Today is a very special day, loyal followers. This book I’m about to review, is the first ARC I have received specifically to review on my blog. I feel so official.  That said, on to the review.

  Stevie Calhoun knows how to take care of herself. It’s not like her mom hasn’t disappeared before. So why is Aunt Mindy making such a big deal of it now? It’s not like Mom’s really doing meth. Stevie makes sure of that. Whatever. She’ll go home with Aunt Mindy if it will keep her from calling Child Protective Services—but it doesn’t mean she’ll stay. Mom will come back. Mom always comes back. And Stevie will be there when she does. But when Stevie meets Alan—frustrating and fascinating and so-different-from-everyone-she-knows Alan—and she starts helping out at the bird rehab center, things begin to look different. Even the tutoring and the ridiculous outfits Aunt Mindy’s forcing her into might not be so bad. Not that Stevie would say it out loud. She can’t. Because how can anything be good if it doesn’t include Mom?

 

 

 

Short and bittersweet, Flyaway is one of the best contemporary YA books I have ever read. Its in the top five of my list, up there with The Fault in Our Stars and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Yes, it was that good. A few pages over 176, Flyaway was a quick read for me. Only took a hour or two, but I still enjoyed it immensely. You stick with Stevie as she experiences things no fifteen year-old girl should have to deal with.  She deals with betrayal of what she thought she could rely on. You see her start to trust in the things (and people) that had always been there for her, without her realizing it.  You are there by her when she discovers memories and talents that had been buried deep down in her. You watch her life, and Stevie herself,  transform in a truly magical fashion. You are left with (many!) questions, but in a  good way. You want to see what becomes of Stevie (because, if you are anything like me, you will be incredibly attached to her by the end.) , and Ms.Landalf  leave it up to your imagination. Flyaway is a brilliant debut for author Ms. Helen Landalf, and I highly recommend it.

I give Flyaway five out of five stars!

Maddie