Flyaway

Title:

Flyaway

Author:

Christopher, Lucy

Subject:

Animals

Death, Grief, Bereavement

Birds

Social Themes

Juvenile Fiction

Description:

If they saved the swan together, could she then save her friend?In a heartbeat, in a wingbeat, it happens. Isla's father falls. They're racing across the fields, following the swans flying in to winter at the lake like they do every year, when something goes wrong. And before she can even catch her breath, they're in the back of an ambulance, she's holding his hand.At the hospital, upset and scared, Isla meets Harry. Unlike the boys at school, he doesn't laugh when she tells him about her love of birds. He listens. But what is he doing there?As Isla struggles with her father's frailty and the new feelings she has for Harry, she's determined to help the only way she knows how. Outside the hospital windows, Isla watches a lone whooper swan struggling to fly. If only she could save the lost bird, would that somehow heal her dad, and cure Harry, and make everything good again?By the author of the Printz Honor Book STOLEN, an uplifting story about "the thing with feathers" - hope. Praise for Stolen Winner of England's Branford Boase Award for Best First NovelShortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award "Complicated and beautiful." - Maggie Stiefvater "A vivid new voice for teens." - Melvin Burgess "A stunning, scary, and beautiful book." - John Marsden "A haunting account of captivity and the power of relationships." - Publishers Weekly, starred review "Disturbing, heartbreaking, and beautiful all at once." - School Library Journal "A fascinating, disturbing novel." - Voice of Youth Advocates Lucy Christopher's novel STOLEN was named a Printz Honor Book by the ALA and received England's Branford Boase award and Australia's Gold Inky for best debut. In a starred review, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY called it "an emotionally raw thriller...a haunting account of captivity and the power of relationships." She is also the author of FLYAWAY, a novel for younger readers, and THE KILLING WOODS, a novel for young adults. Lucy lives in Monmouth, Wales. Visit her at www.lucychristopher.com and follow her on Twitter @LucyCAuthor. From Flyaway I can see a lake, surrounded by trees. My eyes scan the surface of the water, searching... "Think there are any birds down there?" Harry says. I cringe, wait for the teasing. But Harry keeps quiet, genuinely interested. "Maybe," I say quietly. "It's a bit early for them yet." I turn back to study the lake, and I see something. Just one. I can't work out whether it's a whooper or a mute. Its feathers look grayish and young. My breath catches in my throat as I think about that lone gray whooper flying away from the power cables that day...all on her own. Maybe it's her. "What is it?" Harry asks. "Just a swan." Praise for Stolen Winner of England's Branford Boase Award for Best First NovelShortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award "Complicated and beautiful." - Maggie Stiefvater "A vivid new voice for teens." - Melvin Burgess "A stunning, scary, and beautiful book." - John Marsden "A haunting account of captivity and the power of relationships." - Publishers Weekly, starred review "Disturbing, heartbreaking, and beautiful all at once." - School Library Journal "A fascinating, disturbing novel." - Voice of Youth Advocates

Publisher:

Scholastic Inc.

Date:

2011-10-01

Summary

Author Notes

Lucy Christopher's novel STOLEN was named a Printz Honor Book by the ALA and received England's Branford Boase award and Australia's Gold Inky for best debut. In a starred review, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY called it "an emotionally raw thriller...a haunting account of captivity and the power of relationships." She is also the author of FLYAWAY, a novel for younger readers, and THE KILLING WOODS, a novel for young adults. Lucy lives in Monmouth, Wales. Visit her at www.lucychristopher.com and follow her on Twitter @LucyCAuthor.

Reviews (5)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In her first middle-grade novel, Christopher (Stolen) offers a story ribboned with metaphors involving themes of trauma, freedom, and hope. Isla and her father share a special relationship with the swans that migrate to a nearby lake each winter, until he is hospitalized with a heart condition. Isla's best friend has also moved away, and she feels isolated until meeting Harry, an optimistic and imaginative leukemia patient undergoing chemo treatments at the hospital and awaiting a bone marrow transplant. After Isla discovers a lost swan that has been separated from its flock, she makes it her mission to renew hope in Harry, her father, and herself by teaching the swan to fly, using a da Vinci-inspired flying machine that she creates with help from her estranged grandfather. Readers who share Isla's love of nature and penchant for introspection will easily gravitate to her; her determination and pithy observations make for a strong, sensitive portrait of a girl trying to make sense of difficult changes in her life, while learning to draw strength from those around her. Ages 10-14. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Horn Book Review

Isla's annual winter ritual of watching for the whooper swans is interrupted by her father's heart attack. During her anxiety-filled hospital visits she befriends Harry, a boy with cancer. Isla comes through a difficult time as she tries to encourage a lone injured swan to fly while providing Harry with some distracting intrigue. A sad, leisurely paced story filled with metaphor-rich imagery. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* Like her father and grandfather, 13-year-old Isla seems to have a mystical connection, as well as emotional bond, with the swans that migrate to their area each winter. But after her dad collapses during a birding expedition, Isla's focus abruptly shifts from the nature preserve to the hospital's coronary care unit. Though worried about her father, she finds solace in her deepening friendship with Harry, a boy who has leukemia; in her bond with a lone whooper swan nearby; and in an unusual school project that takes on a life of its own. Christopher, who wrote the Printz Honor Book Stolen (2010), offers younger readers a quiet but compelling story with several well-realized, idiosyncratic characters. She skillfully develops the novel's varied elements and weaves them into a unified narrative that occasionally falls into a predictable pattern only to surprise the reader once again. As narrator, Isla conveys with equal sensitivity her discomfort in the initially alien hospital environment, her growing understanding of family history, and her realizations about herself and those she loves. Though written for a slightly older audience, this sensitive novel will resonate with many readers who enjoyed Gill Lewis' Wild Wings (2011).--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist

School Library Journal Review

Gr 5-8-Isla shares a love for bird-watching with her father. When they go to watch the annual arrival of the migrating wild whooper swans, her father collapses and is rushed to the hospital with a heart ailment. While visiting him, Isla gets to know Harry, a teenage cancer patient. Feeling helpless with the health issues that both her father and Harry face, Isla befriends a young lone swan. She feels that if she can help save the bird, her dad and Harry will recover. Wonderfully descriptive passages of the swans and the landscape offset the somewhat depressing hospital scenes. Set in the UK, Lucy Christopher's novel (2011) is narrated by Harriet Carmichael, who has a very strong English accent, but handles all the voices competently. Her enthusiastic tones perfectly capture Isla's teenage frustration. Frequently used English terms such as jumper (for sweater), trainers (sneakers), and boot (trunk of a car) may confuse listeners. This beautifully written story may just be nominated for some of this year's book awards, as was Christopher's previous novel, Stolen (2010, both Chicken House), a Printz Honor Award winner.-Julie Paladino, East Chapel Hill High School, NC (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

(Fiction. 10-14)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Excerpts

From Flyaway I can see a lake, surrounded by trees. My eyes scan the surface of the water, searching... "Think there are any birds down there?" Harry says. I cringe, wait for the teasing. But Harry keeps quiet, genuinely interested. "Maybe," I say quietly. "It's a bit early for them yet." I turn back to study the lake, and I see something. Just one. I can't work out whether it's a whooper or a mute. Its feathers look grayish and young. My breath catches in my throat as I think about that lone gray whooper flying away from the power cables that day...all on her own. Maybe it's her. "What is it?" Harry asks. "Just a swan." Excerpted from Flyaway by Lucy Christopher All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.