Flyaway

by Helen Landalf

[rakesandrogues]

Stevie was a tough character to like. She’s pretty independent and rebellious, but after all that she’s been through, sometimes I questioned her actions. Stevie was having one rough summer: her mom has been sent to rehab and she was now living with her Aunt Mindy. Given her circumstances, I tried to sympathize with her character, but sometimes found it difficult when she was being ungrateful. I know that she was used to taking care of herself, but I grew frustrated as I wished her to be more nice to Aunt Mindy. I did think that she grew as a character as the story progressed.

Of the secondary characters, I really enjoyed reading about Rick and Aunt Mindy. I thought that the two of them had an interesting dynamic with Stevie. Rick did sound a little too good to be true at first, but I enjoyed his scenes so much that I overlooked the fact that he was a “millionaire tutor” who was tutoring for the sake of helping others because he has nothing better to do.

There’s a boy in this story, but romance isn’t exactly the big issue in FLYAWAY. Which is good. I liked what the bit of romance added to the story. I didn’t like Alan’s character to begin with, especially when I couldn’t understand how he was nice one second and mean the next. I grew to like him more as the story progressed, but I only really understood him when his past was revealed towards the end.

I thought that the ending was perfect. I loved how the birds symbolized a new beginning for Stevie. It was optimistic and hopeful, but still realistic. FLYAWAY is a solid debut and I look forward to reading more of Landalf’s work. I recommend this book to those who like contemporary novels that’s a bit more serious.

Why I’m Biased: Though FLYAWAY is Helen Landalf’s debut novel, it isn’t the first time I’ve read her work. Landalf is one of the clients for the literary agency that I used to intern for, and I was lucky enough to read one of the manuscripts she was currently working on. I did request this eGalley from NetGalley since I was interested in reading more by Landalf.