Monday Musings \\ The Girl Who Could Fly - BR -

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forrester

Premise: The McClouds have always been ordinary people, always doing ordinary things, and always following in their ancestor's footprints by never being or doing anything unordinary. When Piper McCloud is born, and starts to float around the house, things only go downhill from there. As Piper grows older, her urge to fly grows stronger--and she knows she can if only her parents will let her.

When Piper is seen one day flying, a woman comes to see them. She tells them Piper is special, and so she needs special education. They can give her that. At a secret school for children like her, with extraordinary powers. But when Piper leaves her family and everything she knows behind her and begins to settle into this new life at school, she realizes things may not all be as they seem...

Language: They take the Lord's name in vain on several occasions, but nothing more vulgar than that.

Content: Fighting, kidnapping, manipulation of children, animal cruelty, and drugs (but...not that kind).

Stars: 4.5

I was told I might cry at this book. And I have to admit, I didn't try not to.

The book is a rollercoster, really. It goes from the McCloud's farm--hicks in the sticks--to high-security facilities and science fiction. As Stephanie Meyer said, "It was oddest/sweetest mix of Little House on the Prairie and X-Men."  I loved every bit.

It was funny, inventive, and had plot twists not just at the end of the book, but in the middle. Most writer's keep their secrets until the very end, where they spill them all out in the "big reveal". But I loved how Forrester put a big twist right in the middle. It kept the pages turning in my hands.

Piper was one of the most charming and fun main characters I've ever had the pleasure to read about. She was smart, but not in the way most people think of smart. She has a strong heart, which is what makes this book so sweet and a little tear-jerking at the end.

The other characters were as much fun to read about, if not more. Each and every one of the other children at the school has their own quirk and intense personality. I love books with side characters who have sharp outlines, stark characteristics that stand out and make you beg to see them in the book, and don't leave you wondering or with blurry images...Does that make any sense?

As for the badguy--they were pretty awesome. By the end, they're badguy finesse diminished a bit, and the dialogue got fuzzy, but it all played out well.

Age Range: 11+

In conclusion, I must say this is now a book I am glad to have gracing my shelves. In a couple of years, I'm going to very much enjoy going back and reading it again. Laugh all over again. Maybe cry a little. If you want to find out why, you'll have to read it for yourself.

Happy Monday!

~The Reader in the Attic