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brooke_review's review
3.0
Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal are making a name for themselves by teaming up to write Own Voices YA novels that feature both perspectives - black & white - on race relations in our country. I enjoyed their first collaboration, I’m Not Dying with You Tonight, a novel set around the riots in Atlanta, so I was eager to pick up their second joint writing project, Why We Fly, which was inspired by cheerleading squads who have faced repercussions after taking a knee in the wake of Colin Kaepernick’s bold move on the NFL sidelines.
Eleanor and Chanel are childhood best friends, and also cheerleaders on their high school’s squad. Eleanor spent most of her junior year sidelined after suffering a concussion on a basket toss gone wrong, but now she is ready to get back into the game. Chanel, a Type A personality with big plans for her future, is determined to make cheerleading captain, lead her team to a Nationals win, and then get into the top tier school of her choice.
However, senior year isn’t going to go quite as these girls planned. When the squad takes a knee in the name of one their high school’s alums who is making waves in the NFL by kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality against black people, they inspire many, but anger more. Are they prepared to, in this case, kneel for what they believe in and face the repercussions? How will this single act affect their lives going forward?
What I love about Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal’s collaborations is that they take hot button issues that everyone is talking about, and turn them into easy-to-read, relatable novels that teens can pick up and find themselves within. While I’m Not Dying with You Tonight was the more exciting and compelling novel, Why We Fly is a more controversial conversation starter. Is it okay to kneel during our country’s national anthem? Should students face consequences for making a statement? If so, what sort of actions warrant repercussions? These are all questions that will spark the minds and opinions of teens as they read this thought-provoking novel.
On the other hand, as an adult reader, Why We Fly felt under-developed and “safe,” not taking matters far enough. The story and its characters are lacking passion, and while the squad does take a knee, it reads as if they just got caught up in the emotion and momentum of the movement instead of truly understanding and standing behind what it all means. Teenagers are often like that, but when a book is trying to make a statement and inspire young adults to stand up and be heard, Why We Fly’s protagonists fall short.
Eleanor and Chanel are childhood best friends, and also cheerleaders on their high school’s squad. Eleanor spent most of her junior year sidelined after suffering a concussion on a basket toss gone wrong, but now she is ready to get back into the game. Chanel, a Type A personality with big plans for her future, is determined to make cheerleading captain, lead her team to a Nationals win, and then get into the top tier school of her choice.
However, senior year isn’t going to go quite as these girls planned. When the squad takes a knee in the name of one their high school’s alums who is making waves in the NFL by kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality against black people, they inspire many, but anger more. Are they prepared to, in this case, kneel for what they believe in and face the repercussions? How will this single act affect their lives going forward?
What I love about Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal’s collaborations is that they take hot button issues that everyone is talking about, and turn them into easy-to-read, relatable novels that teens can pick up and find themselves within. While I’m Not Dying with You Tonight was the more exciting and compelling novel, Why We Fly is a more controversial conversation starter. Is it okay to kneel during our country’s national anthem? Should students face consequences for making a statement? If so, what sort of actions warrant repercussions? These are all questions that will spark the minds and opinions of teens as they read this thought-provoking novel.
On the other hand, as an adult reader, Why We Fly felt under-developed and “safe,” not taking matters far enough. The story and its characters are lacking passion, and while the squad does take a knee, it reads as if they just got caught up in the emotion and momentum of the movement instead of truly understanding and standing behind what it all means. Teenagers are often like that, but when a book is trying to make a statement and inspire young adults to stand up and be heard, Why We Fly’s protagonists fall short.
savreads28's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Racism
overthinkereading's review against another edition
3.5
I really enjoyed this YA novel that explored deep and pertinent topics facing today's teens: evolving friendships, relationships and sex, participating in social justice, overbearing parents, racism, consequences, self care (physical and mental), and the pressure of navigating their own futures. I especially appreciated the representation of cheerleaders as MORE than just cute girls without depth.
CW: drug use, antisemitism, racist school administration
leigh716's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
2/5 MAJOR LETDOWN
This book was a major let down and not at all what the cover promised. I was hoping this would be a story about high school students stepping into the world of racial inequality and peaceful protesting but this is NOT at all what I got.
To start, the pacing was all over the place. It started painstakingly slow, with a lot of premise building that was never revisited or didn’t pay off, then was so fast paced at the end that I couldn’t keep straight what going on. Literally had no idea what month we were in half the time. Things happened, like Lenny getting accepted to a college, that barely got a passing mention, while other things like Nelly’s weed addiction was the main focus for far too long and was never really resolved.
There were WAY too many storylines, most of which didn’t feel relevant to the original plot of the story. Lenny and Nelly had storylines that didn’t need to be there (the concussion, the weed), and the focus turned from them protesting and the resulting repercussions of that to them whining about their lives. Things happened, like Nelly being punished and no one else, that could’ve been focused on instead. They never really revisited the topic of protesting or WHY they were protesting in the first place, and/or their reasoning for supporting Cody Knight. Essentially, anything of importance from the first half was dropped and forgotten about.
By the time I got to the end, I was furious at how nearly everything had been wrapped up or completely ignored. Three gets to play college football, Nelly got praised and the special scholarship despite not really doing ANYTHING, and there was a total lack of conclusion for Lenny. Poor Lenny, who was actually making an effort to be involved in some sort of social justice was left with a “maybe she’ll make the cheerleading team” and “maybe she’ll see Three again”. What a consolation prize for her.
Also, I truly hated some of the characters, while others felt like the weren’t even fully fleshed out. Nelly came off as “holier than thou” and truly seemed to dislike the girl she claims is her best friend. Nelly completely disregards Lenny dealing with her previous injuries, and by the end completely shrugs off their entire friendship “since they’ll be going to college and growing apart anyways”. Three spends the entire book stringing Lenny along, was against them protesting in the first place, refused to do anything else following the protests, was incredibly rude to Lenny and called her a distraction to him, then was praised like he was the hero of the story. He had nothing to do with the protests and didn’t do anything following the original protest, but received a ‘special shout-out from Cody Knight’ on college signing day. Also his parents were AWFUL, mean to Lenny, and super confusing in their treatment of their son.
My biggest issue lies in the fact that this book could have been good had there been more focus on the actual social justice aspect. There easily could’ve been three perspectives (Lenny - a white Jewish girl, Nelly - a black girl, and Three - a black guy), and their own experiences tied to peaceful protesting and work with social justice following them taking a knee. Instead, they completely avoided approaching WHY Three was against protesting as young Black male, WHY Nelly as a Black woman was the only one punished, or HOW Lenny’s Jewish roots and ties to her friends made her part of this as well. All of this was dropped and the second half of the book focused on ‘normal teenage high school stuff’ instead of really diving into how protesting (or not protesting) impacted their lives. Overall, super disappointed and a total waste of my time.
(I listened to this as an audiobook, and despised the girls doing the readings for each character. It took me forever to get through as an audiobook, but probably wouldn’t have finished this had I read it as a physical book)
This book was a major let down and not at all what the cover promised. I was hoping this would be a story about high school students stepping into the world of racial inequality and peaceful protesting but this is NOT at all what I got.
To start, the pacing was all over the place. It started painstakingly slow, with a lot of premise building that was never revisited or didn’t pay off, then was so fast paced at the end that I couldn’t keep straight what going on. Literally had no idea what month we were in half the time. Things happened, like Lenny getting accepted to a college, that barely got a passing mention, while other things like Nelly’s weed addiction was the main focus for far too long and was never really resolved.
There were WAY too many storylines, most of which didn’t feel relevant to the original plot of the story. Lenny and Nelly had storylines that didn’t need to be there (the concussion, the weed), and the focus turned from them protesting and the resulting repercussions of that to them whining about their lives. Things happened, like Nelly being punished and no one else, that could’ve been focused on instead. They never really revisited the topic of protesting or WHY they were protesting in the first place, and/or their reasoning for supporting Cody Knight. Essentially, anything of importance from the first half was dropped and forgotten about.
By the time I got to the end, I was furious at how nearly everything had been wrapped up or completely ignored. Three gets to play college football, Nelly got praised and the special scholarship despite not really doing ANYTHING, and there was a total lack of conclusion for Lenny. Poor Lenny, who was actually making an effort to be involved in some sort of social justice was left with a “maybe she’ll make the cheerleading team” and “maybe she’ll see Three again”. What a consolation prize for her.
Also, I truly hated some of the characters, while others felt like the weren’t even fully fleshed out. Nelly came off as “holier than thou” and truly seemed to dislike the girl she claims is her best friend. Nelly completely disregards Lenny dealing with her previous injuries, and by the end completely shrugs off their entire friendship “since they’ll be going to college and growing apart anyways”. Three spends the entire book stringing Lenny along, was against them protesting in the first place, refused to do anything else following the protests, was incredibly rude to Lenny and called her a distraction to him, then was praised like he was the hero of the story. He had nothing to do with the protests and didn’t do anything following the original protest, but received a ‘special shout-out from Cody Knight’ on college signing day. Also his parents were AWFUL, mean to Lenny, and super confusing in their treatment of their son.
My biggest issue lies in the fact that this book could have been good had there been more focus on the actual social justice aspect. There easily could’ve been three perspectives (Lenny - a white Jewish girl, Nelly - a black girl, and Three - a black guy), and their own experiences tied to peaceful protesting and work with social justice following them taking a knee. Instead, they completely avoided approaching WHY Three was against protesting as young Black male, WHY Nelly as a Black woman was the only one punished, or HOW Lenny’s Jewish roots and ties to her friends made her part of this as well. All of this was dropped and the second half of the book focused on ‘normal teenage high school stuff’ instead of really diving into how protesting (or not protesting) impacted their lives. Overall, super disappointed and a total waste of my time.
(I listened to this as an audiobook, and despised the girls doing the readings for each character. It took me forever to get through as an audiobook, but probably wouldn’t have finished this had I read it as a physical book)
lizzie_knappett's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
A great book about the difficulties of race in sports and the need to stand up. I enjoyed the message but not so much the writing styles
girlreading's review
4.0
Powerful, nuanced and brilliantly written. This was a superb exploration of white privilege, racism, feminism, friendship and the exceptions put upon teens from society, parents, education and more. Both Eleanor and Chanel's individual voices were so strong and I loved watching their characters develop and grow throughout the story. I also thought the audiobook narrators were both fantastic. This book may have been short but it definitely packed a punch and succeeded in delivering its message.
TW: racism
TW: racism
bianchibooks's review
3.0
The pacing of this book was unnatural, for lack of a better word. Towards the beginning, everything was moving painfully slow to the point where I wasn't really focusing on what was happening but once the plot kicked in, it became more of the "compelling page-turner" the front cover promised me... until it got too fast-paced with more time skips than I could keep track of and suddenly it was done???
But my biggest problem regarding this novel is the protest itself. The unjust consequences of the cheerleading team and other school organizations kneeling leading to Nelly's suspension didn't stem the conversation that I hoped would have stemmed. There were brief talks about Leni hosting a walk-out or a similar protest against the administration's decision in suspending Nelly, but nobody did anything after that conversation. They just... stopped talking about it and pretended like the fallout wasn't very real still.
That all being said, this novel wasn't a complete disaster. Seeing the issues of race relations from the perspective of a white and Black student, and how both were treated thereafter, was an honest reflection of American society today. I can't let that go unnoticed. The Jewish representation in Leni's character was lovely to see in a Young Adult novel as well considering I have not experienced it prior to Why We Fly.
What I appreciate the most is the sincerity of the characters and the relationships between them. Most high school friendships don't last. It sucks to say, but they don't, and I think leaving Nelly and Leni's friendship at the two of them deciding to let go comfortably was a very realistic portrayal of what happens to a majority of teenage girls after graduation. The same goes for Three and Leni's relationship: Leni knew when her relationship was ending with Three, much like how Three knew when his relationship with Leni was ending, and it was accepted mutually. Between this and the conversations throughout the novel about how having a toxic environment among friends, family, and classmates can alter a person's perception on themselves and their future, the balance created a very raw scene.
I was not enthralled by this novel, but I wasn't disappointed either. The pros and the cons co-existed in a way that still made it spark conversation within myself and think about the way that race relations affect my own community.
But my biggest problem regarding this novel is the protest itself. The unjust consequences of the cheerleading team and other school organizations kneeling leading to Nelly's suspension didn't stem the conversation that I hoped would have stemmed. There were brief talks about Leni hosting a walk-out or a similar protest against the administration's decision in suspending Nelly, but nobody did anything after that conversation. They just... stopped talking about it and pretended like the fallout wasn't very real still.
That all being said, this novel wasn't a complete disaster. Seeing the issues of race relations from the perspective of a white and Black student, and how both were treated thereafter, was an honest reflection of American society today. I can't let that go unnoticed. The Jewish representation in Leni's character was lovely to see in a Young Adult novel as well considering I have not experienced it prior to Why We Fly.
What I appreciate the most is the sincerity of the characters and the relationships between them. Most high school friendships don't last. It sucks to say, but they don't, and I think leaving Nelly and Leni's friendship at the two of them deciding to let go comfortably was a very realistic portrayal of what happens to a majority of teenage girls after graduation. The same goes for Three and Leni's relationship: Leni knew when her relationship was ending with Three, much like how Three knew when his relationship with Leni was ending, and it was accepted mutually. Between this and the conversations throughout the novel about how having a toxic environment among friends, family, and classmates can alter a person's perception on themselves and their future, the balance created a very raw scene.
I was not enthralled by this novel, but I wasn't disappointed either. The pros and the cons co-existed in a way that still made it spark conversation within myself and think about the way that race relations affect my own community.
rebecca_w28's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
bettyemanee's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book was really good, but the plot felt very rushed. In just a few chapters they had somehow gone through an entire semester? The ending seemed a bit loose, as well. I wish we'd gotten more about Leni & Chanel together instead of just their separate POVs. Chanel's chapters should've been longer, too.