Flyaway

October 17, 2011
First-time novelist Landalf debuts with a sadly believable account of the destructive power of drug addiction. Fifteen-year-old Stevie’s mother has always been her own person, a free spirit who works as a dancer at a nightclub and has a very hands-off approach to parenting. But when she goes missing for days, Stevie’s aunt Mindy takes her niece in, pushing Stevie to help get her mother into rehab. Angry and in denial, Stevie resists admitting that her mother is a crystal meth addict, hoping things will go back to “normal.” Meanwhile, Stevie’s social life starts to mirror her home life, with her only friend, Tonya, starting to get into meth as well. Stevie’s journey to find her own path and accept the truth about her mother doesn’t hold any major surprises, but feels authentic. A none-too-subtle subplot in which Stevie spends time working at a bird rehabilitation center with school bad boy Alan, who’s a lot kinder to birds than he is to people, underscores the message that not everyone can be saved. Ages 14–up.

December 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-Stevie, 15, hasn't heard from her mother in two days when Aunt Mindy comes to take her home. She resists all of Mindy's reaching out, but eventually can no longer ignore the fact that her mother is addicted to crystal meth. Staying with her aunt and volunteering at a bird rehabilitation center, the teen finally reaches a comfortable spot when her mother leaves rehab early and comes to take her daughter home. Like the injured birds she works with, Stevie is used to taking care of herself and is extremely skittish and distrustful of Aunt Mindy's attempts to help. She has thrown away her own future in her attempts to care for, and cover for, her mother. This slim novel moves quickly as Stevie grapples with friends experimenting with drugs, a budding romance, and the confusion that comes with someone finally believing in her. Despite Stevie's angry, defensive voice, readers will like her. They'll cringe at some of the choices she makes and cheer as she learns to finally put herself first instead of continuing to be caught up in the maelstrom of her mother's problems. In the face of bleakness, Stevie offers hope for the other victims that addiction creates.-Jennifer Rothschild, Prince George's County Memorial Library System, Oxon Hill, MD

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