear that they had a sister who was supportive of their endeavors? I knew next to nothing about the details.

One thing I'd recommend, when you read about the bully (very early in the book), put a bookmarker there.

The Wright Brothers were from the Dayton, Ohio area. Michigan (my home state) is home to Selfridge Air National Guard. I had no idea that the Wright brothers had ties to Army Lt. Thomas Selfridge.

The point of view rotates between Katharine, Orville and Wilbur. I understand why the author wrote the book this way, although there were times where it seemed there was too much (unnecessary) jumping around between these siblings.

Katharine, The Wright Sister has 448 pages, the book seemed (maybe) a little too long in parts.

Between 4 and 5 stars, but rounding up. Whenever I start relaying parts of a book to my husband, I figure it probably needs to be rounded up. There must have been a lot of research done to provide such a thorough historical fiction.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read Katharine, The Wright Sister in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is Sept 10, 2024.

Katharine, the Wright Sister by Tracey Enerson Wood is a fascinating look at the life of a woman I barely knew anything about. Sadly, many women who played critical roles in our history have been overlooked, their achievements whispering like ghosts. Thankfully, authors like Wood are helping to rectify that with compelling historical fiction.

The first part of this novel will appeal to those who love science and engineering. It’s heavy on two of the Wright brothers, Orville’s and Wilbur’s, development of the first flying “aeroplane.” The author did a fabulous job of researching the inventors’ process and communicating it in an accessible way.

But characters are what draw me into a book and I found their development much more interesting and satisfying. I connected with Katharine as she consistently put the vision these three Wright siblings had above her personal desires. And I rooted for Orville and Wilbur as they courageously moved their vision forward, sometimes recognizing the important role Katharine played in achieving it and sometimes overlooking her.

I’m convinced Katharine was as much a genius as her brothers because, even though she was behind the scenes, she knew what had to be done and did it. Without her support, I wonder if that 1903 achievement of sustained flight would have been written in the history books as it is. Someone would have eventually reached this goal but would it have been Orville and Wilbur? Would it have been in 1903?

I also enjoyed learning about what came after their success. I’d never considered that they became “rock stars” in their day and how much their discovery changed their lives. The Wright family’s journey, especially Katharine’s, Wilbur’s, and Orville’s, was a one-of-a-kind adventure that we’ve all benefited from.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

I enjoyed reading this book. Katherine was unknown to me and learning of her role in her famous brothers lives is very fascinating. I loved the multiple viewpoints so the reader can see her value to Wilbur and Orville. A really good read!

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. This is my honest review.

This book was well-researched and was a fun book to follow. I enjoyed the different perspectives that the book took and how they weaved the characters' narratives throughout the entire book. I really loved the plot and the journey that the author took us on. It wasn't a story I was very familiar with but I enjoyed everything about the book.

I did enjoy reading and learning about the sister in the Wright and her involvement in helping the brothers to achieve their quest. The book was a bit technical for me, but I did enjoy reading about the accolades. They received in Europe and eventually in the United States.

Tracey Emerson Wood gives voices to Wilbur, Orville, and Katherine Wright to share the important role Katherine, The Wright Sister, played in the work of these two brothers. Bound by filial love and commitment to a common goal, these three changed the world. Without Katherine’s devotion, encouragement, and sacrifice, the Wright brothers might never have achieved man’s first flight. This was a fascinating read.

In her latest novel, Katharine The Wright Sister, Tracey Enerson Wood tells the story of the voice of reason and inspiration behind the history making Wright Brothers. As their only sister and someone who truly believed in their vision of manned flight, Katharine was an intricate part of Wilbur and Orville’s success. She gave up her dreams of marriage and a family to encourage and manage her brothers ambitions. She nursed them through injury and illness, secured materials for their inventions, managed the household and even taught Latin at the local high school. She loved her place in her family and she saw her brothers through all of their leaps forward as well as their steps backwards. She was the one to speak up at important engagements when her brothers shy awkwardness left them uncomfortable and without words. She shook the hands of presidents and foreign dignitaries. She was intelligent and kind, strong and determined. Despite all this…she longed for a life of her own.

I learned so much from the facts embedded within this story. The incredible history lessons learned from one of Tracey Enerson Wood’s books go way beyond what you find in a text book. Her ability to humanize history and the people behind such major innovations is something I love, respect and appreciate! The strong women whose voices and roles are often glossed over are the stars of her novels. Their stories need to be heard!

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and Ms Wood for an opportunity to read this story before it hits the shelves.

I was fascinated by this book. I did realise the extent of Katherine's involvement to assist her brothers in their amazing achievement. I have since gone to Dr Google. But this book was a much better and more interesting source.

“Katharine: The Wright Sister” by Tracey Enerson Wood. This is a historical fiction book with a subject made for Ms. Wood - a known, yet not well known, woman who should be better known to everyone. Katharine Wright was basically the one who handled the “little things” in her brothers’ quest to build the first airplane that actually flew successfully. Katharine acquired goods for the plane, assisted at the brothers’ bike shop, sewed covers for the wings, and basically was their biggest cheerleader. Outside of her brothers’ accomplishments, Katharine also taught, ran the household, encouraged women’s rights, and became the family PR/spokesperson - also assisting when she could with lawsuits against the brothers regarding their plane design. This book is told in three points of view - Katharine, Wilbur, and Orville. My one complaint is that the voices read very similarly so I often had to finish a chapter (opposed to stopping in the middle) so I wouldn’t lose track of who was narrating. I think if one wants to know more about the brothers’ quest for building the Wright Flyer (I didn’t know they built a wind tunnel for instance), this book may be up your alley. Overall, I found the build-up to the first controlled flight to be interesting - along with some of the instant fame - but I felt the pace was a bit uneven through the book. I think Katharine’s story should be known to more people, but this book didn’t always work for my taste. I did like the interview with Ms. Wood and the inclusion of Reading Group questions, but I really wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. However, I also know that when Ms. Wood writes her next book, I’ll be eager to read that one too. Overall, I’d give this book a 3.25, rounded down to 3.

This historical novel is so well done and researched. Katharine, the “Wright Sister” was such an integral part of Wilbur and Orville Wright’s story and lives. I had never heard of her with any regard to the Wright Brothers and their ground breaking works. This is such an eye opening part of history that Tracey Emerson Wood has uncovered and chose to inform the reader of her vividly revealing presence in history. I thoroughly enjoyed this exceptional read. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for granting this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. #KatharineTheWrightSister, #SourcebooksLandmark, #Goodreads.

I learned so much from this book. Tracey Enerson Wood once again brought a historic achievement to life and this time it was the Wright Brothers’ invention of the airplane.

I found the entire process very interesting. This was a family endeavor. The Wright family made a pact to work together to raise funds and support “the boys” dream— to successfully invent a flying machine. All three of the Wright siblings were incredibly bright and had their own skills to contribute. They studied the flight of birds together and discussed how the wings worked. They searched for the strongest, lightweight fabric to use on the wings. They researched beaches for the best place to test their airplane—they needed lots of open space and good winds. Wilbur and Orville spent many summers at Kitty Hawk testing and rebuilding their planes while Katharine managed their bicycle business in Dayton, Ohio. She also had a local teaching job to help fund the airplanes.

When the author was asked what she hoped readers would take away from Katharine’s story, she replied, “I hope they get to step outside of their own busy lives for a moment and steep themselves in a different era.” I certainly did.

Advanced reader copy courtesy of the publishers at NetGalley for review.

In her new novel, Tracey Emerson Wood explores the role Katharine Wright, the sister of Wilber and Orville Wright, played in her brothers' success. Alternating POV between the three siblings, the novel tells the story of the Wrights' struggle to achieve powered flight and then protect their inventions through patent applications and extensive court cases defending their patents. But it also tells the personal stories of each sibling, who went from near bankruptcy to being celebrated by European royalty and the US president. The brothers' story is widely acknowledged, but Katharine's contributions were largely unknown.

Katharine, according to Ms. Emerson Wood, was the driving force of the team who kept the brothers committed to their dream. She pushed aside her dreams of romance and children to support her brothers and work as their housekeeper-business-social manager.

An interesting read about the contribution of the sister who ensured the success of the Wright Brothers. I enjoyed the different POVs (although I periodically had to skip back to determine whose narrative I was reading). Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced reader copy.

I like this one a lot . I loved learning about the family who gave us wings and their beginning. This book is what historical fiction should be which is entertaining but informative

You have probably heard of Wilbur and Orville Wright, and their contributions to modern flight. However, have you ever heard mention of their sister, Katharine; the woman and driving force behind their efforts and success.

Born in 1874, Katharine was the youngest of the Wright children. She was only 14 when their mother died, requiring her to step into the role of the woman of the house. Despite the responsibilities, Katharine managed to finish school and go on to teacher's college and become an educator. Despite running the house and teaching during the day, Katharine was Wilbur and Orville's biggest cheerleader. She made suggestions on design, wrote letters for them procuring materials, attended events as a public speaker and put her personal life on hold to see them realize their dreams.

I really enjoyed reading Katharine's story and feel the author, Tracey Enerson Wood, did a wonderful job of portraying Katharine as an intelligent, knowledgeable woman who loved her family, and recognized the importance of her brothers "tinkering" with machines to the future of piloted flight.

If you enjoy a good historical fiction, I highly recommend reading "Katharine, the Wright Sister" that has a publication date of September 10, 2024. Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I loved this historical fiction novel and didn’t know anything with Katharine Wright. It uses the time-period perfectly and thought the characters were everything that I wanted from this genre. Tracey Enerson Wood has a great writing style and left me wanting to read more from them. It had that element that I was looking for from previous books.

An interesting historical story which held my interest for most of the way through. At times it dragged and got a little bogged down and I struggled but it picked up again. I learnt alot about the Wright family whilst reading this. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

this is a historical fiction book about the Wright brothers sister. I loved the story. you will learn alot about the family.

As someone who didn't realise there was a sister in the Wright brother's flight success, I found this book interesting. Some parts dragged, but overall, this book was fairly interesting. I found it hard to put it down.

Katharine, the Wright Sister by Tracey Enerson Wood is a great historical fiction that I really enjoyed.

I really liked Ms. Wood’s previous novels, so of course I was excited to read this one.

It was so fascinating diving into the Wright family and to get to see history not only through the minds of both Wright brothers, but also through their sister, Katharine. I had already read a book from her POV, but this one really gave her another dimension that I felt I was missing when I pictured it all.

Great read.

4.5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Sourcebooks Landmark for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 9/10/24.

In Katharine, the Wright Sister, we meet the sister of and force behind the famed Wright brothers and their flying machine. As with her other novels, Tracey Enerson Wood introduces us to an important woman whom history has overlooked. I enjoyed "meeting" Katharine. I only knew the grade-school version of the invention of the airplane, and this book goes so much deeper. Truly, without Katharine, her brothers would not have been successful.

I think book clubs will love this novel as there is a lot to think about. For example, was Katharine altruistic in giving up her dreams to help her family? Or was she guilted into it? Personally, I really enjoyed Katharine and didn't always like how she was treated by her brothers or father.

The book is narrated in alternating chapters by Katharine, Wilber and Orville. Though Wood's neat prose is generally so pleasant to read, I thought there was a lack of distinction between each voice. I had to look back at the beginning of chapters on occasion to remind myself who was narrating.

Wood's writing really shines in the descriptions of flying machines and the science of flight. She keeps it interesting and also explains complex concepts and describes how machines looked and worked in incredible detail that's easy to understand. She deftly teaches readers about complex flight and machine concepts without talking down to us.

Overall, I really enjoyed this well-done novel and loved learning about lesser-known but very important figure the history books have disregarded.

I received a free advance copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.