Friday, July 13, 2012
Girls Don’t Fly by Kristen Chandler
The novel with a title of Girls Don’t Fly truly does make you wonder what happens in a book like this. While it starts off quite dry with protagonist Myra getting dumped by her seemingly-perfect boyfriend, the book rapidly envelopes you in a drama-filled few months. Myra begins as a 17-year-old girl who’s stuck in her 8-person family, and whose boyfriend Erik is the only one who keeps her going. She likes birds, especially seagulls, and tells her four brothers and pregnant sister amazing stories. Myra lives a fairly hard life and lives in a town where no one who doesn’t excel leaves. (You’ve heard about those places, right?) However, Myra is dying to get out of Landon, UT, and a science trip to the Galápagos Islands couldn’t be at a better time. Unfortunately, in order to get in, she has to raise $1,000 and write a killer (in a good way) proposal. Suddenly, she falls in love with this project (and possibly someone else) and her life is forever changed. Myra is finally realizing that it’s her time to fly… but is it really? She’s going to have to find out all alone.
I highly recommend this book for teen girls who are looking for a novel with the right amount of humor, your fair share of drama, and nothing too heavy (for those who freak out at the sight of the word vampire, like me). Myra’s personal journey is one that will make you smile, frown, and cheer her on. It’s a book chock full of quirks and situations we wouldn’t want to be in, yet it manages to stay calm and polished. All 300 pages are worth it. A must-read!
~Amy, Teen Book Reviewer