Flyaway by Helen LandalfMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another book with a serious subject matter, so of course I loved it. I don't know what it is about issues like this that draw my interest.
So, the main character, Stevie, has a mom who is sort of like a dead beat mom. Her and Stevie are constantly moving and she can't hold down a job. Nothing in Stevies life is stable, but that is all Stevie knows and when things turn bad in her life and she is no longer with her mom that is all she wants. To be with her even though that is the worst thing at the time.
The story starts with Stevies mom being gone for almost 3 days. Leaving Stevie home alone (Stevie is 15). At this time Stevie has also missed a lot of school and isn't too concerned about it-and apparently her mom isn't either.
Stevie is worried where her mom is and is hoping that she is OK. She is trying to talk herself into logical reasons on why her mom hasn't come home, but honestly there is no 'logical' reason why her mom hasn't been home in almost 3 days!
Luckily for Stevie, her Aunt Mindy, who is her moms sister shows up at their apartment and takes Stevie back home with her. Unfortunately Stevie doesn't see it that way.
Since Stevie has only known being with her mom she is very defensive and rebellious about everything that her Aunt Mindy is trying to do for her. She doesn't realize that her Aunt is only trying to help her and make things easier/better for her. But all Stevie wants is her mom.
When Stevie finds out from her Aunt that he mom has been doing drugs and that is why she hasn't been home and why she was acting the way she had been for so long, Stevie is in denial and is very angry at her Aunt for even suggesting such a thing. She refuses to believe what is or was right in front of her. And then when she finds out that her Aunt plans on doing an intervention to get Stevies mom to admit to her problem and agree to go into rehab, Stevie wants nothing to do with it.
Thankfully the intervention works and so while Stevies mom is away at rehab, Stevie is forced to stay with her Aunt. During this time with her Aunt she still remains bitter and angry, but you see through her interactions with her friends that she has changed. You see that what is going on with her mom has actually affected Stevie and that she has actually learned something from it. I really was proud to see this change in her. Even though Stevie was very angry still at her Aunt and in a few of the situations she was in was because she was running away from her Aunt to try and deal with her feelings....in the end she ended up doing the right thing.
When her mom comes home from rehab Stevie is ecstatic and has high hopes that things will be better, that they will be different. Unfortunately that isn't to be and Stevie is forced to face and admit a lot of things that she was in denial about through the whole story.
I really enjoyed this book. The story was great! I always like stories that show the dark side of life. The gritty side that a lot of people do not want to admit exists or that a lot of people refuse to see.
The characters in this book were great also. Stevie was a very well believed character. All of the emotions and thoughts that she had were definitely something I could see someone in her situation having.
Her Aunt was so loving and supportive despite the way Stevie treated her. She was very understanding and never gave up on Stevie.
The side charaters in this story were also well liked. I liked how the author had a bird rehabilitation center in the story because it added a lot to it. There is a lot to read into that and to learn.
I don't think that there was a character in this book that I didn't like a lot or that just didn't make sense. All of the characters made this story well rounded and gave such a big insight into Stevies life.
I am glad that I didn't allow the cover make the decision for me if I was going to read this or not. Honestly, I don't care for the cover, but hey, the story well makes up for that.
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