4.5*
In How it Feels to Fly, we meet Sam. Sam is a dancer. At first glance, I assumed I'd never relate to Sam, because I am about the least coordinated person in ever. But oh, how wrong I was. See, as a swimmer with a non-swimmer body, I totally related to Sam. As a person who didn't feel comfortable in her own skin I related to Sam, and in about a billion other ways, I related to Sam.
"'I'm angry at my brain for not being able to handle, like, life,' I finally spit out. 'For screwing up everything I care about. I am so, so mad at myself.'"
The thing is, Sam is a relatable character. You may not have the exact issues that she has, but you still cannot help but root for her, and want to understand her more. And all the characters at the camp were quite unique voices. They all had something different that first brought them to the camp, but they all had something to offer each other, which was nice.
I liked the focus on therapeutic situations. Not just actual therapy, but the whole tone of the camp in terms of trying to work through the fears and such were really great. There were fun moments in the book too, which balanced out some of the tougher ones. Sam is so, so hard on herself, and those moments lightened the tone, but in an appropriate way, not in an irreverent one.
"Jenna blinks at me. 'I'm sorry, did you just make a Nancy Kerrigan joke?' 'Too soon?'"
Sam's mom was a huge obstacle to her recovery. Not because she didn't care about Sam; she did. It was more that she had no idea how to be supportive in a non-judgmental way. And she was kind of too wrapped up in her own wants to realize the toll it was taking on Sam. Their relationship was a huge focus in the book, as it should have been.
This is not a romance-centered book, and that's really all I plan to say about that part of it. And I think that is actually a huge strength in this book, because inserting a big love story would have taken away from Sam's story and journey.
The only mild issue I had with the book came toward the end, so spoiler tags for everyone! Sam's mom just came around too easily. Not that it was complete rainbows and unicorns, but from experience, people don't change that quickly- certainly people as headstrong as Sam's mom. But overall, it was most definitely a huge, huge win.
Bottom Line: Je l’adore, clearly. Not only was it spot on in terms of mental health portrayal, it was a damn good story to boot.
*Copy provided by publisher for review
**Quotes taken from uncorrected proof, subject to change