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alittlewrightreading's review
4.0
Full Flight took a while for me to get into but I’m soooo glad that I stuck with it. The second half of the book was everything. I loved Weston and Anna so much. I think Ashley did a great job at tackling some of the harder things in the life of a high schooler, including being judged by rumors and people choosing not to get to know the real you based on those rumors. Full Flight definitely helped sooth my soul. I connected with Anna and what she was going through, being in her shoes…and let me tell you I’ve felt EVERYTHING she felt. It’s an awful experience but it’s nice to see you aren’t alone even in the darkest times of your life. I think my favorite part of the whole book was the epilogue.
Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the copy of Full Flight in return of an honest review.
Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the copy of Full Flight in return of an honest review.
jenlovesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Thanks to partners NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the digital ARC of Ashley Schumacher’s Full Flight in exchange for an honest review. The book is out on February 22!
I absolutely loved Schumacher’s debut, Amelia Unabridged, sobbing my way through that gorgeous YA romance, so I was eager to read her second book, Full Flight. This one did not disappoint! This tale of young love and marching band set in small-town Texas made my heart happy.
Weston Ryan is an outcast in Enfield, set apart by his divorced parents, his leather jacket, and his disdain for everything but music. He’s also so, so lonely.
Anna James seems to be his opposite: she has a lot of friends, a close-knit family and protective parents, and an unrelentingly sunny personality represented by the Christmas socks she wears year-round. But really, she’s lonely too.
When Anna and Weston are assigned to play a duet in the marching band’s competition show, Anna is way outmatched. So, she asks Weston to help her learn the music, a simple question that ends up drawing them together and bridging their loneliness.
Schumacher has such a brilliant touch with characters: I could feel Weston’s reluctance to take a chance at trusting someone new, afraid that he might be left behind once again. And for Anna, keeping on that cheerful, overachieving mask has covered up years of never feeling as if she’s quite good enough. Their emotions are so real and so authentic—about each other, about the role of marching band in teenagers’ lives, about the power of music—that I just loved watching both characters work through their vulnerability to come to trust the other.
I actually hope that you haven’t read the synopsis of Full Flight yet because I think it gives away too much. I’ll just say that this is another book by Ashley Schumacher that I didn’t want to stop reading.
I absolutely loved Schumacher’s debut, Amelia Unabridged, sobbing my way through that gorgeous YA romance, so I was eager to read her second book, Full Flight. This one did not disappoint! This tale of young love and marching band set in small-town Texas made my heart happy.
Weston Ryan is an outcast in Enfield, set apart by his divorced parents, his leather jacket, and his disdain for everything but music. He’s also so, so lonely.
Anna James seems to be his opposite: she has a lot of friends, a close-knit family and protective parents, and an unrelentingly sunny personality represented by the Christmas socks she wears year-round. But really, she’s lonely too.
When Anna and Weston are assigned to play a duet in the marching band’s competition show, Anna is way outmatched. So, she asks Weston to help her learn the music, a simple question that ends up drawing them together and bridging their loneliness.
Schumacher has such a brilliant touch with characters: I could feel Weston’s reluctance to take a chance at trusting someone new, afraid that he might be left behind once again. And for Anna, keeping on that cheerful, overachieving mask has covered up years of never feeling as if she’s quite good enough. Their emotions are so real and so authentic—about each other, about the role of marching band in teenagers’ lives, about the power of music—that I just loved watching both characters work through their vulnerability to come to trust the other.
I actually hope that you haven’t read the synopsis of Full Flight yet because I think it gives away too much. I’ll just say that this is another book by Ashley Schumacher that I didn’t want to stop reading.
whitreadslit's review
5.0
*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!*
This book broke me – but in the best way! Oh, it had my heart breaking at the end, but the journey was beautiful! ❤️
I really loved both Weston and Anna. They were both these sweet little cinnamon rolls that struggled with feelings of self-worth and belonging. I just wanted to squeeze them both and tell them that everything would be alright! Their relationship was so lovely to watch grow. I feel like they both helped each other become more sure of themselves and they brought each other out of their shells in their own unique ways. I am all about coming of age stories, and this one was beautiful for both of these characters.
I was a big fan of the friends and family in this book as well. Ratio and Jenny were my two favorites. I love seeing strong, platonic friendships in YA novels. The friends you make as a teen are often even more defining than your romantic relationships, so it was nice to see this represented well. I was also a big fan of seeing the sisters grow up and realize that they actually liked each other as the book went along. It felt very realistic to me.
If you follow my blog/reviews, you know that I am in love with a book that is about music. It brought back so much nostalgia from when I was in choir in high school. Obviously this is about band, but the feelings of camaraderie and pressure were so reminiscent of my own experience. I loved getting to see the love of music from different perspectives as well. You had some characters that were a lot more naturally talented than others, but the passion was the same.
I will not do any spoilers, but I will say that this book had me ugly crying by the end. I actually gasp-sobbed at one point, and I was thankful that my husband and daughter were out of hearing range because they would have probably thought I had hurt myself or something! No big deal, it was just my soul crushing
This book broke me – but in the best way! Oh, it had my heart breaking at the end, but the journey was beautiful! ❤️
I really loved both Weston and Anna. They were both these sweet little cinnamon rolls that struggled with feelings of self-worth and belonging. I just wanted to squeeze them both and tell them that everything would be alright! Their relationship was so lovely to watch grow. I feel like they both helped each other become more sure of themselves and they brought each other out of their shells in their own unique ways. I am all about coming of age stories, and this one was beautiful for both of these characters.
I was a big fan of the friends and family in this book as well. Ratio and Jenny were my two favorites. I love seeing strong, platonic friendships in YA novels. The friends you make as a teen are often even more defining than your romantic relationships, so it was nice to see this represented well. I was also a big fan of seeing the sisters grow up and realize that they actually liked each other as the book went along. It felt very realistic to me.
If you follow my blog/reviews, you know that I am in love with a book that is about music. It brought back so much nostalgia from when I was in choir in high school. Obviously this is about band, but the feelings of camaraderie and pressure were so reminiscent of my own experience. I loved getting to see the love of music from different perspectives as well. You had some characters that were a lot more naturally talented than others, but the passion was the same.
I will not do any spoilers, but I will say that this book had me ugly crying by the end. I actually gasp-sobbed at one point, and I was thankful that my husband and daughter were out of hearing range because they would have probably thought I had hurt myself or something! No big deal, it was just my soul crushing
greeneyeslovely's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book though I felt like the first third was a bit slow. The writing is so lyrical and I really enjoyed the characters. The ending ripped my heart out - and wasn't completely necessary - but it was gripping and emotionally heart wrenching. The only change I would make is to reduce all the band background, it was more detailed than I needed for the story. I also think the blurb gives too much away - don't read it, just read the book!
Special thanks to St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books and Netgalley for providing me the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Special thanks to St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books and Netgalley for providing me the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
_reedmylife_'s review
1.0
From the get go, Full Flight felt like a middle-grade version of Twilight.
Instead of sparkling vampires, we had a male main character that was moody because his parents got divorced and it became his only personality trait. Then we have Anna who lacks personality altogether and is super cringey like Bella Swan. Also this girl is a Christmas girlie, and that was when I knew this book was going to be an absolute trainwreck.
The oddness of this novel does not end there. The characters were 16 yet they pretended they were adults very often throughout the book. Obviously, they came off very immature, especially with the constant reprimanding of cussing. Everything was just disconnected and made me want to vomit at the cringe factor and the forced chemistry (If I have to hear "My Weston" one more time, I will chunk this book across the room).
I will say the writing does get better near the end but overall, this book lacked creativity, intrigue and any type of emotion.
Instead of sparkling vampires, we had a male main character that was moody because his parents got divorced and it became his only personality trait. Then we have Anna who lacks personality altogether and is super cringey like Bella Swan. Also this girl is a Christmas girlie, and that was when I knew this book was going to be an absolute trainwreck.
The oddness of this novel does not end there. The characters were 16 yet they pretended they were adults very often throughout the book. Obviously, they came off very immature, especially with the constant reprimanding of cussing. Everything was just disconnected and made me want to vomit at the cringe factor and the forced chemistry (If I have to hear "My Weston" one more time, I will chunk this book across the room).
I will say the writing does get better near the end but overall, this book lacked creativity, intrigue and any type of emotion.
bookishlychar's review
5.0
4.5/5 stars!
Ashley Schumacher has written a book that is not only lyrically written, but she creates characters in such a way that you feel all the feelings for and with them. My heart was fulfilled with these characters and my heart broke with these characters. The author writes the emotion and angst of teens so well that it gives a voice to emotions that are not often talked about.
The first 70% or so of the book had me feeling like it was a typical contemporary, with the added twist of an entire town judging Weston and his family for things that were beyond Weston's control. The last 30% of reading like this book had me sobbing like a baby. I enjoyed the banter between the main characters Anna and Weston and like how they just fell into their relationship. It is reminiscent of typical teens. Yes, some of it felt a little insta-love, but then again what teen relationship isn't filled with instant love?
One of the things I didn't like about this book was the summary of it. It tells us that something happens to Weston and Anna needs to cope with it. I wish it never said that. This doesn't happen until quite late in the book and knowing that it was going to happen made it feel less climactic for me.
I also really liked the marching band aspect of this. So many books are focussed on the football team, or the basketball team, but this book really gave in to a different type of team, one that is not based on sports or academics, but something that is an integral part of all these teens lives.
This was the first book I have read by Ashley Schumacher, but it will not be the last. Her writing was compelling and I loved her story telling. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an open and honest review. All opinions are 100% mine.
Ashley Schumacher has written a book that is not only lyrically written, but she creates characters in such a way that you feel all the feelings for and with them. My heart was fulfilled with these characters and my heart broke with these characters. The author writes the emotion and angst of teens so well that it gives a voice to emotions that are not often talked about.
The first 70% or so of the book had me feeling like it was a typical contemporary, with the added twist of an entire town judging Weston and his family for things that were beyond Weston's control. The last 30% of reading like this book had me sobbing like a baby. I enjoyed the banter between the main characters Anna and Weston and like how they just fell into their relationship. It is reminiscent of typical teens. Yes, some of it felt a little insta-love, but then again what teen relationship isn't filled with instant love?
One of the things I didn't like about this book was the summary of it. It tells us that something happens to Weston and Anna needs to cope with it. I wish it never said that. This doesn't happen until quite late in the book and knowing that it was going to happen made it feel less climactic for me.
I also really liked the marching band aspect of this. So many books are focussed on the football team, or the basketball team, but this book really gave in to a different type of team, one that is not based on sports or academics, but something that is an integral part of all these teens lives.
This was the first book I have read by Ashley Schumacher, but it will not be the last. Her writing was compelling and I loved her story telling. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an open and honest review. All opinions are 100% mine.
clairebbear's review
emotional
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
heatheradoresbooks's review
4.0
“I hope if you write about us tonight, it feels like the beginning of a very long story”
What a heartbreaking story of young love found and lost way too soon.
Anna and Weston need to perform a duet together for the marching band at school. Weston is known as an outcast in town, so Anna has to sneak behind her over protective parents back in order to see him to practice. You can smell how that'll turn out a mile away.
I thought this was well written and I enjoyed listening to this young couple find their first love.
Narration:
Cody Roberts & Tina Wolstencroft ~ 9 hours 35 minutes
I thought this was well written and I enjoyed listening to this young couple find their first love.
The dual narration was almost perfect ~ Tina sounded the proper age, but Cody sounded a little too old to be a high school student.
*Thanks to Netgalley, Tantor Audio and Ashley Schumacher for the audio copy. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
Follow me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook
What a heartbreaking story of young love found and lost way too soon.
Anna and Weston need to perform a duet together for the marching band at school. Weston is known as an outcast in town, so Anna has to sneak behind her over protective parents back in order to see him to practice. You can smell how that'll turn out a mile away.
I thought this was well written and I enjoyed listening to this young couple find their first love.
Narration:
Cody Roberts & Tina Wolstencroft ~ 9 hours 35 minutes
I thought this was well written and I enjoyed listening to this young couple find their first love.
The dual narration was almost perfect ~ Tina sounded the proper age, but Cody sounded a little too old to be a high school student.
*Thanks to Netgalley, Tantor Audio and Ashley Schumacher for the audio copy. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
Follow me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook
angiew23's review
3.0
Full Flight is a young adult contemporary fiction. The story was really touching but the writing style wasn't quite what I was expecting. While it was very personal and an excellent representation of grief, but at times it left me wanting more. I have heard that her books are fantastic and am definitely planning to check out another one, this one might just not have been the right book for me!