Nicely done story of a girl who's trapped by her loyalty to an addicted parent. Stevie self-sabotages time after time in a frantic effort to get her mother to be responsible. Watching her do so is incredibly painful, but the result is ultimately worth all the pain she has to experience. Satisfying read for certain. ( )

I can't stand this main character. She is such a shallow whiny brat. She isn't relatable at all, and she's stupid. Her mother is a horrible person.

If I knew this kid in school, I'd make fun of her. She's not cool or interesting.

Also, how is that someone with no money can hop on buses constantly? And eat McDonald's for every meal?

She treats her aunt like complete garbage. If my aunt saved me from my shitty mother I would have packed up my shit in a heartbeat and ran out the door never looking back. My mother didn't do drugs, but she was still a shit head. I would have taken any freedom that came to me.

Stevie is a dumb child, a dumb character and she makes me angry. Usually shitty characters redeem themselves.

I also don't think the author understands weather and seasons. July isn't cold. July isn't autumn. It really bothers me that everyone is shivering in the middle of Summer. ( )

I don't know what draws me to addiction type issue books, but this book was really good. It drew me right into the story, and It was a quick, fast-paced read.

Stevie is 15 and pretty much an adult in the respect that her mother is never around. She leaves Stevie home with no food, and no money for days at a time, Leaving Stevie to worry and wonder where her mother is. School is optional to Stevie and instead of going to class she waits around for a phone call from her mother to tell her where she is, or waiting for her to walk through the front door.

Stevie's aunt Mindy decides that Stevie is going to live with her or she's going to resort to calling child protective servies. Mindy informs Stevie that her mom is addicted to Meth and thats the reason why she's so absent even when she's around. Mindy hold an intervention for her sister which Stevie is completly against, and dosn't think her mom will react well too, but all seems to go well for the time being and she enters rehab, but will she succumb to the temptation as soon as she's home or will she finally remain clean?

This story was really heart-breaking. I really felt for Stevie, and couldn't imagine having a mother with such deep-set issues. It really is tragic that kids have to deal with such things. If you like issue-packed contemporaries then I definitely think you should pick this one up. It hasn't recieved a lot of attention, but I think it should, because it was a really well-written book. ( )

Stevie would do anything for her mother. They’re a team, best friends; always there for each other. They’ve never had a perfect life. They move around a lot, and Stevie’s mom has trouble paying the bills and putting food on the table, but Stevie knows she’s doing the best she can. One day things will change and her mother’s jewelry business will take off and they’ll finally be able to build their dream house. When Stevie’s mom starts dating a new man she met at the club she dances at, she starts disappearing for days. Stevie stops going to school until, finally, her mother’s sister, Stevie’s aunt Mindy steps in and takes Stevie to live with her. Stevie doesn’t care much for Mindy’s perfect house or her perfect life, and she especially hates how she speaks of her mother. She just wants her mom to come home so she can move back into their apartment and go on with their lives. Eventually, Stevie has to admit that Mindy is right – her mother has a meth addiction and she needs help. Rehab is just the beginning, and if it doesn’t work, Stevie may end up losing the only person she cares about.

Flyaway is a descent read with a good message, but it just didn’t carry the emotional punch that I expected. After reading Laura Wiess’, Ordinary Beauty, which deals with similar themes of a mother addicted to meth, I was left breathless. That book still resonates deeply with me. This one didn’t have the same effect. It’s a short book, and I felt like it could have been fleshed out a bit more. Ms. Landalf’s writing is adequate, and flows nicely, and the metaphor of the baby bird Stevie finds and rescues is a nice touch. The characters were all believable, though I did feel that Stevie was a bit of an unreasonable brat at times. I didn’t really connect with her. I understand she is in pain, but it seemed a bit uncontrolled.

All in all it’s a descent read, but if you’re looking for something with more of a punch, check out Ordinary Beauty. You won’t be sorry.

(Review based on an Advanced Reader’s Copy courtesy of publisher via NetGalley) ( )

That it was sad, but had a good ending. You really have to like Stevie though you get mad at her a bit. Q5P5 AHS/Olivia B.